Football season is kicking off, so it’s a great time for a new home theater look that’s sure to up your game without too much time or expense. Whether you’re a Boilermaker fan, an IU guy or a lifelong friend to That Ohio Team, Matthews Painting has you covered with some pro tips on painting updates. Good news for our Columbia City, Indiana and Goshen, Indiana residents.
A themed sports room is easy to achieve with high-quality paints and, in many cases, the team swag that you already own. For some people, that means the sky’s the limit. One diehard Fighting Irish fan living in New York created a high-end home theater with Crestron technology to deliver a complete stadium experience, including seats for 10 guests and a scoreboard below a 130-inch projection screen display.
The exposed brick interior is meant to re-create the feel of Notre Dame Stadium, with a wraparound mural depicting a gameday crowd, and the carpeting and other décor in an unsurprising blue and gold. It’s a spectacular look for football-party guests with elements that anyone can modify and make their own. The first big play? Decide if you’re creating a dedicated space, or one the family shares.
A room that’s been freed up for a new purpose – that can happen if you’ve sent your own student off to college, for example – may be a perfect choice for your new team-themed theater. Thoughtful planning will make the completed space even more perfect, so first decide how you’ll want screens and sound system components to appear. That means considering dimensions carefully, locating outlets or adding new ones, and thinking about the seating angles that best deliver your comfortable, optimal viewing fun.
Don’t forget your windows in any above-ground room! Most of the time, your favorite team plays on a weekend afternoon, and the only glare you really want to see is from your guys on the defensive line. Be sure natural light won’t be creating it, and be just as smart about your recessed or other indoor lighting.
These are features you may have already addressed in an existing room, but it’s worth revisiting them as you plan to paint. For the paint, keep in mind that color choice isn’t the only consideration. That black and “old gold” may show off your Purdue loyalties, but you’ll also want to avoid the satin, semi-gloss or gloss products. Consider too how soundproofing fabrics, along with any drapes, will work into the design plan.
What if you don’t have a room of your own to create that football feeling? You may find it’s even more fun to paint a family room that your own home team enjoys all year round – and at Matthews Painting, we can help. One suggestion is to choose just one accent wall for bold Spartan green, bright Colts blue, or the oranges in Chicago or Cleveland; add a stripe of team-inspired trim, and the room reflects your fan allegiance without overwhelming a multipurpose space.
Another time- and money-saving trick to consider is projector screen paint, to help make the best use of your tech in a shared space. Behr and Sherwin-Williams are two manufacturers with products designed so you can paint the picture-perfect screen on the wall itself.
With a trim border, the “screen” becomes a focal point you can tie into the accent wall. Add your favorite pennants and posters, suspend that stuffed lion from the ceiling or prop up that giant foam cheesehead on a shelf, and call some friends!
Don’t hesitate to call Matthews Painting either. We’re happy to answer your questions, and if you want a professional hand to help create your football-friendly room, we’ll be ready to run with that ball too.
Matthews Painting is now expanding our interior and exterior wall, ceiling, trim, door, window and kitchen cabinet painting and staining, wallpaper removal, drywall repair, deck staining and sealing and log Home staining and sealing into the Goshen, Indiana and Columbia City Indiana areas.