March is a month of practically non-stop sports. Baseball is underway, and hockey teams are gearing up for their playoffs, but the king of the hill this time of year is basketball, with multiple weekends of big basketball games. Maybe this is the year to turn that family room into a sports fan’s party destination with a new array of home theater furniture.

Next time the gang comes over, don’t worry about where you’re going to put them. Add a theater recliner (or several), and spruce up that console or set up a new entertainment center. Complete your room with plenty of tables for snacks and drinks, and make your home the go-to spectator headquarters, not only for March, but for big-screen sports and movie viewing any time of the year.

Where to put the TV?

This is likely to be your first decision. A consideration: ideal viewing distance is 1.5 to 2.5 times the width of the screen. For example, a TV that’s 55 inches diagonally is about four feet wide, so the best seats will be six to ten feet away. If you have 4D, you can sit a bit closer, but with plain old HD you may be distracted by pixel structure at short distances. This guideline can help you select the right screen size for your room and decide where to locate your home theater seating. Also think about windows, glare (less of a problem with curved screens), and how wide a comfortable viewing angle can be.

Seating

When you want to kick back and watch the game or a movie, there’s nothing quite like a power home theater recliner. These comfy reliables are available in types and styles to fill any entertainment room. Space individual recliners in key viewing positions, or choose reclining loveseats and row seating such as reclining sofas. Some of these are separated by consoles with cupholders, USB ports, and controls for vibration and heat. There are adjustable headrests and lumbar supports available. If space is an issue, a swivel recliner on a round metal base minimizes its footprint. Many recliners are rockers. There are nearly unlimited ways to cheer on your team in comfort and style.

Leather, with its handsome durability, is an excellent choice for these luxurious units, but there’s also microfiber, a type of performance fabric, and leather/vinyl, a combination that features leather everywhere a person touches.

If your room is large enough, a sectional sofa is a possibility. And you might want to have a few easy-to-move occasional chairs in various sizes for guests for all ages.

Entertainment Centers

At one time all our television sets sat on consoles, and consoles are still useful pieces of media room furniture with a number of advantages. With either drawers or open shelves, they can hide electronic components or show off bowls or books. Today, however, many TV sets are wall units, and there are entertainment walls and media walls designed to accent your large screen by surrounding it with decor. Some of these feature modernistic ladders of shelves that rise along both sides of a hanging screen. Others are essentially a console with a hutch, enveloping the set on the top and sides. Both provide a natural spot not only for knickknacks but also for your auxiliary speakers.

Tables

A TV party invariable involves snacking, and food and drink require a surface to set them on. It’s a good idea to have plenty of small tables, including occasional tables that can be put in place as the festivities get underway. There are end tables, coffee tables, sofa tables set behind couches, and console tables placed against walls. It’s an ideal situation when every sitting guest has a surface to put a plate on. A console table can serve as a sideboard to pile up the dishes you’ve laid out for your visitors. Or play host as you commandeer a party bar. Some of these even have room for a small refrigerator.

Tables come in so many shapes and styles: traditional, modern, wood, glass, metal, with storage drawers, with open shelves. This might be an opportunity to try a look you haven’t used before.

Final Touches

Tables aren’t only for food, but are also surfaces you can decorate to suit the occasion. Boxes, vases, and tabletop curios are only a few ideas. You can choose the theme to match the event. Lamps, like the tables they’ll rest on, are available in an astounding variety of designs, with traditional or stylized bases, with or without lampshades. Serving bowls can be attractive decor as well as objects to hold snacks. Top it all off with some themed artwork on your tables and walls, and you might find you have the combination of media room furniture and accessories that people want to visit time and again.