Everyone loves a quiet and peaceful evening to themselves, away from everyday hustle and bustle. Since we do not live in seclusion, its hard to control all factors that are responsible for amplifying the noise in your house. However, there still are some easy and practical sound insulation ideas that you can work on, for quieter and relaxing living spaces.
1. Soundproof your Living Room
75% of the time spent at home is in the living room which is probably the biggest reason to invest in soundproofing your lounge. Unwanted noise coming from outside not only disturbs your peace but also ruins your TV time for you.
There are multiple ways to soundproof you room, including existing items and ones you can purchase. Acoustic sound panels installed within walls are the most common way of soundproofing living spaces. You can also soundproof your windows and doors by using sound insulators and door sweeps.
If you’re looking for a more DIY solution, you can place bookshelves next to your walls which act as a great sound barrier. Similarly, installing sound curtains, like those in cinemas, also restricts sound to its place of origin.
2. Use Fabric Furnishings
The key to soundproofing is using as much textile as possible, in the room. Whether its placing sound curtains against your walls or replacing hardwood furniture with soft furnishing, fabric plays a key role in absorbing sound and minimizing noise.
Placing sofas against the wall and using upholstered furniture instead of hardwood tables and chairs act as great sound barriers since they absorb a large chunk of the sound that was going to travel all the way to the other side of the room.
Similarly using fabric wall hangings and paintings diffuse the noise coming in from the adjacent room and makes your living room aesthetically appealing as well.
3. Use Room Dividers
Nowadays, open living spaces are a new housing trend. One unit living spaces might look great in the movies and TV shows but aren’t practical because of a number of reasons. Firstly, they give you absolutely no privacy other than in the bedrooms.
Secondly, noise isn’t confined to one place. Using a food processor in the kitchen will be a nuisance for the person trying to watch TV in the living room. As much as you might hate getting rid of the walls in your house, they do serve a very important purpose.
Therefore, use room dividers to prevent sound from bouncing around and to create more serene living spaces.
4. Use Heavy Drapes and Curtains
Curtains are an important feature in defining the interior of your rooms, whether its the bedroom or the living room. While a lot of consideration goes into the outlook and appearance of the curtains, little attention is paid to the material thickness and the difference it makes.
Using heavy materials for drapes and curtains like velvet blocks noise coming from outside and also prevents excessive light from entering the room. That’s a win-win. Another interesting item in the market are soundproof curtains which are designed to absorb more sound than any ordinary curtain material could ever. Now that’s what we call technological advancement.
5. Wrap Furniture Legs
Dragging furniture across the room creates the loudest noise and nuisance in your living rooms. Whether its your sofas, tables or the chairs, you might need to change their place from time to time depending upon the need, which creates disturbance.
A smart way to counter that is to wrap furniture legs with a fabric covering. Not only will it move furniture quietly, but your floor tiles will remain scratch-less as new. Amazing, no?
6. Choose Quieter Appliances
Since you’ll be spending a lot of your time in your kitchen, it will only be smart to get more energy efficient and quieter appliances that get the job done without giving you a headache. Always check sound levels for any appliance you’re getting whether its your food processor, your refrigerators or your pressure cookers.
If you’re going for a single unit then you will have to get used to the noise coming from all rooms and spaces. Whether its your television, or the noise coming from your appliances, spending some quiet time in your home would be a luxury.
7. Buy Quiet Toys for Kids
If you’re lucky to have a house full of kids, or even one for that matter, you’ve already bid farewell to peaceful and serene times. As if handling babies isn’t enough of a hassle, the endless hours of nursery rhymes and the gazillion kinds of sounds their toys make, literally drive you nuts.
So do yourself a favour, when you’re out shopping for the little ones, be sure to get toys that focus more on visuals and create minimal noise. While loud toys and games may cheer up kids temporarily, they take away your own sanity.
Try training your kids to watch TV at low volumes from the beginning too so they don’t grow used to loud noise.
8. Use Carpet Liners
Carpets and rugs are great at absorbing sound, which is why carpeting your rooms is an effective strategy at soundproofing your apartment. If you have wooden flooring installed, then you can always use rugs to restrict some, if not all of the sound flow.
If your rugs aren’t too thick, try using a carpet liner under it. This makes it better at absorbing sound and soundproofing your room to some extent using existing furnishing. Soundproof rug pads is another amazing invention you can place under carpets to reduce the incoming and outgoing sound in your room.
9. Buy More House Plants
Apart from the millions of other ways plants benefit us, there is one underrated benefit you might be unaware of. Trees planted on the sidewalks help distribute noise in nearby communities. They serve a similar purpose indoors as well.
They reduce sound and noise in three ways; by absorbing sound, by deflecting sound and refracting it. Three specific plants are especially good at this job: weeping fig, rubber plants and and peace lily. Designed for indoor environments, these plants enhance beauty whilst serving an important purpose at the same time.
