X

You'd never guess this sweet home theater came from mostly recycled parts

Show Us Yours: A Missouri family built a basement theater out of cast-off furniture, Cragslist finds and a salvaged drop ceiling, and the result is impressive.

David Carnoy
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
David Carnoy
curtis-theater-1
1 of 26 Curtis/CNET

This is Cody with his family. They're from a town in southwest Missouri. They wanted to share their "modest" home theater setup, created in a raw basement space with very little money. 

It includes freebies from friends, finds on Cragslist, Pinterest and Facebook Marketplace and even a ceiling rescued from a miniature golf establishment.

curtis-theater-2
2 of 26 Curtis/CNET

This is the basement. Like we said, it's raw.

curtis-theater-5
3 of 26 Curtis/CNET

With the walls in, slightly more cooked.

curtis-theater-6
4 of 26 Curtis/CNET

And the floor shined up.

curtis-theater-9
5 of 26 Curtis/CNET

The back of the room, still pretty raw.

curtis-theater-8
6 of 26 Curtis/CNET

This was the temporary setup.

curtis-theater-13
7 of 26 Curtis/CNET

Cody's friend from work got married and didn't have room for his poker table, so he let Cody have it if he'd invite him to all future card games. 

They used the theater like this for a while.

"I knew I wanted a drop ceiling and I waited for someone to list the materials for sale online."

curtis-theater-14
8 of 26 Curtis/CNET

As fate would have it, an indoor putt-putt place nearby decided to take out its ceiling. Cody was lucky in that they carefully disassembled the grid and tiles.

He scored 2,000 sq. ft. (enough to do this side and the other half of the basement) for 300 bucks!

"Good things come to those who wait," he says.

curtis-theater-12
9 of 26 Curtis/CNET

Some of the guitars that he's acquired through the years make nice wall decoration.

"The first one was signed by all the guests at our wedding instead of the traditional guest book," he says.

curtis-theater-15
10 of 26 Curtis/CNET

"I found four bar stools on Facebook marketplace for $50," says Cody. "I decided to apply a glossy wax to give the concrete a sharp look."

curtis-theater-17
11 of 26 Curtis/CNET

Cody says: "The place is taking shape. The ceiling is complete and found a wine cooler to put in the bar. Go Chiefs!"

curtis-theater-16
12 of 26 Curtis/CNET

"The projector we chose is a ViewSonic PJD5255. Great projector and great value. It is shooting at 110 inches."

curtis-theater-18
13 of 26 Curtis/CNET

Cody was given a small LCD TV from his grandfather's den that he hung above the bar.

He says: "I built a shelf out of an old pallet (wife saw it on Pinterest.) My grandpa passed away at the end of 2016. The black shelf is a tribute to him. While cleaning out his garage, I found old beer tin cans and an old Pabst beer tray. I found the Sky mirror leaning on a dumpster near my house."

curtis-theater-19
14 of 26 Curtis/CNET

They now have an area for nights full of card games.

curtis-theater-21
15 of 26 Curtis/CNET

Cody says he wanted decent-sounding surround sound without breaking the bank.

"I'm a reviews guy and for my price point Polk audio seemed to be the way to go," he says.

His boys saved up their money and pooled it to buy an Xbox One.

curtis-theater-20
16 of 26 Curtis/CNET

The surround speakers are the Polk T15 bookshelf speakers.

curtis-theater-22
17 of 26 Curtis/CNET

The center channel is a Polk T30.

curtis-theater-23
18 of 26 Curtis/CNET

The receiver is an Onkyo TX-SR373.

"I'm very pleased with the power it produces for our setup," Cody says. "The Bluetooth capability is a nice addition to listen to music playing games."

curtis-theater-24
19 of 26 Curtis/CNET

The subwoofer is also Polk. It's the PSW10. The left and right fronts are a set of old tower speakers that Cody got from his father-in-law.

curtis-theater-28
20 of 26 Curtis/CNET

Cody reports: "I found a bass drum and Tom at a yard sale on my way home one day. I thought for $5 it would be great decor."

Most of the other wall art is from paint-and-sip joints (where you paint while you have drinks) that Cody says his wife "drags me to." He prefers sipping to painting.

"As an added bonus, I built a bookshelf in a door opening and then put a piano hinge on one side," he says. "I then trimmed it out to make a secret door. Shhhh."

curtis-theater-25
21 of 26 Curtis/CNET

The view from the back of the room.

curtis-theater-26
22 of 26 Curtis/CNET

The view from the front near the screen.

curtis-theater-red-chairs
23 of 26 Curtis/CNET

Home theater chairs, in Chiefs red, natch.

curtis-theater-screen
24 of 26 Curtis/CNET

The screen up close.

curtis-theater-red-chairs-2
25 of 26 Curtis/CNET

The chairs from another angle.

curtis-theater-27
26 of 26 Curtis/CNET

We'll leave it with the family cat, who enjoys coming downstairs to cheer for the Lions.

And that's a wrap on this DIY home theater. If you want to see more Show Us Yours showcases, we have plenty more here.

And if you want to submit your own home-theater photos, go here. We'll gladly take a look at what you've got, whatever it is.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos