The brief hinged on a single tension: keep the room's Victorian charm and its identity as a lounge — warmer and cosier, if anything, while fitting it out as a genuine high-end system. That meant losing the TV for a much larger screen with the centre channel properly placed, hiding the AV equipment from view wherever possible, and delivering sound of the very highest quality: capable of blowing your hair back without breaking a sweat.

Because the room would double as a listening space as much as a cinema, two-channel music mattered as much as film. The brief called for an impeccable soundstage and stereo image, big dynamics and distortion-free performance even at high volume, with highly detailed upper frequencies and bass that was tight, fast and extensive. Just as important was the room at rest: it needed to stay quiet and cosseting when not in use, with as little sound as possible escaping it at any time.

The system built to meet that brief centres on a Trinnov pre-processor driving Wisdom active speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers delivering 6,400 watts, with a Lumagen video scaler feeding a 3,200-lumen Sony laser projector. Film and music sources run through a Kaleidescape UHD 4K movie server and a Linn Selekt DSM streamer with Katalyst DAC and phono stage, paired with a walnut Linn LP12 turntable, while a Control4 system unifies AV, curtains and lighting alongside Orluna micro-spot downlights.

Every technical element was built into the room rather than placed within it: a custom acoustically transparent screen with multi-format masking, exotic wood cabinetry designed and built in-house, stretched fabric walls and ceiling, and full acoustic treatment throughout. Underfoot, dampened flooring with underfloor heating sits beneath Frontrow leather cinema recliners — completing a room that performs like a reference cinema while still feeling like the lounge it always was.