Trends: Media Room Moving out of Dark Ages

Media rooms moving out of the dark ages
09:37 PM CST on Saturday, February 23, 2008
By KATE GOODLOE / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Media rooms may no longer be the media centers of new homes.
Dallas-area builders say more buyers are spreading televisions and sound systems throughout their houses, and even asking for windows or balconies in their media rooms so they can be converted to an extra bedroom or exercise space in the future.
"It's very different from a couple of years ago, when the whole market was basically saying no windows in the media room," said Lisa Suarez, director of strategic marketing for the Dallas office of Centex Homes. "Now we give that buyer an option to decide if they want that room to be truly a media room, always a media room."
Builders say the shift is a result of several things. Among them: function and technology.
Media rooms became popular as dark, windowless spaces where families could watch movies, said Jamie Smith, owner of Flagstone Custom Homes in Dallas. But he is now installing windows in the room, making it multifunctional.
"A lot of people are using those rooms for something else besides a media room," Mr. Smith said. "So we give them that option ... instead of saying, 'Hey, this is a dark, windowless room, and this is what you're going to do with it.' "
Making the room more useful increases the home's resale value, he said.
Some families are focusing on media centers in other parts of the house, too.
One popular idea: a game room that looks like a sports bar, with five or more televisions on a wall so people can watch several football games at once. Chuck Morrill, president of CnC Audio Visual in Dallas, said one of every 15 to 20 of his clients asks for this setup.
"It's totally social," said Mr. Morrill, who works primarily on homes worth $1 million or more. "They just build the whole thing around games and entertainment."
Mr. Smith said he's even seen family rooms set up as de facto media spaces, with projectors and screens that retract into the ceiling when not in use.
"You have a theater in there without having to dedicate the entire room," he said.
Some of the push to spread media throughout the house is simply the result of having more TVs in new homes, builders said. Steve Burke, the director of production for luxury builder Hawkins Wellwood, said he's installed 19 televisions in a single house – but knows of projects with more than 40.
It's also a social change. Even buyers who want an actual media room are asking for it to be in an area of the house where the family usually gathers, builders said.
Mr. Smith said he used to build media rooms above the garage, but now families want them downstairs near their family and living areas. Ms. Suarez of Centex Homes said that the builder has one floor plan where the media room is directly off the family area.
"It makes sense because if you have a young family, mom is in the kitchen, dad is in the media room and the kids can be watching TV in the family area, and everyone can be near each other," Ms. Suarez said. "I guess the new thing is going to be a TV in every room."
businessnews@dallasnews.com
WHERE TO WATCH
Here are some spaces that buyers are turning into media centers:
Game rooms, set up with five or more TVs to resemble a sports bar
Family room, with projectors and screens that retract into the ceiling when not in use
Master bedroom, where flat-screen televisions can be installed with an art lift so that the TVs are covered by artwork when they're not in use
Kitchen, with smaller TV sets under cabinets to provide entertainment while cooking