Your parents probably remember walling them up to create third and fourth bedrooms, in a value-adding reno trend that virtually wiped out this once ubiquitous floorplan feature.
Now builders are seeing a new trend: a shift away from home theatres as home owners are seeking home offices and guest bedrooms.
“Home theatres have generally fallen in popularity since their wide acceptance from say 2005 to 2015,” Burbank’s national design manager Damjan Jeremic,” recently told Domain.
“Most volume builders don’t display their homes with theatres anymore either and generally display the space as a secondary or formal living space.”
The trend was evident pre-COVID but the pandemic lockdowns and subsequent hybrid and remote working boom has likely put a final nail in the home theatre coffin.
But given many households seek flexibility these days, you could still explore some clever furnishings that allow you to convert the office to a home theatre for Friday night and still have it ready to host the in-laws on the weekend. A drop down screen and ceiling-mounted projector, coupled with a sofa-bed and wall-folding desk will have you changing your room use as often as you change your, well, you know.
But don’t take our word for it – grab an Ikea catalogue or put the challenge out to a bunch of K Mart hackers and you’ll have your new flexi-room designed in no time.
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