HOME interior design expert Laurence Llewelyn- Bowen is talking about television. Not about what’s on it, but where to put it. And what he looks like on it.

One of the latest introductions on the viewing scene is HD – high definition – TV which gives a clearer, sharper picture and, as a result, shows up every flaw and pore on your face.

“It’s the wrong time of life, in your mid- 40s, to find yourself on HD,” says the man who made his TV name on BBC’s Changing Rooms, where his redecoration of people’s homes didn’t always meet with their approval.

Hopefully, his latest project for Sky Movies won’t attract complaints. He’s aiming to lend his design skills to creating the ideal viewing experience in your living room and how to do this on a budget.

“I think we, as a society, are very bad at having shared experiences, especially in a family context,” he says.

Even his own daughters, Cecile, 11 and Hermione, 14 – “saintly little girls they are” – have been known to balk at a family viewing session. He wants to change all that, and not just in his house.

Rather than go to the multiplex and have a pizza, his idea in these recessionhit times is to designate Saturday night as family movie night at home.

This may not be unconnected with new Sky Movies research that there’s a huge shift towards “improving not moving”.

Findings show that nearly half of the British public (47 per cent) are opting more often to say at home for a night of entertainment. Almost twothirds (62 per cent) only have one night out or less each month, with one in ten people saying they now never go on a night out.

Llewelyn-Bowen wants to ensure the stay-at-home experience is as comfy and social as possible as the family share and stare (at the TV) together. He wants the campaign to be positive and used as a tool to reboot family viewing. “Stop being depressed about the fact that you can’t sell your house and be pleased that you have a house at all,” he says.

“Instead of being bullied into thinking of it as only an investment, celebrate by redecorating so the house is more for you.

There are very few positive voices around at the moment. There are many who enjoy picking the scab of the recession,”

he says.

Staying in and watching TV is a brilliant excuse, as he sees it, to turn your back on the expensive attraction of consumerism.

His message to designate Saturday night as Sky Movies night, is perhaps only to be expected as the campaign is backed by that very broadcaster.

‘ONE of the basic things if you’re improving, rather than moving, and are doing up your living room is how you integrate your TV or Sky box. One of the lovely things is that technology can be the slave of design.

“It doesn’t have to be the big hulking black box in the corner. It can be incorporated in a bookshelf and be really understated.”

Putting your flat screen on the wall is like hanging a picture, he advises. Work out where your eyeline should be and ensure there’s no glare from the window.

Originally, TV sets were considered pieces of furniture and very much designed to fit in with the decorative scheme of the time. Now they can be used in a much more design-orientated way.

Take the largest TV in his Cotswold home – “the largest screen I’ve ever owned”, although he doesn’t know exactly how big. That’s hidden in a bookcase behind a hinged door with an old framed map on it.

“It’s a fabulous opportunity to create a very social space that owns up to the fact that TV is an important part of our life,”

he says.

“We have a very funny relationship with TV. We’ll all be desperate to see something like David Attenborough, Strictly Come Dancing or The X Factor.

Everyone’s watching at the same time and when it’s over, you ring people up to discuss it, or talk about it the next day.”

The Saturday night at the movies idea is ideal for bringing the family together, he feels, especially for people whose work might keep them away from the house during the week. You might even see Llwelwyn- Bowen, who has a couple of TV projects on the go, one for BBC Wales and another for ITV.

■ Laurence Llwelyn-Bowen’s design tips for creating an ideal viewing experience can be viewed on the Sky Movies website at movies.sky.com/skymovies- home-cinema-guide projects on the go, one for BBC Wales and another for ITV.