Attic Home Cinema — North London

A High-End Projector-Based Home Cinema in North London

This Crestron-controlled attic home cinema installation in North London showcases a lot of what we do well: everything is hidden away until required, allowing the room to transform from a library and reading room into a cinema at the touch of a button. A hidden projector screen in the window alcove drops down as the projector lowers from the ceiling on a Future Automation lift. The cinema has access to a host of centralised sources including Sky HD and Apple TVs, distributed around the home in addition to the cinema, so recorded television can be enjoyed from the kitchen to the attic alike.

Artcoustic Surround Sound Speaker Package

Hidden Artcoustic speakers provide outstanding audio, with the front channels concealed behind grilles under the projector screen and in-ceiling speakers handling rear channels. A substantial Artcoustic subwoofer is easily hidden from view while delivering genuinely impressive bass. The speakers are powered by a critically acclaimed Anthem MRX710 AV receiver, professionally calibrated alongside the projector itself.

Complete Lighting Control

The home cinema is enhanced by mood lighting controls, easily selected and adjusted using an Apple iPad. This custom-designed iPad interface allows source selection alongside room calibration and lighting scene recall. Electronic blinds close at the touch of a button across the double-aspect windows and glass ceiling, creating the right viewing environment instantly. Retro squirrel-cage bulbs retain a warm glow even when dimmed to minimum levels.

Our Home Cinema Services

Why This Project Works

Attic cinema rooms present a specific set of challenges that make them genuinely interesting to design. The sloping ceiling creates asymmetric reflections that a rectangular room does not. Structural limitations often restrict where a projector can be mounted and what screen width is achievable. And the acoustic mass of a sloping roof — typically thinner than an internal floor or wall — means that sound isolation requires more careful thought than in a basement installation.

This North London attic installation solves all three elegantly. The projector is mounted on a motorised lift mechanism that raises it from concealment within a custom-built housing when required and retracts it completely when not in use — leaving the ceiling clean and the room fully functional as a living space. The screen is equally discreet, retracting into a ceiling cassette so that when the cinema is not in use, the room reverts entirely to its function as a reception room. A visitor who does not know the cinema is there will never find it.

The Artcoustic speaker package addresses the acoustic asymmetry of the sloping ceiling by specifying speakers with controlled directional dispersion — focusing sound at the listening position rather than relying on even room reflections for imaging. Anthem AVR decoding handles the surround processing and Crestron manages the room entirely, with the projector lift, screen, lighting and audio all triggered from a single button press.

Frequently Asked Questions — North London Attic Cinema

Can a room serve as both a library and a cinema?
Yes. This North London attic functions as a library and reading room during the day, with the projector and screen fully retracted and concealed. At the touch of a button, the projector lowers from a motorised lift and the screen drops from a ceiling cassette, transforming the room into a cinema.

What acoustic challenges does a sloping attic ceiling present?
A sloping ceiling creates asymmetric sound reflections that a conventional rectangular room does not, and the thinner roof structure typically requires more careful sound isolation than a basement installation. This room addresses both with directionally controlled Artcoustic speakers and careful acoustic design around the roof structure.

Can a projector be completely hidden when not in use?
Yes. This installation uses a motorised Future Automation lift to lower the projector from a concealed housing only when needed, retracting it fully out of sight afterwards — leaving no visible evidence of the cinema system in the room.

Project Details

• Location: North London
• Room type: Attic conversion — library by day, cinema by night
• Screen: Retractable, ceiling cassette
• Projection: Motorised lift-mounted projector
• Audio: Artcoustic speaker package, Anthem MRX710 AVR
• Control: Crestron lighting and room control

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