Theatre Redefined

There was a time when the idea of a theatre room in a home conjured up visions of Citizen Kane showing the latest movies to his friends in the 100-room mansion, or like narcissist Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, repeatedly viewing her movies from a drop down screen in her living room. Throughout the years magazines have written stories of high powered movie producers and their ability to give a private screening of their latest releases in their homes. The image being, this is something for the elite in their McMansions. Isn’t it nice that times have changed!

The change didn’t happen overnight. We evolved first with family rooms.The family room was where we could isolate the kids playing with their games and the noise of the television and keep it away from company in the living room. When technology changed, it changed how we lived in our houses. The next phase was the media room. The media room housed the cd players, the computer, the television and the PlayStation®. Since it was used by everyone in the house, it was a low key room of soft surfaces and sturdy fabrics, where kids or adults could get rowdy with their friends and the racket of the interactive games could be kept to a low roar. You could relax in your favorite chair and watch movies on your television. Due to the size of the screen and the audio equipment available, it was still not a theatre experience.

With the development of affordable big screen televisions, new integrated electronics systems, audio technology, and the accessibility of a huge array of movies, old and new, we get to bring the theatre into our home. This experience demands its own room. The theatre room becomes a place where you get to escape into the world on the screen, reminiscent of so many childhood memories. As everyone has a different movie going experience, to make their escape, each demand for the theatre room setting is unique to the homeowner’s personality.

One of the first theatre rooms we faux finished was very much a throwback to the Citizen Kane idea of luxury. The theatre room was adjacent to the billiard room. The classic styling of the billiard room set the tone in this area of the house.We glazed and stenciled an allover pattern on the walls of the billiard room. That feel of richness was echoed in the theatre room where we glazed, dry brushed, flyspecked and sealed all the woodwork and wainscot fretwork. The soft leather seating in warm golden tones and the scrolling sign, ornate sconces, and lush carpeting brought a bygone era to life.

Our lavender and gold theatre room allowed our creativity to flow. The interior designer showed us the custom made carpet that would be our starting point for the walls and woodwork. Since the client’s initials and regal appellation were an integral part of the design, we expanded on that concept. We custom mixed LusterStone® to match the carpet and used it as a base for our walls.We glazed over the LusterStone® for added depth.We needed a unique design to tie into the carpet so we created a custom allover stencil in two colors. The woodwork was painted with Black SetCoat® to keep reflection to a minimum. We detailed all the trim with gold for added elegance.

Red is really a favorite with our clients. It just says “theatre” to so many. The ceilings can be a focal point, as well as the walls. This domed ceiling had thousands of tiny lights to mimic the starry night sky. We glazed the dome. A design was applied to the lip of the dome, and then we striped it for added architectural interest. The flat part of the ceiling was glazed. We did an allover stencil as a background and banded it in reds and dark brown FauxCrème Color™ and accented with gold. We created a prominent design in each corner in red and dark brown as well. We used a stencil, repeating our FauxCrème Colors™ again to create the frieze around the room. All the stained woodwork was outlined with gold.

Our “ravishing red” theatre room has a little of everything we love! This was created for an audio visual company for their show room. They wanted their potential clients to have the ultimate theatre experience. We hand painted the firm’s logo, marque, dome design, and the masks of tragedy and comedy. We glazed surfaces and added gold leaf. We gilded and then gilded some more. The result is dramatic - just what the company wanted.

“Expressing your personality” are not words we use lightly. It’s a task our artisans take seriously. Anything But Plain is a full service decorative painting, faux finish, and plaster company with 23 years of experience creating unique finishes in the Houston area.

DECORATIVE ART BY: ANYTHING BUT PLAIN DECORATIVE ARTS STUDIO

INTERIOR DESIGN BY: SLOVACK-BASS, JANE PAGE DESIGN GROUP & JANET GUST DESIGNS

PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY: MIRO DVORSCAK

WRITTEN BY: JANIE ELLIS

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