Basement Home Cinema Room — Kensington, London

A Living Room Cinema That Disappears — Kensington

The most demanding brief in home cinema design is not the dedicated room. It is the room that must work as both a cinema and a living space, with no visible concession to either. This basement media room in a Kensington mews house was built to exactly that standard. When the system is off, it is a reception room: a Chesterfield sofa, custom cabinetry, colour-matched walls and bespoke artwork. When it is on, it delivers Dolby Atmos surround sound from a full Artcoustic speaker package driven by an Anthem MRX-1120 AVR, with every speaker integrated into the room’s architecture and invisible until the covers are removed.

The Display and Speaker System

A 75″ Samsung television was chosen over a projector: a direct-view panel holds its contrast in a room with ambient light, and at 75″ the screen fills the field of view effectively at the available seating distance. Eight Artcoustic speakers form the Dolby Atmos system, every one finished to match its surrounding surface. Without prior knowledge, a visitor would not know that a surround sound system is present. An Anthem MRX-1120 AVR drives the speakers, and Crestron controls the sources, sound and lighting from a single interface. As in every media room we design, the aim was outstanding AV performance in a space that also works as a beautiful living environment. The services behind the room are linked below.

The Artcoustic Speaker Package

Each speaker was chosen for the surface it sits in:

• 2 × Artcoustic SL24-12 — front left and right, integrated into bespoke cabinetwork flanking the TV
• 1 × Artcoustic HSPL bespoke-width soundbar — centre channel, under the TV
• 1 × Artcoustic Control 3 subwoofer — integrated into the right-hand bookcase behind acoustic cloth
• 2 × Artcoustic SL8-4 — rear left and right, colour-matched to the walls
• 2 × Artcoustic Architect 4-2 — height channels, colour-matched to the ceiling

Artcoustic cabinets and grilles can be specified in any NCS or RAL colour, which lets the rear and height speakers disappear into the walls and ceiling. The front speakers are built into the cabinetwork either side of the TV. Every speaker stays invisible until its cover is removed.

Acoustic Integration

Custom Artcoustic acoustic absorber panels, mounted above the Chesterfield sofa with bespoke artwork printed across three panels, address the rear wall reflection that would otherwise compromise surround imaging. Even the bean bag under the staircase serves a specific acoustic function: a bass trap at a critical room boundary position. Nothing in this room is incidental.

Anthem Processing and Calibration

The Anthem MRX-1120 AVR handles all amplification and decoding. Anthem’s ARC room correction performed the calibration after installation, correcting each channel for the room’s response. As with every system we install, calibration is a mandatory part of the handover rather than an optional extra: speaker levels, distances, crossover points and equalisation are set in the finished room.

Crestron Control

A Crestron control system manages the full audio-visual experience and room lighting, with all sources — Sky, Apple TV, streaming — selectable from a single interface. Multiple Crestron lighting scenes cover daytime use and cinema viewing. One button press transitions the room from reception space to cinema, selecting the source, adjusting the lighting and waking the amplification.

The Result

A basement cinema room that is indistinguishable from a well-designed living room until the moment it performs. The integration of Artcoustic speakers into the architecture — colour-matched, concealed within cabinetwork and behind acoustic artwork — is as thorough as anything we have delivered. It is precisely this kind of installation that demonstrates what is possible when acoustic performance and interior design are treated as a single problem rather than two competing ones.

Frequently Asked Questions — Kensington Basement Cinema

Which speakers are used in this Kensington cinema room?
Eight Artcoustic speakers: SL24-12 fronts, an HSPL bespoke-width soundbar as the centre channel, a Control 3 subwoofer, SL8-4 rears and Architect 4-2 height speakers.

Why was a TV chosen instead of a projector?
The room is used as a living space by day, and a 75″ Samsung television holds its contrast in ambient light while filling the field of view at the available seating distance.

How is the room acoustically treated?
Artcoustic acoustic absorber panels printed with bespoke artwork sit above the sofa to control rear wall reflections, and a bean bag under the staircase works as a bass trap at a critical room boundary.

How does the room switch between living room and cinema?
A Crestron system selects the source, adjusts the lighting and wakes the amplification with a single button press.

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Project Gallery

The images show the Kensington basement room from both ends, first as it is lived in and then with the speaker covers removed. With the covers on, the speakers disappear into the cabinetwork, bookcase, walls and ceiling. The covers-off views reveal the Artcoustic system behind the finished room.