One thing is for certain: Acoustic panels are a must in a home theater. They reduce reverberation and minimize noise pollution. They play a major roll in increasing sound quality—not to be confused with sound isolation, which is what keeps the sound inside from traveling outside of your theater and vice versa. When designing a theater, we need to specify and design surfaces that reflect and surfaces that absorb sound. Acoustic panels absorb sound. They are made mostly of fiberglass and come in several thicknesses. 

What I love about these panels is that they’re easily customizable. Although they still need to be covered with an acoustically transparent fabric, we can use another finish—like a sexy wall covering—next to them. Using different finishes gives us more possibilities to create an interesting concept. We can make them any size or shape and we can place a long run of several panels side by side with an inconspicuous joint. Once the exact locations of the surround speakers are determined, we can design the panels to hide the speakers behind them. We can also layer panels on top of each other to increase the density and functionality as well as create design interest. Finally, we can carve out recesses on the edges of panels to hide LED strip lights—and you know how much I love indirect lighting!

My take is that creativity is paramount in a private theater, so the space should be distinctive and authentic. Technical elements like acoustic panels shouldn’t inhibit design creativity, and by customizing them they can really be part of the “Wow!” factor. So please, no more 24 x 48-inch wall panels—design something magnificent!