A Brief Project History As I shopped for a new house in 1999, a room where I could build a modest but functional home theater was high on my list of requirements. When I found this house, a custom home builder had been constructing this house for himself, but ended up needing to sell it for some reason (my unconfirmed suspicion is that he got in over his head and ran out of money). So when I moved in, the house was only 60% completed, with the daylight basement pretty much untouched. At the far end of the basement, however, he had started some minor work (framing and sheetrock) on what he dubbed the "Media Room." There wasn't much to this room - just a few speaker cables from a closet to a few locations in the room, but I still had an essentially empty palate. That's when it hit me - I could do ANTYHING in this room. I could build my dream home theater! Now, when I say "home theater," I'm not talking about a 36 inch TV set in the living room with a Pro-logic surround sound system. I mean an ACTUAL theater - in my home. But that wasn't enough. I decided that if I was going to go through the trouble of building an actual theater, why not go all the way and make something special. I envisioned a Golden Era movie palace in the "Grand European meets Las Vegas" style, with red velvet curtains, massive marble columns, gold moldings and trim, a domed-sky ceiling with stars twinkling, multi-level seating, and of course, a snack bar. Some people prefer simple, tasteful, and functional rooms with little to distract visitors. And while I can certainly respect that, it's not what I wanted for this room. Simple, tasteful, and functional is perfect for the parts of a house where you eat, sleep, work, talk with your family, etc. For a room where the sole purpose is entertainment, however, I wanted the entertainment to start before the lights dim. I wanted a room where I could escape - where I'd almost forget I was in my house. Finding vendors who bought into that vision, however, wasn't as easy as I thought. I visited a few high-end home audio companies in the Seattle area, but nobody seemed to totally "get it." A few even told me I was crazy (well THAT I knew already). Eventually, however, after speaking with the folks at Madison Audio (whom I had hired to help with some audio/video projects in the rest of the house), they introduced me to someone who is almost as crazy - designer and builder Todd Evans. Prior to this project, Todd had been primarily remodeling homes - but he was looking for a new way to combine his construction experience with his passion and talent for art. Todd was quick to share my vision, and then he expanded it. I was slightly concerned that he had never designed a theater before, but after a couple of meetings his enthusiasm to be involved won me over. He mocked up a small diorama with his translation of what I had described, and then coordinated with Madison Audio to ensure that the aesthetics of the room didn't come at the expense of audio/video quality. Over the following 18 months, Todd translated the diorama into a life-size replica of a grand movie palace. He hand-carved moldings, medallions, and columns in wax, prior to making latex molds, casting them in plaster, then painting them in faux finishes like 24 karat gold and marble-vein. He fabricated the fiberglass dome, pushed through fiber-optic strands for stars, then airbrushed clouds onto the surface. After the first few months, I gave Todd his own key to the house, since he was practically living here anyway! My home theater vision wasn't just how the room should look, however. It was about how the room should rock. A theater needs a huge, bright, high-quality image, and a sound system that draws you into the action with bass that makes you clutch your chest. When you walk into a theater that looks unlike any other you've seen, you naturally expect the sights and sound generated by that theater to be unlike any other you've experienced. Madison Audio was up to the challenge. They helped me select the best components for my needs, while allowing me flexibility to tinker with them myself and upgrade in the future. After months of planning, building, modifying, wiring, tinkering, and calibrating, the Theater was ready! See detailed photos of the entire project in our Photo Gallery. Return to home page.

Copyright ©2008 Steve Jenkins Holdings LLC. All rights reserved.

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