In DFW, how important is 1st floor media room? (how much, home)

[Obamney1]

No media room for us. Went for high ceilings, spacious bedrooms, attached baths, downstairs guest suite and formal livings. Our previous house had one and got minimal use so decided to go against conventional realtor wisdom and bought next one without media room. We buy homes to live and to suit our lifestyles, not standard formula houses to resale, luckily resale works out fine.

[mom2gurls]

Originally Posted by Obamney1

No media room for us. Went for high ceilings, spacious bedrooms, attached baths, downstairs guest suite and formal livings. Our previous house had one and got minimal use so decided to go against conventional realtor wisdom and bought next one without media room. We buy homes to live and to suit our lifestyles, not standard formula houses to resale, luckily resale works out fine.

yeah...I can see the same thing with us. We 4 bedrooms + office and every bedroom has its own full bath and a powder room on the main. We do have a upstairs family room that gets no usage as the kids end up downstairs in our "great room" off the kitchen. The lower level (three story home)..is an art room/office.

Since we use laptops and ipads..that room..doesnt get that much use now either..its more of an art project room/school project room. But we do have very big bedrooms all around.

I think I will have to go with a non-convential realtor or builder or development that will allow us to take the space from a media room and put it with the bedrooms instead.

Excellent post...and I will take any builders or developments that you guys live in that will forego a media room or put it downstairs instead.

[GreyDay]

Here's my take-

We don't have a formal living room but do have a small dining room.

We do have his and hers offices on the first floor and a MIL suite with full bath.

The media/playroom is the only place I can go in, close the door and be shut off from the noise of family life. Sometimes it's just a place to watch CNN but it's big enough for a kids party or sleepover.

To echo Obamney, we don't have the classic center hall plan, so that could be an issue at resale time. However, I think our home is more usable for a family- 5 bedrooms, 2 offices, media room. Sometimes I think it'd be nice to have that 10 person dining table for holidays, but usually, we don't use them as much as we use our offices.

As for a dedicated media room- with kids, getting to the theater is an issue- baby sitter and all that. Unless your kids are old enough, having a nice media room and doing on demand is a great way to enjoy some movies albeit after their dvd/on demand release date.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by pinipig523

And yeah, I think a ceiling fan is a good idea.

You need a ceiling fan in EVERY room except kitchen, bathroom and formal dining. This is Texas. It gets too hot in the summer to not have the airflow that a ceiling fan provides!!

[PlanoGirl]

Originally Posted by Obamney1

No media room for us. Went for high ceilings, spacious bedrooms, attached baths, downstairs guest suite and formal livings. Our previous house had one and got minimal use so decided to go against conventional realtor wisdom and bought next one without media room. We buy homes to live and to suit our lifestyles, not standard formula houses to resale, luckily resale works out fine.

I love this! I do get that for some people resale is a big deal...but for me, whether I get to fully enjoy and use my home everyday the way that works for me FAR FAR FAR outweighs whether I make money (or just break even) when it comes time to sell.

[Johnhw2]

Our situation is 3 adults living in the same home which brings some issues unique when compared to families with children it seems. We lived 2 decades together in a home in Houston, which my wife and I had bought before we asked her mom to come live with us. We learned that having separation of bedroom space between ourselves and her mom. Also we needed separate public space for each of us as well to keep harmony and allow us to each enjoy our own vision of leisure activities.

Our Plano home was bought 2 years ago. We needed a Family Room and a living room both are heavily used by us. Her mom has friends over and that group enjoys to talk in the formal living room, which my wife and I entertain in the more casual family room. We also needed a second mini Master suite down stairs for her mom longer term and now while she is recovering from knee replacement surgery and the stairs are not something she can manage all day long yet. Her mom lives upstairs most of the time and has a gameroom and hobby / media room she uses to her projects and to play games with her friends as well.

My wife has two chronic diseases and spends more than typical time in the bedroom, so we found a large Master bedroom to fit her needs.

The hobby room use of the media room fits our needs ideally and her mom uses it so upstairs is the idea location for us.

I would not be willing to give up the living room for a downstairs media room for our situation. We were unable to find the right home with private baths for each of the upstairs bedrooms and that is one change we may make down the road.

OP give your long term needs for an in law or parent living with you some consideration if you plan to live in this home that long or foresee that need. I agree whole that selecting and fixing the home for your use makes a lot of sense rather than let re sale be a bigger focus.

