Have you just bought a wonderful surround-sound home entertainment system but no decent home theater seating to sit on to watch the latest rented DVD? Do you always have to squeeze next to the cat and your daughter who likes to hog the old sofa like it was her bed whenever she watches anything on the screen?

Do you have to constantly pause the DVD to get your tomato juice from the kitchen benchtop because there is no place to put your drink without fear of spilling it on your white carpet? And does your back suffer terribly even only after 30 minutes of watching your favorite sitcom?

Home theater systems and home theater seating - the suburban preoccupation of the decade

If you've answered yes to any of the questions above, then despair no more. In the past five years or so, home theater seats have surpassed the comfort and support provided by the traditional movie theater seat.

Home theater seating can range from actual movie theater seats with beverage holders to more plush reclining club chairs and home theater loungers with footrests and built in wireless bass audio.

But how do you choose a good home theater seating? Below are some tips on how to choose a home theater seating that is just right for you.

Tips on how to choose the right home theater seating

1. The first thing to ask yourself is how many will you normally seat?

- If you prefer your home viewing to be strictly limited to yourself and your only daughter, then you will only need a seating for a small group of three.

- If you are planning to invite the whole neighborhood, then you may need to create one or more rows of grouped seating just like in a real theater. You can choose to have single seats carefully placed in your home entertainment or rumpus room or build a group of 2, 3 or 4 chairs.

2. The second and equally important question is will your current home entertainment or rumpus room have space enough for your home theater seating plan? It would be wise to allocate a room or part of a room that is spacious enough for your home entertainment area. Or if you have the budget and the inclination - you may want to add a special room for this specific purpose.

3. A very important priority in any home theater seating is comfort as you may need to be seated for an average of 90 to 120 minutes for a full length feature movie. Answering the following questions may help you to judge whether the home theater seating you are choosing will give you the level of comfort that you need.

- Does the footrest extend before the backrest reclines? This is important so that your body remains supported and your movie viewing and line of sight is kept intact.

- Are the armrests wide enough to rest your arms and provide the right balance?

- Does the seat and back offer both firmness and flexibility? Does the seat provide high density foam cushions to provide both comfort and back support?

- Does it provide full support from head to toe?

4. What style of home theater seating will fit your decor? After all, theater seats should be part of the home theater and should enhance its overall decor. Do you want an upholstered home theater seating or do you want to see some of the timber's natural woodgrain enlivened by an oil finish?

Do you want supple, luxurious leather or the warm caress of velvet? What colors complement your decor - the girly-cute pink of custard; the regal low-maintenance ruby of pomegranate or the uptown classy brown of biscuit?

5. Was the home theater seating constucted using techniques that have been proven to result in stronger and more durable loungers and seats that can withstand everyday use, such as using kiln-dried hardwood base frames and cushions made of high density 2-lb foam.

6. Last but not least, how much do you want to spend for your home theater seating? Whatever your budget, there seems to be a home theater seating for everyone's fancy:

- whether its the $4,700 three-seater Rodeo Leather Lounge with built in wireless bass shaker, recliner, footrest and wide armrest rolls for the ultimate in home theater experience,

- a vintage movie theater seat which had its previous home from a local movie house and which you've just bid successfully on ebay for $99,

- or somewhere in between.