# Sticky  HowTo Choose Colours for a Theatre



## Prof.

Choosing Colours for a Theatre...

This is something that gets asked time and time again when someone is constructing or renovating their theatre..

What colour should I paint my walls?
What colour should I choose for my GOM walls?
What colour carpet should I put down?

Colour choice of course is always a very personal thing and what suits one person, won't necessarily suit another..
Another question that's not asked very often is " What do I select first for my colour"!?

There is a trick that most Decorators use for selecting colours when re-decorating a room and the principles can apply here..
When re-decorating a room (which is already furnished) the Decorator will pick colours for the walls from various furnishings in the room..such as a colour in a cushion, or a colour from the drapes or a piece of furniture.etc..This helps to tie everything together..

One of the requirements for most dedicated theatre's is to have dark colours where possible..and this makes the task even harder..
We don't have furnishings in the room to pick a colour from and any colour there.. or lack of (black ceiling or black cloth screen wall for example) is not going to help us in our choice.

You may have already decided that you prefer a blue or a burgundy or a purple room etc. and that's fine..but what shade of colour is that going to be!?
Even in dark colours there are varying shades of dark, so the choice becomes more difficult!..

So where do we start?..Your newly constructed room is just bare walls and a floor, or if you're re-decorating you've removed most things out of the room and maybe even taken up the carpet..if you're planning on starting from scratch..

It's the completely bare room that we will be working with..

First thing to consider is carpet colour!..
Most people first think about wall colour and at the last moment when everything is done..then think about the carpet that's going to suit the wall colour..

There is a huge choice of carpet colours and patterns (not so much here unfortunately) to choose from and generally most people will choose a patterned carpet of some sort that has more than one colour in it..

Example 1. Lets say that you've already decided that you want an overall blue room..so you go shopping for a darkish blue tone patterned carpet..
In that patterning there will be various shades of blue..Pick the darkest blue in that carpet and get the same shade of paint made up..That's going to be your wall colour.

If you feel that the darkest blue in the carpet is not going to be dark enough , for the walls, then get a sample of the colour (cutting a piece out of the pile) and take it to your paint place..Get them to match the colour initially, but then add black until you think it looks dark enough..
This will then match the general toning of the carpet and not look like a mismatching tone..

Of course, you won't be laying the carpet down until the walls are painted, but you won't have that problem any more of "What carpet should I get!"

The same principal applies when choosing a GOM colour for the walls..although you may not be able to get an exact match, but it should be fairly close..

Now the other side of this decorating is a contrasting colour between the carpet and the walls..

Example 2..Lets say that in this instance you've decided to have dark brown walls..You've found a carpet that you like that has another dominant tone to it besides brown..For this to be successful, it has to be a complimentary colour..something that goes well with brown..
In this example, the carpet has a dark blue overall toning..
Select the brown toning in the carpet and mix your paint to that shade or darker or lighter if you prefer.and that will be your wall colour..

In the two examples above,. you now have three colours in the room to choose from for other things like walls panels, seating and anything else that needs colour..

Example 1..Two tones of blue and black..
Example 2. Blue brown and black..

In the second example you also have the choice of using a different shade of the blue or brown for other colourings in the room, whilst still maintaining the balance between carpet and walls..

I hope this will be of some help for anyone who is about to decorate their new home theatre..


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## kadijk

Great article Prof. Can I add that neutral tones like browns and greys or combinations of those are better than reds or blues. Also, paint should be in the flattest sheen possible to reduce glare and reflection from the screen if you're using a projector.


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## Prof.

Thanks Kadijk..

Yes you're right but WAF comes into the equation sometimes or a particular colour is more appealing..
A flat wall paint is a must!


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## GeerGuy

Do you think that the color of the walls and ceiling can impose a "color cast" on the screen? If you paint everything red would the screen appear more red?


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## Prof.