[gymrat]

Our media room is upstairs. Several years ago we considered moving and the house we fell in love with had the gameroom downstairs and media up. LOVED THAT! It was an adult gameroom with a 1/2 bath, pool table and full wet bar. If the media room is upstairs I prefer a second set of stairs off the kitchen that the first door upstairs is the media room. This way if it is late and you are watching a movie or sports game it does not wake the kids if there are friends over enjoying the game. It is also easier to take up snacks and drinks. We have a wetbar in our media room which is great. Our second set of stairs goes right off the breakfast room to the upstairs with the media room double doors being the first doors you come to. It is down the hall and around the corner before a bedroom door is accessible. All 3 beds up have full baths.

YES on the extra a/c vents and return. Be careful about the ceiling fan. A ceiling fan will only work if the ceiling height is much higher than the screen if you go the projector route. You are not going to want to watch a movie with the shadow of the fan constantly on the screen. We have a projector and will be replacing it soon with another projector. Thought about a large flat screen but a 57"-70" tv just does not replace a 110" screen. You also need at least 18' depth to have a projector. I'd go bigger than that.

You brought up that 1/2 bath downstairs, make sure it is very close to the back door! This is important for future use if you are to add a pool. You do not want people trampling thru the house wet to use the facilities. If you can have it with a direct access to the backyard, even better.

Downstairs we have the small formal "sitting area" and formal dining room. Neither are huge rooms but plenty large enough for holidays. Large open family room, kitchen, breakfast area. Watching a movie on the tv in the family room is not the same. Too many reflections unlike the media room with the blackout shade and drapes, dark walls and dark carpet.

Who watches a movie on their ipad at home? How can one watch a movie as a family on an ipad? Just seems disassociated if you were to ask me. I like family movie night in the media room. I like that the kids can all come over here and watch movies and we know where they all are and what they are doing.

I'm not worried about not having a downstairs MIL suite. Our parents all live close by and have insurance to cover live in care and we are close enough to check on them daily.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by gymrat

Our media room is upstairs. Several years ago we considered moving and the house we fell in love with had the gameroom downstairs and media up. LOVED THAT! It was an adult gameroom with a 1/2 bath, pool table and full wet bar. If the media room is upstairs I prefer a second set of stairs off the kitchen that the first door upstairs is the media room. This way if it is late and you are watching a movie or sports game it does not wake the kids if there are friends over enjoying the game. It is also easier to take up snacks and drinks. We have a wetbar in our media room which is great. Our second set of stairs goes right off the breakfast room to the upstairs with the media room double doors being the first doors you come to. It is down the hall and around the corner before a bedroom door is accessible. All 3 beds up have full baths.

YES on the extra a/c vents and return. Be careful about the ceiling fan. A ceiling fan will only work if the ceiling height is much higher than the screen if you go the projector route. You are not going to want to watch a movie with the shadow of the fan constantly on the screen. We have a projector and will be replacing it soon with another projector. Thought about a large flat screen but a 57"-70" tv just does not replace a 110" screen. You also need at least 18' depth to have a projector. I'd go bigger than that.

You brought up that 1/2 bath downstairs, make sure it is very close to the back door! This is important for future use if you are to add a pool. You do not want people trampling thru the house wet to use the facilities. If you can have it with a direct access to the backyard, even better.

Downstairs we have the small formal "sitting area" and formal dining room. Neither are huge rooms but plenty large enough for holidays. Large open family room, kitchen, breakfast area. Watching a movie on the tv in the family room is not the same. Too many reflections unlike the media room with the blackout shade and drapes, dark walls and dark carpet.

Who watches a movie on their ipad at home? How can one watch a movie as a family on an ipad? Just seems disassociated if you were to ask me. I like family movie night in the media room. I like that the kids can all come over here and watch movies and we know where they all are and what they are doing.

I'm not worried about not having a downstairs MIL suite. Our parents all live close by and have insurance to cover live in care and we are close enough to check on them daily.

That's an excellent post, however, I have two quibbles.

1) One absolutely does not need 18' of room for a PJ. Our pj projects onto a screen mounted to a long wall. As such the pj is about 11' from lens to screen.

2) A ceiling fan needs only to be an inch or two above a line that runs from the top of ones lens to the top of the viewing screen.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Distance from the screen to the projector is dependent on the projector and throw range. Epson is known for having the most image adjustment for most brands of projectors, they can easily work from 10-11 ft away, but others can't.

This site may help the OP pick a projector to work with their room.

Projection Calculator Pro - Projector to Screen Distance

[GreyDay]

Feel bad I only have a TV and not a 110'' screen. Really bad.