I thought my dim room was 'cozy' for 2 years, then my kid's $12 night light made me realize the truth | Budget Home Theater Builds - The Community Guide
I thought my dim room was 'cozy' for 2 years, then my kid's $12 night light made me realize the truth
For two years I watched every movie in my converted garage setup with the walls painted this dark forest green and one sad lamp in the corner, and I kept telling myself it felt like a real theater. Then my 7 year old brought her cheap little color changing night light in there last month to watch a cartoon and it lit up the whole room better than my $80 floor lamp ever did. So now I'm stuck on this: do you actually need to paint the walls flat black and kill every light source, or is the whole 'dark room' thing overrated for a budget build? Half the guys I know swear you can't get real contrast without blackout curtains and dark paint, but I sat there with that tiny night light glowing and the picture honestly looked fine. My wife says I'm nuts because we already own the curtains, but I keep thinking about how much money people drop on room treatment when maybe it matters less than we pretend. What tipped you off that you were getting something basic wrong in your setup, and did fixing it actually change anything or just make you feel better?