Viktorianishes Heimkino

One of these questions that occurs to the ranging mind, is whether Queen Victoria spoke German behind closed doors.? Even the slightest research, reveals that she assuredly did. Does this, however, justify a blog entry title in German? :-)

In the early days of Balintore, I used to torment my historic conservation architect Paul on the horror of the home cinema I would install. It seemed to really press his button, so press it I did. :-) And of course, home cinemas are renown as a nexus for the bad taste of the nouveau riche. Witness this prime example courtesy of a post today to Facebook's Architectural Crimes group.

home cinema as architectural crime

This trend for unintentionally but none-the-less robustly tasteless home cinemas is ironic, given that Art Deco cinemas of the 20's and 30's were often architectural masterpieces, and are some of my favourite buildings.

Researching into home cinema screens: anything motorised, pull-down, (and yes even) pull-up, however swish, has a tendency to wrinkle - because they are not tensioned from all sides. So the best solution appeared to be a static wall-attached screen. And of course, anything mechanical or electrically operated can break. Removing failure modes is good for the soul. I am normally a regular watcher of films, so anything other than a permanent set-up is also a hassle.  Having said this, I have not watched a film for a couple of months due to the dismantled home cinema. :-)

Instead of rolling up the screen, I can hide it (if needs must) behind antique red velvet curtains matching those at the window.  Gregor is currently constructing a pelmet for the cinema curtains, recalling the glory days of movie palaces.

My screen was so late in arriving (4 weeks instead of the promised 4 days) that Amazon told me that it was unlikely to ever arrive and gave me an unconditional refund. It arrived the day after the refund came through. :-)

the Victorian home cinema in progress

Anyhow, my serious point is that it is quite possible to have a home cinema blended into a historic interior. Victorians did, after all, have magic lantern shows. If budget were no object, then something artistically steam-punk could have fitted in well at Balintore. I had to settle for a cheap solution involving plywood. :-) Watch this space for the installation of the pelmet and the curtains.  I wonder what the opening film will be?