Theo Kalomirakis is widely regarded as the "Father of Home Cinema" and it is no empty title. While the idea of a home cinema is today the dream of many, Kalomirakis long ago perfected the art of home cinema design for a discerning and exclusive international clientele numbering movie stars and directors, famous authors and politicians among them. He is a nine-time winner of the award for "Best Home Theater Design" from the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association in the US – every year he actually entered the competition – before eventually receiving a lifetime achievement award in 2003. His reputation is such, however, that in the world of home cinema design, he stands above the competition. It is said that there are Kalomirakis designs and then there are the rest... We spoke exclusively to this master of his art and discovered a humble and passionate aficionado of film with an infectious enthusiasm for his work – his calling.

What were you just thinking about?  

I was just thinking that I have to cut the grass in my garden! I like to cut it myself and I've been travelling for two or three weeks now and it needs to be done. 

What gets you out of bed in the morning?  

Challenges – challenges that have to do with clients, projects and new opportunities. My motivation is to have responded to those challenges by the end of the day instead of leaving them for the next day. I'm goal-oriented, so as soon as I get up in the morning I'm already thinking about my challenges for the day. 

What has been the greatest influence on your life?  

Personally? I would say my parents when I was growing up. Professionally? When I grew up my first love was movies. My first influences, then, were movie theatres, and I grew up loving foreign movies, so I grew up with Ingmar Bergman, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. I later studied film, got a scholarship and then made my first film as a director called Limited Engagement.  

[Editor's Note: Kalomirakis is far too modest to mention it, but his debut film actually won first prize at the Thessaloniki Film Festival and was the first Greek film ever invited to be shown at the New York Film Festival. If he hadn't discovered a passion for architecture, design and home cinemas, it could well have been his films we enjoy watching today in those home cinemas.] 

Some people would view a home cinema as a luxury, what is luxury for you? 

Luxury is space. And the luxury aspect of a home theatre is that it allows you to have a space to leave the house – an environment where you don't feel you're in the house any more. The beauty of movies is escape, you leave the world behind you.

The biggest luxury for the average consumer is having the space for that kind of escape. Most people don't have the space for a home theatre. 

Where did your fascination for home theatres begin?

Later I was working in magazines as an art director and made a home theatre for myself, and it ended up being featured in the New York Times. I didn't see myself as an architect, just as someone who loved movies, but Malcolm had faith and took me aside and said "This is your future." He boosted me. 

[Editor's Note: The item in the New York Times led to coverage in a myriad of other publications and free publicity for what Kalomirakis until that point had not even seen as a viable business. His mentor "Malcolm", meanwhile, being none other than famed publisher Malcolm Forbes. With considerable media coverage of his skills and the impetus to strike out alone, Kalomirakis was well-placed to launch his new career.] 

What is the biggest challenge in creating the perfect home cinema: the interior design or the technological solution? 

Definitely not the technology. The technology is fairly easy to master. Plus I don't work by myself, as an architect I always have an audio-video specialist that works with the technology and I also have an acoustician that makes sure the sound in the room – in that particular room – is perfect. 

For me the challenge is not the technology, it is the design – the original idea. I am always trying to come up with something that is different and unique, but not something that does not fit in the client's home. 

If you come up with the greatest idea, but that idea is not an extension of the client's residence, it just won't work. The underlying design must always have something that relates to the house. 

What single home cinema design have you been most proud of and why? 

lways the one that I’m working on next. I only see the flaws [in previous work], that’s my personality. I have three books out [revealing his most "perfect" designs], but I just don't look at them because it has no bearing on my life now. I look to the future and life becomes my inspiration. I'm always looking for a new challenge where I won't make mistakes, but of course I'll always make mistakes. 

You have a huge passion for film. Who do you consider to be the greatest actor or actress today? Who stands out for you? 

Well, among contemporary actresses I consider no one can get close to Meryl Streep – she's the greatest actress for many generations. It's her style: much more realistic and naturalistic. Think of the great actresses of the past, they were much more stylised.

Looking back, I'm also a great fan of the old musicals and people like Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland – I like old movies. 

In terms of films, what one film offers the greatest cinematic impact to perfectly show off that ultimate home cinema design? 

It changes about every three years. Everyone shows the same thing, but people get tired of seeing the same thing. In the 1980s it was Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark, then at the end of the 1980s it was Top Gun. More recently it was Gladiator and then Lord of the Rings. 

One movie can have a fantastic sound and another a fantastic picture quality. A lot of people just show [clients] a film with fantastic sound, but the joy of movies is also seeing fantastic widescreen pictures, so what I do is show a movie for sound and then show a movie for picture quality. 

Recently, people asked me to show them the movie that I thought was the best [for picture quality]. I showed them the old movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby. This movie was mastered from the original VistaVision and there is nothing right now that matches the sharpness and colourfulness of that – and without having to wear glasses! 

[Editor's Note: Determined to resist the threat of television, Hollywood studios in the 1950s were eager to embrace widescreen formats and new technologies to improve picture clarity and the richness of colours. VistaVision was essentially the response of Paramount Pictures to CinemaScope, already adopted by 20th Century Fox and other studios. White Christmas, released in 1954, was Paramount's first film in this new format.] 

What do you think of new or revived technologies like 3D? 

I personally love it. There is an incredible three-dimensionality, which has been added [to the cinematic experience], which gets you into the action. It really gets you into the movie much more forcefully. I think as a trend it is now at a point of slowness though. The audience gets tired of something, but it's not a permanent tiredness, it's just that the audiences are used to the idea. That's where we are with 3D. 

Finally, what has been (or will be) the highlight of your week?  

A trip to InfoComm in Florida – it's a convention for the latest technology.We will have some very exciting news – we are working with five of the leading companies in our industry [including JBL and Stewart Filmscreen among others]. We are putting together an alliance, offering the best design to create the best film theatres in the world.We're still talking about it – it's not quite finalised yet – but this is the week where we are going to have a final meeting and decide how to put the product in the market, so that's the highlight for me.

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