# 8 x 13 Small Media Room - Need Advice



## codefinder (May 2, 2012)

So I just bought a new house that has no space in the basement for a rec room which sucks. The basement level instead contains a 2 car garage, kinda reminds me of the bat cave, haha.

However, there is a room roughly 8 feet by 13 feet which I want to turn into a media room. Any advice or samples for turning a small room like this into a home theater room.

Thx.


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## bmfjimbo80 (Jan 12, 2012)

A room that size really limits you in regards to a screen size. You could do just a 50" diagonal screen along the 13ft wide wall with just a 3 or 4 person seating setup or you could get away with going a little bigger in the screen department such as a 60" using the 8ft wall as your screen wall as you could sit farther back. Your screen size is limited on the 8ft wall as well because you need room to place your front surround speakers. Also with the screen on the 8ft wall, you could probably only fit a space saving double theater seat setup.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Firstly..welcome to the forum..

You certainly are limited as to what you can do in that size room..But it's not impossible to have a reasonable set up..

One way to overcome the narrow width with speaker placement is to use bookshelf type speakers below the screen..providing you have sufficient ceiling height..
You will need to determine your seating position first and then using tape, mask up different size screens to see what will fit comfortably from your viewing position..

You will only be able to fit two seat across that width..with perhaps beanbags in front for any additional people..

If you can provide a plan of the room, it will give us a better idea of what can be done..


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## warrenp (Feb 13, 2012)

You can still do a great theater in a small space like that. 

Without seeing the floor-plan (showing windows and doors), I'd suggest the screen on the 8 foot wall.

How many seats are you hoping for? Do you want it to be a dedicated space? Also, how tall is the room - what is your ceiling height? 

You could even go full width with the screen, wall-to-wall. If the side walls are flat black, you won't have reflections and could end up with a great immersive experience. 

Another way to best use space in a limited scenario is to work with in-wall speakers. You could use in-walls along the front, with an acoustically transparent screen. There are some really excellent in-wall speakers, even some good in-wall subwoofers. When space is an absolute premium, in-walls are a good option. 

Have fun!


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

I think you can get a nice little theatre in that space too, assuming you don't need to fit a lot of people. How many of you are in the house? Adults, kids? With small seats you could probably fit 4, maybe 5 (with a small couch or row of small traditional folding seats). 

The nice thing about working with a small room is that you don't need big speakers to fill it, so you could certainly use some bookshelves or small satellite speakers and a small sub. With small speakers you could mount a plasma on the 8' wall and position them right below the TV. You could even go with a soundbar maybe. I think for that size I probably wouldn't bother with a projector, especially with the price of large displays these days. I would probably look for a TV to fill the width, mount small speakers below it, pop in some surrounds, and enjoy!


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## codefinder (May 2, 2012)

thanks for the replies.

Its only 2 of us in the house. I have setup in my main living room and one in the master. But a nice dedicated room that seats 2 to 3 be nice. I love the ideas. I'll post some plans when I design them. I'll probably position the TV on the 8 foot wall, now one end that wall there are 2 windows. So not sure what to do there, I may just hang black curtains from the ceiling to the floor on that wall. The ceiling height is 10 feet.

Oh there is a closet in the room too which I could hide my electronics if need be.


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Yeah, you should be able to fit a dedicated room for 2 in that space no problem! If your main seat is near (or against) the back wall, it would leave room for some additional bean bag type seats for when you need them. Dark curtains or blinds would probably take care of the window, unless it gets a ton of direct light. It would probably be beneficial if you could fit some room treatments in there somewhere to minimize reflections, but you won't need to go crazy.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Agreed. As long as you are realistic on seating, don't go too big on a screen pushing your speakers into corners, etc. - a small room like that can be very rewarding and usable.

Bryan


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

A DIY acoustically transparent screen will keep the speakers out of the front corners, raise the center channel (or better yet, allow for three identical front speakers), and give you a larger screen. 

My room is a little bigger at 9'5" wide, with a 54x96" screen (plus horizontal masking system). A deep AT space hides two large subs and disguises an alcove bite out of the front of the room. Two seats and a used D-Box motion system.


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## bsn (May 16, 2012)

Definitely look in to an acoustically transparent screen it will maximize your screen size as others have said. Will keep things clean and not so cluttered in a smaller room.


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

These AT screens can be expensive to buy ready-made, but there are some DIY options for them too, if you 're up for doing a little work and think you can handle building a frame. From what I've seen, as long as you have (and follow) a good set of directions, its not too hard.


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## Tedd (Feb 2, 2007)

Juanflaco's room is 9x13'. Give you an idea of what could be possible in your space. (I would pull the seating off the back wall abit and keep the speakers 6" off the back side of the AT screen so they don't timbre shift. 

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1303660/mini-man-cave-phase-2-could-use-help-planning

www.seymourav.com sells the fabric and has a DIY section.


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