Best colour / lighting scheme for multi purpose room?

[childe]

My AV room will be prinicipally for home cinema / Xbox gaming, but as it will also be the largest room in the house I want it to be pleasant to sit in if we have guests that we can't squeeze into our living room. This rules out a "bat cave" approach with matt black on all surfaces, but I presume I will still need dark surfaces.

Is there a general rule of thumb about which surfaces should be the darkest, and in what order? ie should ceiling be darker than walls which should be darker than floor? Should the wall with screen (I am using a PJ, not a TV) be darker than the other walls? Etc etc.

For lighting (when entertaining and/or when not viewing) I would like to use uplighters to give a diffuse effect, but I am concerned that with a dark ceiling, they may not be very effective. Any views on this? If this is true, then what are my best lighting options? Note that the window in the room is north facing so even in daytime the room will still be fairly dark, especially with dark surfaces.

Thanks

[waf-tastic]

I went for a dark feature wall which has the screen (but I guess the same will be true for a tv), lighter ceiling and walls lighter than the ceiling). Here's a pic:

Bit difficult to see as the colours look better in the room. When the lights are off, the wall to screen contrast is great.
Lighting wise, I have 3 circuits of lights - 4 in the centre, 4 at the front across the whole width of the room, and 4 wall lights (2 each side).They're controlled by dimmers which can be used with IR remote. More details on my website. Lights can be seen here:

Lights are very bright when all on - too bright in fact! Generally just have middle ceiling an side lights on at half power. The side lights go all around (not just up) and are nicely diffuse. We've used the room for entertaining, but it's mainly used for tv/films - fine for both. The curtain hides a large window which, even though it's a light well outside (being a cellar room!) allows the whole room to be lit during the day with the lights off)

[childe]

Thanks - that is very helpful.

Your layout looks very similar to mine will be, once it is built. The difference is my window is on the other side and I have a door to the left of the screen (as you look towards it). I even have the equivalent of your hallway as I will have a small office in the lower right corner, with door as you have. My projector will actually sit in this office and project through a hole in the wall into the main room.

Is yours a fixed screen in a false wall? If so that is exactly what I am planning. I was lucky to get a good price on a perforated screen so am planning to conceal my front speakers behind it. Did you consider a rope light around but concealed behind the edge of the screen? I am tempted as the photos I have seen on this forum look good, but I wonder if the novelty will soon wear off.

Your lighting scheme is similar to what I am planning, except I was thinking of having all my 6 ceiling lights be in a circle, with the 3 nearest the screen on one circuit and the other 3 on another circuit. My idea was that the front 3 would only be used when the room is being used for entertaining. The rear 3 would be on dim for gaming and very dimmed or off for film viewing. The wall lights would all be on the same circuit, to be used mostly dimmed for atmospheric effect. Given you say you now rely mostly on your centre ceiling lights, when do you use the front lights (the blue ones in your drawing)? Are they principally for effect?

Regarding colours, I know a light coloured ceiling is good for adding space to a room, which is good, but I thought it would reflect too much light from the screen. Are you happy with yours, or do you regard the light colour as a compromise to achieve WAF? I would definitely prefer a light colour but only if it will not detract significantly from the viewing experience, which is the primary purpose of this room. I am very lucky in that my wife has told me the room is a WAF free zone No doubt she will make me pay for it in the long run, but I want to make the most of it whilst I can.

Thanks

[waf-tastic]

Originally Posted by childe

Thanks - that is very helpful.

Is yours a fixed screen in a false wall? If so that is exactly what I am planning. I was lucky to get a good price on a perforated screen so am planning to conceal my front speakers behind it. Did you consider a rope light around but concealed behind the edge of the screen? I am tempted as the photos I have seen on this forum look good, but I wonder if the novelty will soon wear off.

My screen is 'fixed' in the sense that it's always visible, but it hangs from two hooks in the ceiling via (a lot of) picture wire. I didn't want to attatch it incase I wanted to adjust it or get a proper screen as I made mine. The screen itself is a painted mdf board with matt black painted skirting board for the frame (£12 in materials!). In the end, the picture was great, so I left it as-is.
I didn't bother with rope lights as I can't see the point myself, especially when using a projector, but each to his own.

Originally Posted by childe

Your lighting scheme is similar to what I am planning, except I was thinking of having all my 6 ceiling lights be in a circle, with the 3 nearest the screen on one circuit and the other 3 on another circuit. My idea was that the front 3 would only be used when the room is being used for entertaining. The rear 3 would be on dim for gaming and very dimmed or off for film viewing. The wall lights would all be on the same circuit, to be used mostly dimmed for atmospheric effect. Given you say you now rely mostly on your centre ceiling lights, when do you use the front lights (the blue ones in your drawing)? Are they principally for effect?

I don't use the front lights much at all as the main and side lights are bright enough, but occasionally when I'm showing the full cinema effect I use them. For instance, when the kids have a film party, I'll print custom tickets, set up film questions in PowerPoint, then dim the lights before trailers, then show the film. Not often though as it's a lot of work!
I'd keep the front lights away from the screen and have the 2 circuits for the ceiling lights as you say.

Originally Posted by childe

Regarding colours, I know a light coloured ceiling is good for adding space to a room, which is good, but I thought it would reflect too much light from the screen. Are you happy with yours, or do you regard the light colour as a compromise to achieve WAF? I would definitely prefer a light colour but only if it will not detract significantly from the viewing experience, which is the primary purpose of this room. I am very lucky in that my wife has told me the room is a WAF free zone No doubt she will make me pay for it in the long run, but I want to make the most of it whilst I can.

I had the same concerns as you - didn't want a cave, but no reflection. My screen is only about 6 inches from the ceiling, so there is some reflection but not distracting at all. My screen wall is chocolate brown and the ceiling is coffee - you could go a bit darker. To be honest, if the room is a similar size (~15 foot square) then the 6 spots and side lights will be fine for non-film/game use and if you went a bit darker than I have, you'll have no probs with the reflection.
I did see a cinema room that had a light ceiling but with a pull out blackout cloth which went from the top of the screen to the ceiling to absorb the light.

One thing I'd toyed with was putting the side speakers in the alcoves and putting some material over the alcoves, as we don't use them, but can't think of anything else I'd change.

Let us know how you get on