Danny and Donelle transformed their basement into a functional entertainment space with a theater room designed by Clayton Douglas Homes and equipped by Phantom Theater & Sound. The project included innovative use of space, with features like hidden sound systems and aesthetic touches such as arches for mood lighting. Both companies provided exceptional customer service, leading to a product that surpassed the couple's expectations.

1. Don’ t Move,
improve
Written by Danielle Dean . Photography provided by Clayton Douglas Homes
Fabulous work and excellent customer service is what you’ll find Danny explains. “When Doug built the basement, he created a
when working with both Phantom Theater & Sound and Clayton little wall area that actually rolls and pivots so you can get behind
Douglas Homes. Just ask Danny and Donelle, who have recom- the equipment easily.”
mended both companies to numerous friends and family members. In order to truly achieve the look, feel, and sound of a movie
Homeowners Donelle and Danny built the home of their theater, Flaugher suggested putting subwoofers underneath the
dreams in September 2003. The main floor and upstairs of the four reclining theater chairs. This addition created a vibrating
home were perfect, but something was missing – a finished base- sensation during action scenes.
ment for entertaining. Donelle and Danny wanted their basement to be more than just
The couple was no stranger to the high quality service pro- an amazing theater room. They also wanted a functional storage
vided by Phantom Theater & Sound, having worked with them on space and entertainment area.
the product selection, installation, and maintenance of the whole “I wanted a kitchen area, a pool table, a seating area, and a fire-
house speaker system that runs throughout the upper levels and place. So I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know about making it
pool area of their home and is controlled via iPad and iPhone. work in a way that would satisfy what it is we wanted at the end of
“It really started with us looking for a nice sound system, but the day,” Danny says. “So he (Doug) came in and gave us some ideas
my wife didn’t want big speakers in the living room. We were and I think what I found most impressive was how he found a good
looking for a place that could not only give us the sound qual- way to use the space. He maximized its usage in a way that we got
ity, but the look we wanted as well. We came across Phantom what we wanted without having to dig any deeper into the area we
Theater & Sound and visited their showroom,” says Danny. “They wanted to keep for storage. He made valuable use of the space so
gave us a nice demonstration and we eventually agreed to work that none was wasted.”
with them for two reasons. One, they were very responsive af- The execution of the theater room was almost compromised
ter we had shown interest, and two, we were impressed by their due to the placement of a support beam. For Clayton Douglas
strong customer service. Homes, this was another opportunity to use creativity. The sup-
“We really liked the approach of being able to have everything port beam was transformed into a storage space for the video
hidden, but still have the same volume and experience that you equipment. To utilize the remaining space and make the open
would have from a large speaker system sitting in front of your TV.” theater room feel cozier, Doug designed arches. The arches house
The couple turned to Phantom Theater & Sound again when additional seating, movie posters, and mood lighting to enhance
they decided to build a theater room in their basement. “We want- the theater experience.
ed to create a true theater room with a few rows of seating. We “I loved working with Doug! He had so many creative ideas and
really wanted an experience different than what we had upstairs,” he was constantly saying, ‘Come here I have this idea and what
explains Danny. do you think about this?’ He was always changing things, upgrad-
This time the couple not only asked Phantom Theater & Sound ing, and improving,” Donelle says. “He would always say ‘Oh it
for advice on what equipment to purchase, but also to recommend would be so cool if you did this and he was very detailed. He al-
a general contractor. Joel Flaugher, president at Phantom Theater ways wanted my opinion on what he was thinking about doing. I
& Sound, didn’t hesitate to recommend local custom builder Doug really enjoyed working with Doug and it turned into a beautiful
Bryant with Clayton Douglas Homes. theater room.”
“Clayton Douglas Homes built the basement and we worked What impressed the couple more than the end result of their
with Phantom Theater & Sound for the theater equipment. They space was the high level of customer service provided by both
both did an impressive job down there! It’s what we would refer to Phantom Theater & Sound and Clayton Douglas Homes.
as a ‘wow!’ theater room,” Danny says. “He (Doug) was at our house almost every day and that spoke
The theater consists of 18 speakers from subwoofers to units volumes to the quality of work that was being done. He met all
stored behind the screen. However, all of the new equipment cre- of the commitments and deadlines that he said he was going to
ated a problem – how to store it? meet. Anytime we’ve had an equipment issue … Joel has come
“I really needed a lot of help with all of the video equipment out to repair or fix it either the same day or first thing the next,”
and how we were going to install it in a way that was impressive Danny explains. v
to look at, but also functional when you needed to work on it,”

2. For advice on whether to move or improve, or for information
on building with Clayton Douglas Homes, contact Madeline
Hoge, executive sales vice president at Sibcy Cline. You can
reach her at 513.659.0095, by email at mhoge@sibcycline.com,
“
We recently had our basement completed with
a new theater room, kitchen, billiards room and
sitting area with fireplace. Not only did the work
exceed our expectations, the oversight by Doug
himself was very impressive. He was at our house
or visit her website at www.sibcycline.com/mhoge. every day during the time it took to complete
the basement and oversaw the entire process. He
You can reach Clayton Douglas Homes direct at 513.460.4136,
by email at sales@claytondouglashomes.com, or visit their
ensured the workers were on time, and moved
website at www.claytondouglashomes.com. the project along in a timely manner. Doug was
very professional at all times, provided ideas to
”
You can reach Phantom Theater & Sound at 513.759.4477 enhance the project, quoted it fairly, and abided
to schedule an appointment, or visit their website at
www.phantomsound.com. by the agreement. We would highly recommend
Doug and his crew for any project.”
– Danny and Donelle