Clever Motorization in 4 Slick Home Theaters
By Steven Castle
We talked to theater design wiz Donny Hackett about slick ways he adds motorization to his theater projects.

Donny Hackett calls what he does “adaptation-automation.” He likes motorizing things by using leftover motors and other parts. The results are slick and clever, and almost always have an underlying steampunk mentality.

Hackett’s home theater designs include wow factors like revolving floors that use electric hoists and automatic doors powered by Shiatsu massage motors. “The Shiatsu motors are from those handheld units you find at every yard sale,” he explains. “You can pick one up for under five bucks, and the reversible AC motors are thermally fused, safe, quiet and strong. I use them for small projector lifts, moving pocket doors, masking panels, opening secret hideaway doors, even pushing speakers on drawer slides to silently pop out of cabinets.”



Hackett has been involved in the home theater field for about 20 years, coming from his father’s drapery business. “Motorized curtains are where it all began for me,” he says. “I seriously believe I started designing home theaters just to feed my need for gadgets. It seemed like the one room in the home where anything goes.”

Hackett is still designing home theaters under Donny Hackett Design in Hendersonville, Tenn., and is working on a reality TV show called Motorize This.

We caught up with him recently and quizzed him about motorization today, do-it-yourself versus commercially available products, and what keeps his own motor running.

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Photos of Hackett Theater Designs