MOVIE THEATER: Just Add Popcorn

Scott and Lisa Lyle clutch enough popcorn to feed their family of five. They enter the movie theater, excited to watch “Shrek” as floor lights guide them to their favorite seats. Their youngest, 3-year-old Aden, is making a lot of noise, running up and down the aisles and climbing on the furniture, but neither parent tries to quiet him.

They settle into the comfortable chairs, wrapping themselves in Chenille blankets. Lisa leans over and pets Chico, her Chihuahua, curled up in the seat next to her. The Lyles are relishing the fact that they own this movie theater, and only have to walk down a flight of stairs to enjoy it.

It’s never a dull moment at the Lyle residence, since they have three hyper boys all younger than 14. So Scott loves that the theater can actually keep them quiet for their weekly movie night.

“During the school year, we have movie night every Friday. The kids pick a movie, and we pick a movie,” Lisa says. “Everyone has their favorite chair for sure. We make batches of popcorn—I’m sure there are remnants on the floor.”

You wouldn’t be able to see the kernels, however, because the Lyles picked a dark purple carpet to match custom-made decorative padded walls, which help absorb sound, and blend with lavender curtains hanging next to 10-foot tall Roman columns hugging both sides of the 100-inch projection screen.

And there’s no need to tell the person in front of you to slouch down because everyone can see in the three-tiered theater-style brown leather recliners fully equipped with cup holders. The $25,000 room, installed by Saavi Home based out of Louisville, wouldn’t be complete without the proper lighting, including dimmers and floor lights.

Andrew, the oldest child, says he gets many requests for movie parties from his friends. Plus, if anyone ever wanted to make an entire night of it, they could stay in the Lyles’ added two bedrooms and bathroom; the roughly 475 square-foot theater room is just a speck of their completely tiled, lavish Erie basement.

However, the theater isn’t only for late-night Fridays. The system’s in-wall audio rack is wired for music and satellite and is hooked up to their home network so Lisa can run music from her laptop.

“I’ve never actually done that,” she says, laughing. “But it’s capable of doing that.”

The best part about movie nights is picking the flick from the local video store; it almost matches the excitement of when the movie room was first completed.

“My husband and I sat on the floor on pillows, there was no furniture yet, and watched ‘Moulin Rouge,’” says Lisa.

While Andrew and the middle child, Tristan, might still frequent the public movie theater for the social scene, Lisa and Scott insist they won’t be caught paying for a film again. Since the average trip to the theater costs them $60 or more, the price for this remodel may more than justify itself before the boys leave for college.

“You know what; we haven’t been since we got this system. My husband and I stay home now. We prefer to sit, be comfortable and watch our movies here,” Lisa says.