New house build

[Snappahead]

I’m in the process of helping design and building my new house. The plan is a great room 20’ x 20’ with high vaulted ceiling. Kitchen area open to the great room which extends the listening space out another 12’. Stereo will be set on custom built in cabinets on the far side of the great room with the cabinets on either side of a centered fireplace. Floors will be hardwood.
Stereo will be what is in my signature. Need a bit extra depth for the big G. Want to elevate the speakers off the floor a bit- thinking 12 to 18” or so and build into the cabinets (is this a bad idea if the resonance of the speaker vibrates the casework?).
Looking for ideas and thoughts to put into the design before it is built. Any similar pictures would be nice to show my architect. Thanks.

Contrary to some other posts on here, I think a custom built in for your system is the way to go. Minus the speakers. I'm a builder, and 4 years ago I built a rather large addition to my family room. It's 18 x 30. I do have a a pretty nice system down in my basement bar / sports room but when it came time to blow out the family room, I decided I wanted a nice surround / 2 channel system upstairs too, where I would get to enjoy it everyday. I built it large, about 8' long cabinets with glass doors with a stone top. The cabinets were made to match another built in in the room. I made enough space for the components I knew I wanted and some space for others in case I decided to add more. I don't regret it one bit. It looks nice and functions they way it should. I wired it into my network (no wireless streaming for movies) and I have access to my music in my hard drive in my office. I made sure I ran a couple extra CAT -5's and 6's just in case and I installed fans for cooling. Wiring is cheap and easy when the walls are open so don't skimp. Will it last forever? Probably not because taste and styles change but so what? If I hate it 10 years from now I'll re-do it or do something else. That's my 2 cents. Good luck.

 

[Snappahead]

We'll be building a new house in the near future...as soon as ours sells. We've got the property bought and that part is good to go along with the house plans. Yes, it definitely seems like all new house plans are open and have similar looks as I noticed the OP's layout in that pdf is very similar to ours to an extent. But, with us building, I made it known that I was going to have my own audio room somewhere in the house so my stuff could be OUT of the living room. The plans we've agreed on and really like is a farmhouse style and has a "bonus room" above the garage that's 15-1/2 feet x 21 feet which I'm glad of it not being a square. I wanted my stuff to be out of the living room and not clutter the house up. All I'll have in the living room is one pair of bookshelf speakers (maybe re-veneered Dynaco A25's) and a streaming capable integrated amp. The living room is going to be simple....we don't do home theater. I spent a long time in that industry; I just don't care for it anymore.

My only suggestion is to run CAT wires for your network wherever possible. If you're going to stream music or movies it's so much better than dealing with wireless and drop outs. Good luck.

 

[avguytx]

I'm the Network Admin for the city I live in so no worries there. Cat5 is cheap and most every room will have a drop, if not two, just in case.

 

[sunrayjack12]

Yep. Everyone's in favor of the 'open concept' house until they actually have to live in one.

It works for some people; others really appreciate things like doors and privacy.

Depends on how you live your life, with whom, and who you are.

I have large open floor plan, it takes a lot of work to make it feel like a home. It is very hard to keep warm in the winter, the units are off and on all the time. I had to go to wood stoves instead of fire places, they do the job and you always feel comfortable with wood heat. Next house will have exposed duct work inside the house.