Living Room Home Cinema — Belgravia, London

Hidden Speakers in this Living Room Cinema

This living room cinema installation in Belgravia is part of a larger whole-house Crestron project in the property. It deserves special mention for the level of discretion achieved: the 75″ Samsung TV is the only visible piece of equipment in the room. The 5.1 surround sound system is entirely plastered into the ceiling — invisible. Even the subwoofer is plastered in, so nothing is on show.

No Hardware Visible

The only equipment in the room is the TV, a remote control and a wall input plate. Everything else — Sky HD receivers, Apple TVs, Blu-ray players and the Denon AVR — is located in the property’s AV hub in the basement. 5.1 surround sound is provided by Sonance in-ceiling speakers, fully plastered into the ceiling and completely invisible when not in use. For Belgravia interiors where technology must not intrude, this is the approach.

A living room cinema is a different brief from a dedicated cinema room: it has to work as a beautiful living space every day and perform properly when a film starts. This room was designed, installed and programmed as part of the wider whole-house Crestron system rather than as a standalone cinema, so it shares its sources and control with every other room. The services behind this Belgravia room are shown below.

Sources and Control

Multiple Sky HD receivers, Apple TVs and Blu-ray players are distributed at full HD via the Crestron Digital Media system throughout the property. A HDMI wall input plate allows any local source to be enjoyed in the cinema or distributed to any other room in the house. A Crestron TPS-6X wireless touchpanel controls the room entirely — TV, lighting, blinds, heating and air conditioning — with a single button press launching the cinema, routing the correct source and setting the room environment automatically. The room also has a second audio-only zone in the adjoining sitting room, which can be ganged or run independently.

Because the sources are centralised, the living room shares the same Sky, Apple TV and Blu-ray equipment as every other room on the system rather than needing its own. One touchpanel replaces the separate remotes for the TV, lights, blinds and climate, which is what keeps a room this discreet easy to use. When the cinema is launched, the lighting, blinds and source all change together, so the room is ready in the time it takes to sit down.

Designing a Living Room Cinema

Many of the finest entertainment spaces we design are rooms that serve more than one purpose, and a media room is not a compromise but a different brief. The challenge is integrating outstanding AV performance into a space that also works as a beautiful living environment, where nothing looks like it belongs in a rack room and everything operates without thought. In this room that meant plastering every speaker into the ceiling, moving every source to the basement hub and leaving only the television on view.

Belgravia — Discreet by Design

For London clients in Belgravia, Knightsbridge and the wider SW1 area who want cinema-quality audio and video in a living room that prioritises discretion above all, this installation is Custom Controls’ most extreme example of the invisible cinema approach. When the TV is off and the Crestron touchpanel is away, there is literally no evidence that a surround sound cinema system exists in the room. Our London office in the City serves Belgravia and the surrounding prime residential areas, and this room is a useful reference for clients weighing up a living room cinema against a dedicated cinema room.

Frequently Asked Questions — Belgravia Living Room Cinema

Can surround sound speakers be completely plastered in?
Yes. In this Belgravia installation, the 5.1 system uses Sonance in-ceiling speakers fully plastered into the ceiling, and even the subwoofer is plastered in — no grilles, no visible hardware of any kind.

Where does the equipment go if nothing is visible in the room?
All source equipment — Sky HD receivers, Apple TVs, Blu-ray players and the Denon AVR — is centralised in the property’s AV hub in the basement, distributed via Crestron Digital Media. Only the TV, a remote and a wall input plate remain visible in the room itself.

Can one room be part of a larger whole-house Crestron system?
Yes. This living room cinema is one room within a larger whole-house Crestron installation at the same Belgravia property, with the adjoining sitting room able to share or run independently of the cinema audio zone.

How is the room controlled?
A Crestron TPS-6X wireless touchpanel controls the TV, lighting, blinds, heating and air conditioning, and a single button press launches the cinema, routes the correct source and sets the room environment.

Can a local device be connected to the TV?
Yes. An HDMI wall input plate allows any local source to be played in the living room cinema or distributed to any other room in the house.

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Project Gallery

The photographs show the living room cinema with the 75″ Samsung TV as the only visible equipment, the plastered-in ceiling speakers leaving no trace. They also show the open-plan living room and sitting area, both on the same Crestron system. The sitting area image shows the lighting control that is part of the same whole-house installation.