It would probably depend on the room and the screen position..
For example.. if your screen was mounted in a shadow box type installation, with the side walls some distance from the edges of the screen, then there would be no chance of any colour cast affecting the image..
On the other hand..if your screen is a CIH type being very wide (mine is almost wall to wall) then if you have a relatively bright wall colour (such as red) there is a possibility of some cast that might affect the colour of the image..

My walls are a dark olive grey colour but I still need to have black cloth on the walls.. out from the edges of the screen so as not to have any light affecting the image, that might be reflected from the side walls..

The greater concern of lighter wall colours is that general projected light is reflected off them, thereby affecting the overall contrast of the image..


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## GeerGuy

I never thought to much about using a shadow box, but maybe I will try to work that into my design now, thanks.


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## raZorTT

Great post Prof! :T

I think picking carpet first is a great idea. I (as you know) did it the other way around. I was sold on a burgundy/black wall combination and struggled to find a burgundy carpet I was happy with. When I finally found one it was going to be a 6 month wait. I accidently stumbled onto a black carpet from the same manufacturer which I liked even better and they had it in stock!

I was also lucky with my recliners. Because I had them custom made I was able to the piping around the recliner matched to the burgundy GOM 

Cheers,
Simon


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## Prof.

Thanks Simon..

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to follow my own advice when doing my theatre!
The carpet I used was given to me and laid for free..It was not exactly what I wanted, but who's going to knock back a free carpet!! 
Having bluish/grey overtones, a blue or grey wall would have been appropriate except my first theatre had blue walls and I didn't want to have that again..and grey walls didn't appeal to me..
Fortunately,the olive/grey walls I finished up using doesn't look to bad against the carpet..:whew:


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## raZorTT

Prof. said:


> Thanks Simon..
> 
> Unfortunately, I wasn't able to follow my own advice when doing my theatre!
> The carpet I used was given to me and laid for free..It was not exactly what I wanted, but who's going to knock back a free carpet!!
> Having bluish/grey overtones, a blue or grey wall would have been appropriate except my first theatre had blue walls and I didn't want to have that again..and grey walls didn't appeal to me..
> Fortunately,the olive/grey walls I finished up using doesn't look to bad against the carpet..:whew:


Half your luck! 

I certainly wouldn't have knocked back free carpet  would have saved me 2 grand!

The other thing to probably take into account when trying to pick colour schemes is that very rarely (well for dedicated rooms anyway) are the lights ever on at full brightness. Although I guess complimentary colours are going to apply at whatever brightness 

Cheers,
Simon


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## Prof.

raZorTT said:


> The other thing to probably take into account when trying to pick colour schemes is that very rarely (well for dedicated rooms anyway) are the lights ever on at full brightness. Although I guess complimentary colours are going to apply at whatever brightness


That's true..Obviously in a slightly lit room it's not going to matter so much..It's more for brightly lit rooms or for when you want to show your theatre off to someone with all the lights on..


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## sga2

This is a great post, Prof. Nice to have some insight into an aspect of the build that is an afterthought to many but which, when handled with some care, can really impact the overall appeal of a room.

Regards,
sga2


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## Prof.

Thanks SGA..

Hopefully it will be of some help for those who are just starting their build, or will be later..


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## mandtra

Yes colors can cast onto the screen in certain situations.esp directly above the screen ,this is why you don't want a white ceiling. it will reflect back the projected light,and it could wash out the screen, Different colors reflect light differently , some will cast back a blue tint , and others will cast back a reddish tint. As a general design rule it would be ideal , to use dark neutral browns, and blacks. But if you browse, photos many people ignore the basic guidelines for color selection. always use flat paint , not even eggshell , it will reflect more light. I prefer to only use two colors in a design . a light , and a dark . but never more than three. FYI - I work full time in Interior Design and construction Designer

Link to my dedicated Home theater:

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...s/38598-forrester-dedicated-home-theater.html


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## Prof.

