Last part of the room to remodel

It's just cosmetic so really isn't a critical part of the home theater. But it is quite butt ugly so it will be replaced.

I was going to simply replace the nasty tile with marble, but now instead I'm considering having my buddy do a concrete hearth. Click on the link to the right for his latest work. That burnt pumpkin color looks like it has potential...

Sectional and coffee table

Here is a shot of the sectional and coffee table. Need to get more throw pillows to break up all the brown. You can't see the crinkle in the fabric from this shot, but it is there and creates a nice texture to the otherwise smooth microfiber material.

This thing is super cozy, fell asleep in it last night. Won't be the last time I'm sure.

Components...

Here are some shots of how I hid the components. If you look closely, you will see little wires hanging down with a black pear shaped thingy at the end - these sit over the IR receivers on the components and allows me to control the components from a small receiver hidden on the shelf of the coffee table.


There is a 120mm cooling fan mounted inside this enclosure to help with the heat - particularly the DirecTV DVR - that thing runs pretty hot. The addition of the fan has reduced the temp from about 129 to between 115-122. Every little thing helps. The fan is super quiet (rated at 14db at 12V - I'm running it at 9V so it should be even more quiet).

To remove the receiver (if I need to for some reason) I'll have to remove the door, hinges, and trim piece the hinges are connected to. Cut it a teeny bit too tight. Oh well. Hopefully I don't have major issues with the receiver.

Oh and the new sectional is to be delivered this Tuesday - finally something Tracy is excited about...

HT Finished!!!

Okay, been very delinquent in updating this blog. But the theater is D-U-N. Here are some shots:

Screen Up

Screen Down

Subwoofer
I'm really pleased with how the box hiding the screen turned out. Thanks to Spiccoli for his thoughts on the design.

Note the suh-weet Ijoy massage chair my wife got me for my birthday. So decadent to sit there and get a massage. Not quite the same as real hands, but it still feels good.

I can also say now that the kitchen is 100% complete - I finally painted the handrail separating the kitchen from the family room. It has sat there primed for the last three years...

Universal Remote Programmed!!!

Okay, if you have a ton of remote controls, time to catch up with technology. The Harmony 880 remote is a great RC. You program it online and it takes care of everything else for you. Their software is a bit clunky, but once you get it set up you will be a happy camper. You can even put icons of your favorite channels on it, as well as custom backgrounds. So now I go from 6 remotes to 1. Two words: Suh weet! (this is our second one - I'm sold on their performance).

Also, finally got things squared away with the screen - will be getting a new screen one size smaller (106"). Hopefully this one is perfectly rectangular. Interesting that the company just wants the end caps, control box, and remotes back. Then I'm supposed to discard the rest. I guess I'll try to find a spot for this so I can use it as an outside screen or something.

Otherwise I'm pretty much done with all I can do at this point. A little paint is all that remains until I get the new screen. Then I'll have to do some more electrical work to move the existing box (and in turn some sheetrock work). Then I'll build the enclosure for the screen.

Then it's onto the tile work for the fireplace... but that won't happen until after the sectional arrives.