CinemaShop Movie Trivia and Theater Interior Hints and Tips: Home Theater Seating Tips

Selecting and Installing Theater Seats, Media Seating & Home Theater Loungers

Home Theater and Media Room Seating Types

There are a few different seating options for Home Theaters and Media Rooms:

Traditional Furniture

The first, Traditional Furniture, may be more affordable, but is not ideal for the task at hand. Ideal movie viewing body position, extreme comfort for many hours of viewing pleasure, integrated cup-holders and the authentic theater atmosphere are missing from most standard furniture options. Also, as is the case with Media Seating, these products do not usually offer the flexibility to fit all the possible uses that your home theater and multi-media rooms may require.

Authentic Theater Seats

The second option, Authentic Theater Seats, are very popular and affordable. They also offer a truer movie theater experience. Theater seats are cost effective and give you the true feel of a movie theater at home - permanently floor mounted seats with cup-holders and rocking motion (we do have some free-standing options available). There are optional floor plates available if you do not wish to permanently mount them to your floor. Figure about $75 additional per seat for the plate. While they are as comfortable as anything that you've ever sat in at a movie theater, they do not offer the luxury of full Home Theater Loungers.

We also use the Theater Seats for additional back row seating and bolt them to theatrical risers of 6" to 8" in height with more luxurious Cinema Loungers or Media Seating in the front. This way, the best seats in the room are the most comfortable, with the Theater Seats providing the overflow seating for larger group viewing.

Media Seating

The third option, Media Seating, has gotten very popular over the last few years. People are creating multi-use rooms in greater numbers not only for movie viewing, but also for TV, video games, iPods®, Media Servers and all of the other wonderful electronic gadgets that are out there. The Media Seating products but can be used for total reclined comfort for 2 to 4 people, plus sections can be easily moved and re-positioned to casually seat up to 8 to 10 people. They can even be flattened out against a wall to make room for your interactive active Wii® video games! We even integrate Media Seating into traditional home theaters, many times combining them with either Authentic Theater Seats, or Cinema Loungers to offer both dedicated movie seats, plus additional flexible seating that can be re-configured to suit the event.

Luxury Home Theater Loungers

Our last option, and traditionally the seating of choice for high-end home theaters, are Luxury Home Theater Loungers. The plush Loungers add full reclining motion to the equation with both reclining backs and ottoman foot-rests. Home Theater Loungers offer an ideal partially reclined position for movie viewing, as well as a fully reclined position for the ultimate in relaxation. There is even a "wedge" option for creating a slightly curved row by incorporating an angled wedge in between the seats (8" wide at the front, 13" wide at the back). Loungers also do not have to mount to the floor, allowing for easy re-positioning.

In attached rows, why do single / dual seats cost more than rows of 3 or more seats?

A single seat uses two more expensive completely upholstered end panels for that one seat - hence it is the most expensive to build. A dual seat is a little cheaper to make, as you only add an internal armrest and one seat/back to the single seat equation. Rows of 3 or more seats are the most cost effective because as you increase the row size, you only add one internal armrests and seat to the manufacturing process.

Selecting and Installing Theater Seating

There are many things to consider when selecting theater seating. First, figure how many seats you would like and then proceed to figure widths, rows and placement options. The most important thing to remember is the "sweet spot" for both visual lines and sound. Ideally, you want to be as close to being centered directly in front of the viewing screen at a distance recommended by your Video Screen or Flat-panel TV provided. TV/Projector quality greatly impacts this distance, plus source material is critical (Blu-Ray and HDTV are best, and you can sit closer if using these media exclusively). If you have an older TV/Projector and are watching standard DVD, or regular cable/satellite TV, sit further away.

Next, think about sight lines. If you want more than one row of seating, thing about staggering the seats so that there are not heads in front of you. Better yet, get lots of extra carpet to match your room and build a "theatrical riser" to elevate the back row, or rows. Usually a wood carpeted platform 6" to 8" high is sufficient - you may need an extra step up if you go beyond 8" in height. Try not to get too wide with the seating, as the further out to the sides you get, the more geometric viewing distortion you will encounter. The sound is also poorer at the far sides, as you will be closer to individual speakers - forcing you to notice the technology more and destroying the "suspension of disbelief" needed to feel totally immersed in the movie.

