Welcome to the show! An elephant head adorns the entrance to the theater, while a gargoyle takes your ticket. And a couple of monkeys are hanging around on the double doors opposite the theater entrance to show you to your seat.
A love of movies and of all things Disney was the inspiration for the home theater built by homeowners Scott and Renee in the basement of their 2013 custom-built, 8,500-square-foot Colonial farmhouse. The home sits on 20 acres in a rural location in Bradford, about an hour from Dayton.
Although they have four children, ranging in age from 8-12, Renee is the Disney aficionado in the family; the family travels to the Disney theme parks just about every year. The home theater’s The Jungle Book movie theme is a perfect marriage of Renee’s love of Disney and her children’s love of animals.
The family uses the 415-square foot home theater space regularly, including hosting movie parties for the kids. The cushy, light gray leather motorized seats, with cup holders, have the capability of reclining and can accommodate 14 guests comfortably. The leather seats are silky soft and in fact, are called silk leather, and are meant to emulate the throne used by the movie’s King Louie.
A 171-inch screen takes over an entire wall; it’s a perforated movie screen, just like you’d find in a commercial theater. The screen is in CinemaScope format, eliminating “black bars;” the screen actually changes in shape so that the viewer can get the full resolution of the film.
The 125-decibel, professional grade sound system is the same quality you would find at a movie theater or concert. “I wanted more of a theater experience and not a TV experience,” says Renee.
Led by sculptor Debra Campbell, a team of local artists helped create the look that the family was trying to achieve. The elephant at the entrance to the theater represents Colonel Hathi, the leader of a herd of Indian elephants in the movie. The elephant and the gargoyle in the vestibule helped to give the space the “wow” factor that was important to Renee.
In that The Jungle Book was set in India, the two sculpted columns that flank the screen are meant to invoke a Mayan ruins/temple feel, sitting amongst overgrown foliage. Those columns, along with the elephant and gargoyle, are made of carvable concrete, which feels like real stone.
The mural, displayed upon three of the four theater walls, depict scenes directly out of The Jungle Book movie, telling the entire story in pictures, with images of the tiger, Shere Khan, the boy Mowgli, and many others. For three years, the artist worked on the mural in her studio, painting it on canvas and later, transferring it to the theater walls, where it was applied like wallpaper. She also painted the monkeys on the doors in the theater vestibule.
Hanson Audio did all the technical work in the theater and throughout the house. They installed a technologically advanced home automation system called a Control 4 Panel. This controls all of the lights and electronics in the entire house, as well as the alarm system and the temperature settings. The system can be controlled with a touch pad.
With this system, even a movie playing in the theater room can be watched from any TV in the house. Depending on how it is programmed, one touch can create a movie theater lighting effect or even put the house to sleep at night, closing the garage and shutting off lights and electronics.
“The nice thing is, if they have changes or an issue with the system, we can monitor or make changes from the showroom,” says Troy Hanson, who adds that this system is extremely popular and a huge part of their business.
Generally the family watches movies on Blu-ray, and they also have 3D capabilities, which, they say, are superior to 3D capabilities in theaters.
“It was very exciting to see the idea come to reality and working with the artists and Hansons. I personally like how all the media is in one location, which gives the theater a clean look. It’s always great to spend time with family and friends and watch a movie,” adds Scott.
For Renee, having a home movie theater was a dream come true. “We just love it, we are beyond ecstatic. It is beyond what I expected. My kids would live down here every weekend if they were allowed.”