With a blank canvas to work on, but with a limited budget, we were able to create a cost effective, stylish solution that made the most of the room and the clients design wishes.

Work completed:

  • Satellite dish for Freesat 5.1 surround sound system
  • Recessed mounted TV Ambient lighting

Details:

Gavin had recently bought a house and wanted to kit it out with a flatscreen TV and surround sound system. With a blank canvas to work on, but with a limited budget, we were able to create a cost effective, stylish solution that made the most of the room and the clients design wishes.

Construction work

To match a chimney breast in the open-plan dining room we had a false chimney breast built in the living room. This was to house the TV, cabling and centre speaker for the surround sound system as well as to provide an alcove for shelving and cupboards. Equipment was to be housed in cupboards to the right of the false chimney breast which were custom-built to fit the gap.

AV Installation

Speaker cables were run to the rear locations and chased in to the wall ready for the speakers to be installed after the room had been decorated. The front speakers were to be mounted on shelves in the alcoves with the centre in a cubby hole on the false chimney breast. The TV was mounted in a specially made recess. With just a 2in gap around it precise mounting of the bracket was very important. With the TV installed in this way it appears that the TV is floating in the recess. LIGHTING Two square halogen downlights were installed in front of each alcove. These light the alcoves without too much light spilling onto other areas. This means that background light can be provided without affecting the TV viewing.

Setup and finishing

As the finish of the room was to be of a high standard it was important that the finish of the AV system matched this. A lot of time and care was spent getting the position of the speakers and other equipment right. Once all the equipment had been fitted we were able to sit down and optimize the performance of the TV and 5.1 surround sound receiver. As the system was relatively simple with just an AV receiver, Bluray player and Fressat TV it was a fairly straightforward setup procedure.