The weather has been nasty for a few days, so I started thinking about some mods inside the house.
One of the cool things about my house that I liked when Ibought it was the home theater. The previous home owner installed surround sound speakers in the walls of the basement as well as a rack built into the wall for components. I actually had to buy the install seperate from the house. In other words, if I did not buy it, he would remove the speakers and patch the walls. We negotiated a rent agreement along with some cash (the realtor covered that part) and I ended up with a home theater. I don't watch that many movies and the TV is really not that wide or great. But one thing that always bothered me was the seating. Sure, it was fine when I was alone and I could set in the recliner. But the rest of the furniture was a hodge podge of a couch, rocker and recliner that was parked along the back wall. Those that set at the end had a bad angle to the screen and the surround sound was not set up as well for them.
So, today I built a riser to make tiered seating. $30 dollars of material and a few hours work and I had a 10" high riser that the couch set on and people sitting there can see over the recliner and rocker sitting on the floor. A lot like a real theater. The next step is to get the riser carpeted. And maybe someday some more or differant furniture for what sits on the floor. Making two rows of seating seems to take up less room than the single row of furniture along the back wall.
An accaintance is building something he calls his "man room". Basically it is a rec room and will have a wide screen TV. He too was thinking about making tiered seating. But since his room will have a sports theme, he was trying to find stadium seating. So far I don't think he has found anything that is available. Good idea though!
Making improvements on a home can be as much fun as making mods on a boat. That is why I don't think I could live on a boat again. I have too much fun having a "homebase" to return to.