No, Really, I Am Fine. I Think I Am Going To Just Stay Home And Watch TV
Adding An Entertaining Upgrade To A Home
Recently I got a gig designing outdoor entertainment centers. This is an example of one of the first designs. The cool partof this design is that it is pretty affordable and can add lasting value to your home.
The construction is very simple. It basically consists of the main box that is framed much like a standard stick framed wall. It is 8 feet high by approximately 7 feet 6 inches wide on the main structure and a little more than 2 feet deep. It features a TV in an environmental enclosure that protects it from both high and low temperatures. The boxes on the sides are about 1 feet 4 inches and are capped buy a faux wood slab that is both cost effective and very low maintenance. The beams and facade stone are also made from a faux panel and faux beams. These panels can be a bit pricey so as seen in this picture the build out cost minus the TV and Fireplace are around $5000 using professional labor but a dyi regular should be able to complete most of this project on a Saturday. To save money you could use the faux panels on the main face and use something cheaper like a Stucco, distressed barn board or other reclaimed materials for pretty cheap. The fireplace is actually an outdoor rated electronic fireplace.
You will want to have a ground fault interrupt installed by an electrician and if you have a whole home automation system it can be integrated in to that.
Links for this project:
Open Source Home Automation
Electronic Fireplace
Faux Panels & Beams
Led 12V Remote Controlled Lighting Strips