It's Showtime!

I put my husband to work on a project over the weekend, but I think he was more excited than I was about it. So excited that it was he who suggested we go pick up lumber the next night and summoned his dad {remember my father-in-law, the ninja?} for help right away. That's pretty impressive. Want to know the magic words? "TV" and "Stadium Seating" - that's all it took.

We made a space for a second living room and bar area in our basement when we remodeled a few years ago. While we use our upstairs living room as a gathering spot for family, kids, conversation, and fun, our downstairs living space has always been reserved for watching the big game or family movie night. We had a wonderful entertainment center that my father-in-law built for us, but the room lacked the feel of a real theater. Plus, I wanted to rearrange the furniture. This is what our room looked like before.

A leather couch and loveseat sat perpendicular to each other and positioned around a coffee table -a pretty traditional living room arrangement. Opposite the couch sat the entertainment center.



The idea for stadium seating actually came from an HGTV episode of Design on a Dime, where the designers had a platform built for the lucky family's theater room. I only caught the last few minutes of the show, but that was enough for a lightbulb to go off in my head. I didn't even like how the Design on a Dime room turned out, but I knew the stadium seating idea could work for our space. I Googled "how to build stadium seating" and found the perfect plan. 

My husband was on board with the idea right away, but before we dove in, we had to make sure that we really wanted the room to be a theater room and not a conversational area. Because with the couches placed one behind the other, the conversational vibe would pretty much be killed.  Ten seconds after I brought that up, my husband said, "I'm sure." The second thing to consider about this project was spacing. We positioned the couches in their future spots to ensure that there was enough space between the front seats and the television. There was. Alrighty then; we were on our way.

Following the simple plan we found, my husband and father-in-law constructed a platform with a corner step in just a few hours. Into the basement it went, and after a coat of paint {semi-gloss exterior finish - we wanted something that would be forgiving to spills}, the platform was ready for business. We removed the coffee table and placed the couches in their new homes. For less than $150 {the cost of the building supplies and a quart of paint}, our living room became a home theater.

I've gone a little crazy with the pictures! Did you catch the missing lightbulb over the bar?

This was a really fun project. $150 packed a whole lotta punch. And I'm not finished! I still get to accessorize the sofa table that we stole from our upstairs living room. Right now it's holding a few random items and the books that used to sit under the coffee table, but I get to shop the house or go Goodwill Hunting for something new.

Pass the popcorn, please!