Actually the best colour for a theatre is a dead flat grey..Any cast onto the screen area will not produce any push of a particular colour.. but not everyone wants grey walls..

I noticed in your photos that you have quite light walls, has this been changed since you put up your screen?


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## nh4x4jeep

Yes, the WAF is the MOST important calculation for some of us!
You can use online color wheelsto find complimentary colors (or even entire color schemes)! I've found this calculator to be VERY hand with web sites, BUT it is equally as useful for choosing colors for ANYTHING! This would allow you to pick colors that would be pleasing to the eye and match; thus, significantly increasing the WAF! =)

You can find a very sophisticated (but easy to use) wheel by Googling "color scheme designer"

I hope this helps!

~ Jon G.


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## MPJ456

Anyone have experience with "matte" paint rather than pure flat paint? My natural reaction is to simply go with the flat, but paint store says matte might be slightly better for a house with kids.

Thanks for any advice.


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## bamabum

I took some satin on a board and tested my side walls for that very reason. It was not as good as flat but not terrible. The biggest items of concern will be ceiling, front wall, and floor near screen.

I would prob still go with flat after seeing the result if paint is the choice. An extra can or two of paint can is not that pricey and can always be shaken and painted back over for touch up.


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## bamabum

Now that I think about it. I did end up using the satin on left, back and right walls after the test. You can see some pics on my build of wall splash. Granted I'm not finished and the side wall will have some more picture based sound treatment and flat painted columns and trim. 

I really haven't noticed in the dark during a movie. 

I used Sherwin Williams satin.


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## MPJ456

Thanks for the insight. Satin from Sherwin-Williams is exactly what my wife was suggesting for my wood columns and the wood trim around the screen, as she didn't want to "hide" the nice woodwork. I'm in agreement...but I didn't want to impact my picture. 

And you're right, I'll probably just test and see what happens -- paint is relatively cheap in small amounts!


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## bamabum

If on wood they sell a better paint ment for trim that has a satin/egg shell sheen. It really is the best on wood paint around. It won't show brush marks. Make sure it's not their pure latex based. They will know if you tell them trim or wood. It really is nice stuff. I would make sure there is a barrier between the screen and the wood such as a velvet trim.


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## MPJ456

On the "barrier" -- do you think 6" of pure flat black paint all around the screen (between it and the trim) will be sufficient? Or is velvet the preferred method?


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## Prof.

I would use Fidelio velvet..It will absorb all light reflections..paint won't.. and you don't want any light bounce near the screen..


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## bamabum

Mpj, 

It is very hard to get the display to be perfect projection onto the exact dimensions of the white screen. You will want to bleed over slightly onto the border. That's why the velvet is used so you don't see it and it blocks light reflection well.


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## thrillcat

It's always a good idea to learn a little bit of the philosophy behind how colors work with each other and why before choosing colors for anything. We might know that we like two colors together, but knowing why we like those colors together will make things make much more sense. 

http://www.color-wheel-artist.com/primary-colors.html

And here's a great article specifically about choosing paint with a color wheel. 

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/m/photos/0,,20161202,00.html


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## UreiCollector

We have used the Sound Channels carpeting from Acoustics First, and found that the black is remarkably effective at sucking up light in a room...and it's a nice looking product. For acoustics it's best used layered over Homasote, instead of placed directly on dryway. http://www.acousticsfirst.com/sound-channels-wall-covering.htm


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## melvingoodman

For me i'll prepare a dark color for both the walls and the ceiling. Colors such as grey, dark brown, burgundy, or black are good choices. Anything that is dark will cut down on light from the TV or projector bouncing around.


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## DelmarW

We have recently started our new home theater installation company in Alexandria Va and came across this article. 

Really appreciate you taking the time to educate us on this. Most people don't really get as specific as you did with choosing the correct colors when you start installing your home theater system and it makes perfect sense. 

Theater installation by no means is an exciting topic to write about, but you did an excellent job keeping it entertaining and not boring. Thanks a ton


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