A traditional-style home cinema brings rich, immersive audio and understated drama to a seaside Victorian home, balancing budget, performance and architecture with engineering precision
When Steve and Jan traded the pace of Surrey for the serenity of the South Coast, their newly acquired Victorian home came with a peculiar 1950s side extension, long abandoned from its original purpose as a swimming pool. Instead of demolishing it, the couple opted to transform the space into something Steve had always wanted but never had room for—a dedicated home cinema.
CinemaWorks was engaged following a series of Zoom consultations during lockdown. Steve, a retired electrical engineer who is still hands-on in his 70s, gravitated toward the integrator’s engineering-led approach: speaker toe-in angles, RP22sound pressure targets, and acoustical consistency across seating rows were all discussed in depth.
That trust grew into a collaborative design process, where performance was balanced with cost sensitivity. At 6.4mx 5.8m, the room was large enough to warrant a proper cinema layout but also presented challenges. A rear projection and equipment closet was introduced to shorten the space and avoid acoustic unpredictability. The room was then engineered to accommodate a 16-channel Klipsch and Emotiva system, prioritising speaker quality and placement over channel count.
Every enclosure was custom-built to manufacturer specifications and toed in precisely, concealed behind acoustically transparent navy wall fabric.
A Sony XW7000 projector was selected following a side-by-side demo against its lower-spec counterpart, with the final image scaled to 3.5m width to meet desired brightness levels. The 16:9screen was a deliberate choice, favouring Steve’s passion for Formula 1 and sports content over the allure of a wider cinematic aspect ratio
Atmos speakers were installed within a double coffer ceiling and LED lighting was subtly integrated using bevelled-edge wall panels and scalloped downlights. Jan’s aesthetic preferences steered the room’s traditional styling, which was made possible by a flexible yet refined Rako lighting system, all tied together through Savant control. The lighting was programmed around real-life usage—low light for watching, mid-brightness for casual multitasking and full scenes for cleaning or guests
Despite late-stage construction challenges, including reduced ceiling height and unexpected door placements, the integrator adapted the riser design and speaker locations to maintain performance without compromising comfort or symmetry. Post-installation, system calibration included manual subphase tuning and time alignment using Room EQ Wizard to refine the spatial accuracy and tonal balance
This isn’t just a cinema that looks the part. It’s a room that performs beautifully, where engineering meets enjoyment and where thoughtful design has given Steve and Jan more than they ever expected
This project was a CEDIA Awards winner in 2025
