Creating a multi-purpose room is a pretty standard request in this industry, but when Woodbury, Tennessee’s Cobb Home Innovations was hired to update a home’s technology and add a private theater, it was not quite what they expected.
“This was a new client,” says Hugh Cobb, owner of Cobb Home Innovations. “They just purchased that house, and they called us in because they wanted to add a home theater, but they were also interested in adding smart home technology. For the latter, we installed iPads in walls, added MantleMount motorized TV mounts, and introduced Lutron lighting control and shading control into the space. We also did their security system.”
The client had an area in the basement designated for the home theater, along with two demands: it had to accommodate the homeowner’s work presentations, and it could not have a dedicated rack room.
Can I Get a Do Over?
The space was a good-sized room — about 30 feet by 30 feet, with a high ceiling. The front and one side wall were concrete, the other two being drywall, so there were challenges to overcome.
“We did a drop ceiling, and we built a false wall for the screen,” says Cobb. “It turned out to be a two-stage job. We set the room up so that it could serve as their personal home theater and also as a place for their employees to meet to do presentations on the big screen. We had to get the internet straightened up, too, and give them a good mesh network.”
Cobb set that space up first and continued to work in the rest of the house, but something about the home theater was not sitting right with him.
“About a month in, when I started looking back at the photos of the theater — even though it looked good — it was very sterile. It looked good for a corporate meeting space, but not good for a home theater,” he says. “I talked to the client and told him that he needed to bump this room up cosmetically to make it pop as a home theater. He agreed, so, for the second stage, we went back and gave that room a facelift.
“We changed the color palette of the room and the carpet. We have a fabrication shop, so we built custom columns with unique sconces that were found by our interior designer, Joyce Cobb, for the room.”
Home Theater Week: Demos That Are Designed to Dazzle
The Lutron lighting in the room helped to complete the look. “Originally, he was at a 6500K for presentations, which is very white and very commercial,” explains Cobb. “Then we dropped it to around 3500K, which made it look warm and inviting. He can adjust between the two settings depending on how the room is being used.”
Video for the 10-seat space is provided through an Epson LS11000 4K Pro UHD laser projector with a Sony UBP-X800M2 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player and a Roku Ultra 4K streaming media player as sources.
A Space for Racks
The false wall that holds the Screen Innovation Zero Edge projection screen also hides Cobb’s solution for not having a rack room — a “rack hallway,” as it were. Behind the front wall is a three-foot-wide path that has the front subs placed against the screen wall, and the back wall features the pull-out shelving that holds all the gear for the theater.
“We had custom cabinetry built for behind the screen so you can walk in from the left or right, and you’ve got access to the gear,” says Cobb. “We’ve got the cabinets on rollers, so they roll out to access the equipment and then roll back in when done. It is so easy to work on. I can go in there and unplug and switch something out in a matter of minutes with this job.”
Opposite the cabinets are two MartinLogan floorstanding subwoofers that are on platforms that come up just about to the baseboard molding for a clean look that still provides ample bass. Built into the wall on the other side are two MartinLogan Motion XT F100 tower speakers on either side of the screen and a Motion XT C100 center speaker below it.
Surround sound for the 5.2.4 Dolby Atmos room is provided by MartinLogan Motion XT Series in-ceiling speakers, as the client did not want speakers on the wall. “There are two rear channels on the back wall, but everything else is in-ceiling at the client’s request,” says Cobb. “It’s a little different, but it still provides an incredible sound.”
A Yamaha RX-A8 11.2-channel AV receiver is the audio brain behind the system. The home theater uses RTI for control and automation, though the rest of the house uses Apple Home.
Listen, Then Show
In Cobb’s experience, jobs such as this one tend to grow from the initial consultation because the clients don’t understand the full capabilities of what the home can do until they get deeper into it.
“When we start a project, it is not uncommon for us to take left turns from where we originally wanted to end up once we start doing all this cool stuff,” says Cobb. “Ninety percent of the time, they do a lot more than that. They just fall in love with what we’re doing.”
Helping them visualize is the Cobb Home Innovations appointment-only showroom, which includes two Dolby Atmos theaters. “It takes about two and a half hours to go through our experience center,” says Cobb. “So, when a client comes here, we can walk them through the whole venue and go through smart home technology and audio/video. When they do that, they can see it in a whole different light, and they get it.”
Of course, inspiration goes both ways.
“This home theater led to me redoing my office space,” Cobb adds. “I am going to put those sconces in my office!”
For more information, visit cobbhomeinnovations.com.
Equipment List
AV Equipment
- Epson LS11000 4K Pro UHD laser projector
- Screen Innovations Zero Edge Pro fixed 120-inch (diagonal) Slate screen
- Sony UBP-X800M2 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player
- Roku Ultra 4K streaming media player
- Yamaha RX-A8 11.2-channel AV receiver
- MartinLogan Motion XT-F100 tower speaker (front left and right)
- MartinLogan Motion XT-C100 center speaker (1)
- MartinLogan Motion MC8 ceiling speaker (2 front, 2 rear)
- MartinLogan Motion 4i surround speaker (2, rear wall)
- MartinLogan Dynamo 12 subwoofer (2, front projection wall)
Control System & Additional Gear
- RTI XP-8 home-automation control processor
- RTI T4x touchscreen remote control
- Lutron Caséta PRO lighting-control system
- Alexa integrated voice control
- RowOne Prestige Home Entertainment theater seating
- AC Infinity Aircom T8 AV component cooling system
- Panamax MR5100 power-management/surge-protection system
