Even though you don’t have the time nor the budget to go to theaters often, you can achieve the same cinematic experience at home with just patience, hard work, and a little faith. We all know that there’s a big difference between watching a movie in our living room and in the local movie theater. Aside from the wide space, the smell of popcorn, and the occasional noisy co-watchers, the experience it gives is something we seek whenever we pay for our movie tickets.
But, what if we tell you that you can recreate that same experience in the comfort of your own home? Don’t worry. Even if you don’t have a dedicated home theater in your house, there’s always something you can do. Here’s what you need to do.
1. Invest in comfortable seating.
It’s all about comfort in a home theater. You cannot compare to the theatrical experience if your seating is poor. And if you’re prepared to pay some money, you can get seats that are just as cozy as those cushioned chairs we love to lean back in at the cinema.
In terms of choosing home theater seating, there are both good news and bad news. You have several options available, which is great news. Unfortunately, most of them are not cheap. However, there is still a variety of quality, comfortable seating options at an affordable price. You just need to give more effort to find those.
2. Invest in a projector and screen.
While it’s ideal to have a large screen at home, if you don’t have the space for it, it would definitely be unnecessary. That’s where projectors come in. You can set up a projector in any room, no matter how small it is — and you will definitely enjoy your movie night watching on your favorite streaming services, like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Sling TV, and more.
All you need is a white wall where you can project the image. And if you want to get the full cinematic experience, we recommend getting a 4k projector. It will give you the clearest and most detailed picture possible. Not to mention, it will make your home theater setup look more professional.
3. Surround sound is always a great idea.
If you really want to get that movie theater feeling, then you need to create a surround sound system in your home. This will make the audio experience much more immersive and realistic. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on an expensive surround sound system.
There are quality options available at an affordable price. Some people might say that having a soundbar is enough. But, we believe that surround sound is the way to go if you want to get the most out of your movies.
4. Set the mood with better lighting.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you want to recreate the movie theater experience, you need to make sure that all the lights are turned off. You can even close the curtains to make sure that no light is coming in from outside. This will help you focus on the movie and not get distracted by your surroundings.
You can also use black-out curtains to make sure that no light is coming in. But if you don’t want to spend the money on black-out curtains, you can always use a blanket to cover the windows.
5. Choose your streaming service wisely.
Of course, you cannot maximize your cinematic experience at home without quality content. For example, if you’re a bilingual household who loves watching Spanish TV shows and movies, we recommend having a streaming service like Go Latino TV that is solely dedicated to Spanish content but still offers some local American channels that give you the best of both worlds.
Other than that, you should also consider other streaming services that offer a wide variety of content, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and more.
6. Get some snacks and drinks.
No good movie experience is complete without yummy snacks and drinks — and we’re not talking about healthy snacks here. We’re talking about popcorn, candy, and soda. You can buy popcorn, but it’s best if you make your own. It’s actually very easy to do. And if you want to save some money, we recommend getting a popcorn maker. They’re not that costly, and they’re definitely worth it.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are several ways to recreate the movie theater experience at home. And the best part is that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to do it. Just follow our tips, and you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite movies in the comfort of your own home.
