The Photo Design Guide To Home Theater Lighting Ideas

By aidenjbarry on in Home Lighting

Below are home theater lighting ideas for that are fit for large or small spaces. There are a number of accent lighting ideas, like fiber optics or cove lighting, which add a luxurious touch to a home theater room while other ideas are for more convenience and comfort.

Quick Interior Designer Tips:

Home Theater Lighting Control: Having the lights wired to dimmer switches will allow you to have full control over the lighting ambiance in the room. Have the lights on full for when you are getting things set up, have them dimmed down for casual TV watching, and have them completely switched off for movie nights.

The best home theater rooms have no windows. This means there is no outside light coming in during the day, and a windowless room creates a more secluded feeling in the room. If you can’t take out the windows, have a look for black out curtains that completely shield any light from entering the room.

Home Theater Lighting Design Ideas

Recessed Lights

The ideal ceiling lights to have are recessed lights. They are clean, simple, and are hidden from sight as they are fitted within the ceiling. In the photo below we see simple recessed lighting, but the ceiling is decorated elaborately with crown molding.

A large home theater using recessed and wall lights

Wall Lights

Installing wall lights will make a space feel like a real theater. The ideal choice would be wall washers (which only shines the light upwards over the wall) or sconces (the light shines up and down).

A cozy home theater using wall lights and a table lamp

A larger home theater using wall lights

A home theater using recessed and wall lights

Recessed ceiling lighting and elegant wall lights in this home theater

Another example of a home theater using wall and recessed lighting - playing Up!

Display Home Theater Lighting Fixtures

Display lighting brings out another dimension to home theaters. Lighting can be added to DVD cabinets, book shelves or in the media center cabinets. Under cabinet light fixtures is one way of adding display lighting:

Under cabinet lighting helps light up all the electrical devices

Ikea swan neck lights are another way:

Display lighting

Lights Behind The Seats

Having floor or table lamps behind or besides the couch will be of added convenience. They can be used for reading, or they are the first lights to be turned on when the movie is over as they are easily assessable.

A home theater using table lamps as well as wall and recessed lights

Lighting behind the seats add a nice touch to the room

Cove Lighting

Cove lighting provides a room with soft diffused lighting. This is done by installing a false ceiling, where the light fixtures are installed and hidden away. The light then bounces off of the ceiling and walls providing elegant indirect lighting, and makes a space feel much larger.

Blue cove lighting

Elegant cove lighting makes this home theater feel very wide

Have a look at our post for more ideas on cove lighting: L&L Design Guide: Cove Lighting Ideas

Fiber Optics

Fiber optics are a popular choice for accent lighting in grand home theaters. As tiny dots in the ceiling, they provide a starry night sky effect.

Fiber optics are used to create that starry effect in the middle of the ceiling

A futuristic decor style with the fiber optic ceiling lights and the wall sconces

A Star Trek styled home theater with cove and recessed lighting, and wall lights

Another home theater using fiber optic ceiling lights, along with recessed lighting and elegant wall light fixtures

A luxury home theater using fiber optic and recessed ceiling lights along with wall lighting

Floor Lighting

Recessed floor lights installed up against a wall

Another way of adding accent lighting to a home theater is to install floor lighting. These lights will help make a space feel much larger than it is. There are a number of ways to add floor lighting.

Recessed lights can be fitted in the floors up against the walls. They will wash the walls with light, making a space feel larger. They can also be fitted low down on the walls, under the couch, or to the vertical parts of steps.

Other home theater step lighting ideas include using rope lighting – fitted under the lip of the step. Or a simple and quick lighting solution would be to fit motion sensor, battery powered (aka wireless) lights (Conserving Energy with Wireless Motion Sensor Lights and Adapters).

For more ideas on floor lighting have a look at our post here: Floor Lighting Ideas: Taking Your Interior Design to the Next Level

Back Lighting Behind The TV

Adding lighting behind the TV will help in reducing eye strain, as the back light reduces the sharp contrast of the brightness of the TV to the darkness of a room.