With my lockdown birthday approaching and all cinemas closed, I wasnt going to let that stop me, so I decided to create my own outdoor cinema area at home.
In the garden we recently moved a double shed, halved it and then created a new decking area. So this seemed like the ideal space for the set up.
Here’s how I did it…
1. Find a suitable viewing area…
We gave the shed and fencing a lick of paint by using * Urban Slate Garden Shades by Cuprinol.
* I ordered this from B&Q (it arrived 2 days later) initially I ordered from Homebase (when lockdown started) – it still has not arrived!!! I have not received a refund and no one has got back to me from Homebase after numerous emails, so I would NOT recommend not ordering from here!
I realised once painted in this dark grey, it looked like a Walberswick (Suffolk Coastal) beach hut, so we created a stable door and painted the inside of the shed with a white gloss and lined it with wallpaper lining. Finishing it with our own beach hut name ‘Lions Den’.
Finally, to finish the decking, I used Ronseal Decking Stripper and Oil on the platform and added a few potted plants and an apple tree to make the area look a little more exciting.
2. Dress it up…
No one wants to spend time in an area thats uncomfortable, cold or boring!
I softened up the area with an outdoor rug from The Rug Seller, for seating – I chose a pair a cool deck chairs (in keeping with our beach theme) from The Stripes Company, some lighting from Lights 4 Fun and raided the house for some blankets, cushions!
I also had some fairy lights left over from my wedding, so by using some good old fashion nails and a hammer, I created a canopy of fairy lights, which really finished things off!
You can get these from Amazon here > https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/
3. Invest in equipment
It’s more than likely we are going to be in lockdown for a while longer so movie nights are great for the kids.
There are a number of projectors and screens available but we went for the APEMAN Projector LC650.
This projector has 1080P Full HD native resolution, supporting 4K videos. Even the subtleties are clearer. 6000 lumens high brightness, +50% brightness than other projectors. I am mightily impressed with its performance, but you can read more on that here >http://www.bouncemagazine.co.uk/apeman-projector-lc650/
As for a screen you don’t have to spend a fortune, this one I found from VonHaus has a 4:3 aspect ratio, 1.1 gain rating for low light reflection – just perfect for an outdoor screen.
You can go. one step further and purchase a sound system – however, the sound on the APEMAN Projector LC650 was fab!
With these items you can’t go wrong – the hardest thing you will have to do is choose the film!
4. The props
A movie night wouldn’t be one without popcorn, so go all out with an at home pop corn maker or if thats too much effort order in some popcorn packs. The choice is yours!
As for drinks there is nothing like a glass of wine in the garden so we recommend a crisp glass of white to accompany the action. For the kids something soft of course!
To make it extra special why not plan a picnic just before and make the most of the evening. See our ideas at the bottom of the article.
We also made our very own movie poster, just to get in the mood!
5. A back up plan
Ok so we live in England so a chance of rain is probable! If you don’t want to be disappointed by rain calling off your evening we have a back up solution!
Coleman offer a range of tents and event shelters. So by purchasing one of these you can either take your cinema undercover or inside the tent!
You can also carry on the night with camping, whats not to love about that!
