Home Theatre Lighting 101

A night in with your home theatre requires a few major components; a good show or movie to watch, your favourite snacks, and the perfect mood lighting. If you’re like me, lighting is everything. No matter what you’re doing, it’s all about the ambiance. When it comes to unwinding with your favourite programs, you have to make your environment relaxing and inviting, but also find the perfect balance between dim and bright to get the best view of your screen. This requires some planning and setting up to make your home theatre space everything you want it to be.

Everyone has different taste when it comes to atmospheres, whether you want to upgrade to smart lighting or find a new lamp, BestBuy.ca has all the lighting necessities on deck. Now that you’re on a mission to create the perfect atmosphere, here are a few different options to curate the perfect lighting for your home theatre. 

What are the benefits of different sources of lighting?

When you think of a home theatre, you may immediately consider it to be a dark room with the television’s projection being the main source of illumination. However, watching a big screen completely in the dark all the time can be hard on your eyes, and it’s not realistic to have only dim lighting in this space. Since you’ll want to just hang out without the television on, or see clearly to clean up, it’s best to set up a few different sources of lighting.

Better Control for Convenience and Safety 

Setting up a few different sources of lighting will give your home theatre a cinema feel, while also making it just bright enough to function freely in. Why fumble in the dark when you can use your phone, paired with smart lighting to brighten up the room on demand? Whether it’s time to fix snacks or take a washroom break, you can create convenience that will make all the pauses quick and easy. Get comfortable, and dim the room when everyone is finally settled in for the main event. 

Better Home theatre Experience 

Philips Hue Play KitAdding in some extra mood lighting while the main sources of lighting are turned off or dimmed down can give your senses an extra boost while you enjoy your programs. It creates a relaxing and cool ambiance to unwind and enjoy your programs or just hang out in. Some lights, like the Philips Hue Play Kit even change colours to match the content playing on the TV, giving you a whole new world of a viewing experience. Check out Erin’s review and more information on the the Play Kit on the Best Buy Blog. 

Overhead Lights 

Elk Lighting Linden Manor 2 Light Flush Mount is essential in any room as they are usually tOverhead lighting is an ideal main source of light that can be controlled with a dimmer, like the WeMo Dimmer Light Switch, to suit different moods. An overhead light, such as the Elk Lighting Linden Manor 2 Light Flush Mount is essential in any room as they are usually the first light you turn on to see everything completely clearly. In a home theatre space, they can be used when you’re not watching the television, and dimmed or even turned off when you are. Even though your home theatre will likely remain dimly lit during most viewing parties, you still need the brightness that only an overhead light can provide to completely see and make your way around, clean, and strategically place all the snacks within arms reach in between binging Netflix and HBO. 

Ambient Lights 

Phillips Hue Lightstrip Plus.In this case, ambient lighting refers to extra lighting that is used primarily to set an aesthetically pleasing vibe to your home theatre. My favourite type of ambient lighting are LED strip lights, like the Phillips Hue Lightstrip Plus. These are an example of ambient lighting that can add a wonderful element to your home theatre. Many LED strip lights are able to change colours and are dimmable. They can be used in any capacity you feel they’ll work best in; you can lay them on the ground, along the ceiling, or even put some behind your mounted television screen for a cool effect. Worth a second mention is the Philips Hue Play Kit, which provides ambient lighting and an extra element to your program by changing colours to go with the content you’re watching.

Lamps 

AUKEY Table Lamp

Like overhead lights, lamps are a main source of lighting that can be turned on or off during your viewing parties, or can be dimmed to taste. The benefit of lamps is that you can control exactly where you want the lighting in your space. By placing two medium to large sized lamps, like the Aurora Lighting 3-Light Floor Lamp or multiple smaller lamps, like the AUKEY Table Lamp  around the room you can play around with your lighting and adjust accordingly. One of the best things about using lamps for your home theatre is hooking it up to a smart plug and device.

Smart Assistance 

Philips Hue Colour Starter KitNow that you’ve set up the lights, adding in some additional tech to bring them to peak conveniency will make your home theatre a true lazy Sunday sanctuary. You can use voice command devices like Google Home or Amazon Alexa to control any lights that are plugged into smart plugs, or you can get the Philips Hue Colour Starter Kit to use your phone or tablet device to easily switch it up with your fingertips. For more information on smart assistance, here’s a great guide to buying smart lighting for your home from the Best Buy Blog.

How close should you sit to your television? 

How close should you sit to your television?Since we’re on the subject of ambiance and setting the tone perfect for your viewing pleasure, it’s also important to consider your seating arrangement. Times have changed, and if you can believe it, sitting closer to your television may actually be better for you. If you have a 4K or 8K television, sitting closer will actually give you the full effect of the state of the art resolution these TVs provide. Because there are so many more pixels in these screens, the detail is almost life-like. Thus, the closer you are, the more you’re seeing. If you’re too far seated, you may be missing out on vivid details. Find the sweet spot in your home theatre space to bring together your seating, lighting, and television  get a home theatre experience like never before. 

Shadi Bozorg
Originally a Vancouverite, Shadi is a freelance writer and social media coordinator now surviving the winters of Toronto. She spends her free time reading, doing creative writing, and trying to make her Fitbit proud. Shadi can also be found in the kitchen as she trains for the next round of Masterchef tryouts.