Distinctive Media Room Design Ideas
Discover creative ways you can create a distinctive media room design using cost-effective and DIY-friendly wall panels and beams.
By ABBY winstead
Design Specialist
After a stressful day or a seemingly endless workweek, watching a movie and forgetting your worries sounds like paradise. A well-designed media room is the perfect place to recharge, escape the world, and spend time with friends and family.
DIYers love redoing media rooms because they’re spaces where you can bring your unique and creative concepts to life. At Barron Designs, we’ve been helping people enhance their media rooms and homes for more than 50 years, and we’ve learned a lot along the way. We put together a list of popular media room design ideas and what you’ll need to make them happen:
- Taking textures to the next level
- Going rustic and wooden
- Framing the screen with wall panels
- Combining colors and styles
- Bringing the eye upward with beams
- Creating depth and contrast
Current Media Room Design Trends
Whether you’re updating an existing media room or starting from scratch, coming up with design ideas is half the battle. If you’re struggling to picture what you want your space to look like, continue on to embrace some media room design inspiration from today’s trends.
Take Textures to the Next Level
A media room should be welcoming and fun. Flat walls, ceilings, and floors usually don’t fit the bill. Adding textures makes the space more interesting and gives it a more lively feel.
Installing wall panels is a fast and affordable way to create a textured look on your media room walls. Faux stone panels, for instance, create an eye-catching textured effect while also adding color to the space. They also don’t require masonry or heavy materials.
When you’re adding textures, don’t stop at the walls. Your media room layout can also make an impact. Place plush furniture pieces around the room and incorporate pillows, soft rugs, and curtains in different materials and weights to make the room more engaging.
Taking a final view at the photo above, a custom-designed ceiling truss has an uncanny ability to tie the elements together and add intrigue at the peak of your overall media room aesthetic.
Shop Featured Products
Going Rustic and Wooden
Many media rooms are sleek and modern, but a growing number of homeowners are taking a new approach to their designs. Using natural elements makes the room a multipurpose space, so you can entertain guests, play games, and watch movies.
Faux wood wall panels and solid wood paneling can serve as the central component of a rustic media room ambiance with plenty of timeless charm. Install Reclaimed Shiplap Faux Barn wood wall panels and add complementary accents, such as old metal sconces or lanterns, to set the mood of the space.
In addition to complementary wall artwork, most streaming devices, such as Apple TVs and Rokus, offer customizable screensavers. Whether pulling from your own photo library or choosing a vivid professionally-shot screensaver, this is an excellent opportunity to bring some extra flair into your
Shop Featured Products
Media Room Wall Design Ideas
The walls of your media room set the tone for the rest of the space. They emphasize your style and create an interesting backdrop for your TV or projector screen—along with any wall art and surrounding decor.
Framing the Screen With Wall Panels
In most media rooms, the screen is the center of attention—your furniture is turned toward it and you give it a prominent placement. Another way to put the spotlight on the screen is by placing it on an accent wall.
An accent wall stands out from the rest of the room because it has a different color, pattern, or texture. Use a striking material, such as Colorado Dry Stack faux stone wall panels from Barron Designs, to make this area the focal point of the room. Choosing darker shades like motley gray, graphite, or iced coffee creates a dramatic frame that doesn’t distract from what’s happening on the screen.
Shop Featured Products
Combining Colors and Styles
Eclectic wall designs and decor are ideal for media rooms, where the main goal is to kick back and have a great time. You don’t have to be overly formal or worry whether every item is in alignment. Feel free to experiment and create unusual combinations that people might not expect.
For example, you can use Old Chicago faux brick wall panels to unlock an urban style on some walls. Paint the other walls a bold color and install shelves to hold your favorite sports, video game, or movie memorabilia. You can even create a snack area with nostalgic wall art so your guests feel like they’re getting popcorn and candy in an old theater.
Shop Featured Products
Intriguing Media Room Ceiling Design Ideas
Although you spend most of your time in a media room staring at a screen, the ceiling is important all the same. Depending on the structure and design, the ceiling can make the room feel larger, smaller, or more dramatic.
Bringing the Eye Upward With Beams
Media rooms are often extra or bonus rooms, so they’re usually smaller than living rooms and bedrooms. However, you can trick the eye into believing the room is larger, and it doesn’t require any fancy special effects.
All you need to suggest the space is longer and more open is one or more ceiling beams. Exposed beams automatically pull your eyes up, making the ceilings appear higher. For a cozier space, try placing the beams closer together. To keep the room as open as possible, use a single beam or install them farther apart.
You can use this helpful beam visualizer tool to preview how ceiling beams will look in your room dimensions.
Choose beams that match the style of the rest of the room. For example, Timber faux wood beams are a good option for a quaint, cabin-style media room, while Woodland faux wood beams are excellent for a more modern design.
Shop Featured Products
Create Depth and Contrast
Contrasting colors on ceilings also have a powerful effect. Use beams in a darker shade, like Barron Designs’ Hand Hewn faux wood beams in Java or Dark Walnut, against a lighter ceiling color to create a distinct outline and make a bold statement.
To soften or brighten a space with a darker ceiling, use a lighter beam, such as Driftwood faux wood beams in Whitewash or Toasted Marshmallow.
If you have an open floor plan and your media room extends into another area, such as your dining or living room, ceiling beams are a productive way to create a visual separation between them. Installing beams maintains the open feel of the room, while also creating two distinct spaces.
Shop Featured Products
DIY Media Room Design Installation Resources
Putting wall panels and ceiling beams in your media room might sound like a job you should leave to the professionals. Fortunately, some materials allow you to complete this project without outside help.
Barron Designs’ panels and beams are DIY-friendly and easy to install without special tools. You don’t have to wait weeks or months to schedule a professional installation. That means your go-to entertainment emporium won’t be out of commission for long!
Your media room redesign will be more successful if you have clear guidance on each step of the design project execution process. That’s why we provide detailed wall panel installation instructions and thorough installation instructions for flush-mounted box beams. We also have answers to the most frequently asked questions from customers, covering topics from product dimensions to shipping specifics.
More Media Room Inspiration
A media room can be the most relaxing space in your home. Whether you’re venturing into your favorite video game world, having a relaxing movie night, or hosting friends or family for a major sporting event, this room should be a sweet escape from all the stress.
If you’ve searched through media room design photos but avoided the project because of the cost and labor, remember that it doesn’t have to be budget or back-breaking. Barron Designs offers lightweight yet durable and affordable yet premium-crafted interior design products to completely revitalize your media room look and feel. Explore our faux wall panels and faux wood beams to find everything you need to transport your media room design ideas from dream to reality.