Blending home theater with your decor can be a delicate balancing act.

Ever notice that despite their permanent place in our lives, electronics are conspicuously absent from traditional home dcor publications? To judge by the photos in Architectural Digest or Martha Stewart Living, the domestic ideal achieved perfection sometime in the mid-19th century. On the other hand, purveyors of the high-tech lifestyle would have you believe that all truly modern people inhabit bare lofts with only electronic gadgets to aid and entertain them. The reality is somewhere between these extremes.

Integrating home theater in your dwelling needn't be an exercise in visual discord or emotional stress. Planning your system's installation and carefully selecting the pieces that comprise it will save you money, headaches, and squabbles later on. Will your home theater be in a dedicated room? Or will you be installing your electronics in a room that also serves other purposes, such as a living room or den? Can you open up walls if need be to run cables, or will you be setting up a non-permanent system that could be moved later? How big is the room? How many people are likely to use it?

These are all questions that a custom installer would ask during the early stages of designing your system. If your space and budget allow for it, you could go all the way with a built-from-scratch home theater of the type featured in magazines like Audio Video Interiors — custom cabinetry to house most of the equipment, a ceiling-mounted video projector, a motorized screen that retracts when not in use, automated light dimmers and window shades, loudspeakers built into the room, with cabling hidden in the walls, in the ceiling, or under the floor.

Such systems typically have extensive acoustic treatment — both structural and applied to surfaces — and dedicated electrical systems to minimize noise. They also have plush theater seats with integrated cup holders. Theaters designed for more than four people have seating on risers, with seats in alternate rows offset from each other so that no one has to look at the back of anyone else's head. An unobstructed view of the screen for every guest is a hugely important consideration when choosing seating or room furnishings!

Time from planning to completion of such projects can run anywhere from several weeks to as long as 18 months, with costs ranging from the mid-five figures to sky-is-the-limit. Electronically speaking, most folks can assemble a system, but building a state-of-the-art home theater from scratch isn't a project recommended for even the most skilled handyman. There are many hidden pitfalls and technical obstacles. You will fare much better on a large-scale project by working with a custom installation firm. The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) is a national trade group with affiliates throughout the country. Its website can help you find the right installer for you.

The real world
Real-world systems are well within the technical and financial reach of most people. The keys to satisfaction are careful planning, careful shopping, and careful installation. Home theater systems are often piggy-backed onto existing stereo systems in dens, living rooms, or recreation rooms. Your installation needn't have that jumbled frat-house look — with a little effort you can make your home theater equipment blend elegantly with your other furnishings.