If you're the kind of person who loves hosting Oscar, Superbowl, Glee, or Mad Men watching parties, putting the time and effort into creating a cozy media room or home theatre could be a good investment. But unless you're a wiring and surround-sound guru, figuring out the technical issues can get a little messy. That's where a home media designer comes in.

What is a Home Media Designer? Home media specialists can not only design the seating and decor of your dream home theater, but most of them can help you find specific media control options, conceal your television and various accessories, set up optimal seating, choose and install ideal lighting, and help create the ultimate television viewing environment.

Before you call a designer, think about how you envision the room being used. Is this going to be an all-television viewing center or a home theatre? Or do you want it to be more of a central gathering area, where guests can watch TV, play games, or just hang out? Do you want it to be used frequently? Or is it a room that's really only used for special occasions? Do you want to use an existing room, or build an additional room?

Questions to ask a Home Media Designer:

• What is your involvement with electronics installation?
• How do you go about choosing and purchasing all the electronics needed? How will that be paid for?
• What kind of sound systems do you install?
• What kind of control systems do you recommend?
• What can you do to enhance the atmosphere of the room?

Find a Home Media Designer on Houzz. Narrow your search in the Professionals section of the website to Home Media then choose the metro area in which you'd like to find a Designer. You may also look through photos by style, like Traditional, Asian, Contemporary, Modern, Eclectic, Mediterranean or Tropical, to first find a room you like then contact the professional who photographed it.