Generally, movie theaters leave about 36" from one point on a theater seat row to that same point on the next row with authentic theater seats. For the home, we recommend at least 36" of row separation, but usually not much more than 38". The further away from 36" you place your rows, the more your seating positions will fall outside of the visual "sweet spot" area. Two rows generally works well, but three rows can be a real challenge - you are almost forced to stick with the 36" of separation with 3 or more rows. With Cinema Loungers and Media Seats, you want to make sure that if you have them on a riser, that there is at least 2' of clear walking area on the riser in front of the seat.

Authentic Theater Seats are fairly easy to assemble and install - seats and backs are usually already assembled, but you need to assemble the frame, attach the end panels and your arm rests. The first seats takes at least an hour (un-boxing and setting all the parts out in the room on the packing cardboard), but the second seat takes much less time and the more you build, the faster it goes.You then screw them into the concrete or wooden floor - or assemble the floor plates and mount the seats to the plate, or bolt them into risers. To screw theater seats into concrete, we recommend using a 5/16" by 2" "Tapcon" screw. To screw theater seats into wood, use a "butterfly" screw with big washers.

There are different materials available for the seats and some seats have the option of using your own material - contact us for details and pricing. The cloth Fabric option on the Authentic Theater Seats is a very durable industrial untreated cotton weave. You may want to apply Fabric protection to the seat, before you assemble them - leave an extra day or two for drying. Velour is a little more comfortable than Fabric, but may not be as durable - we don't have much call for this anymore. If you have little children, Fabric may be a better option. NuSuede is available on some seats - it is a synthetic suede leather material that is very durable and comfortable - again, think about fabric protection. Leather is the best choice for the Loungers and is very durable, stain and water resistant and the high-quality that we use lasts for many years. On Theater Seats, however, Leather is a more expensive option than the other standard seat coverings.

I can't sit in them before I buy them?

This is the toughest part about buying theater seats online, as it's too difficult to have showrooms exclusively devoted to the entire product category. However, rest assured that every product we offer has been carefully selected as the finest available products in their respective category and price range. Also, on some of our Home Theater Loungers, we offer a $150 try before you buy where we ship you a demo and if you like them and order the seats from us, the $150 applies toward purchase.

First, if you are serious about buying, let us send you fabric swatches so you can see and feel the exact material you want. Second, remember that our seating has been used in commercial movie theater settings for over 37 years and they are very durable, well constructed seats. Lastly, these are extremely comfortable seats that have been specified for many years by the finest custom home theater designers in the world - without reservations. They offer exceptional comfort for the most discriminating home theater owner. In fact, below are links to see the Home Theater magazine round-up of Home Theater Loungers, including the Celebrity Lounger - their top-rated seat!

Click here for the Home Theater Magazine's Lounger Review (PDF - 322K)

Sample Home Theater Riser Sizing:

Some Recommended Home Theater Seating Riser Sizes - contact us for exact recommendations:

For Bolt Down Theater Seats in a Row of 2: 54” wide x 48” deep x 6” or 8” high
For Bolt Down Theater Seats in a Row of 3: 78” wide x 48” deep x 6” or 8” high
For Bolt Down Theater Seats in a Row of 4: 100” wide x 48” deep x 6” or 8” high
For Bolt Down Theater Seats in a Row of 5: 123” wide x 48” deep x 6” or 8” high
For Bolt Down Theater Seats in a Row of 6: 146”” wide x 48” deep x 6” or 8” high

For Luxury Home Theater Loungers in a Row of 2: 71” wide 66” deep x 6” or 8” high
For Luxury Home Theater Loungers in a Row of 3: 101” wide x 66” deep x 6” or 8” high
For Luxury Home Theater Loungers in a Row of 4: 131” wide x 66” deep x 6” or 8” high
For Luxury Home Theater Loungers in a Row of 5: 161” wide x 66” deep x 6” or 8” high
For Luxury Home Theater Loungers in a Row of 6: 191” wide x 66” deep x 6” or 8” high

The information on this web site is a free service and is for educational purposes only. While we have made every attempt to guarantee accuracy, we are not liable for any situation created by unintentional errors, local building code variations, product changes, building code updates, etc.
Please follow our advice at your own risk.