A room’s acoustics can make or break an entire room. Rooms that echo give off an unpleasant ambiance, making it difficult to unwind and relax within their vicinity. An important aspect of a room’s interior design is how the sound travels through – whether it originates from speakers or from the projection of our own voices. Thankfully, from carpets to decorative sound dampening wall tiles, there are many ways to improve the acoustics of a room. If you’re looking to improve the acoustics of your room, look no further than this article. We will dive into 7 different and unique ways to better the acoustic quality of your room!
First of All, What Does Acoustic Mean?
The acoustics of a room are defined by how the sound travels through the room. This involves the absorption of sound across different surfaces found in the room, as well as how it is transmitted after being emitted by speakers, voices, and miscellaneous noises.
Why Are Acoustics Important?
Sound that bounces off hard surfaces and travels around the room through prolonged echos can have a detrimental effect on us and a negative impact on our mood. The same applies when the room is unsuccessful at blocking out outside chatter. Rooms with balanced acoustics not only create a more comfortable environment for us, but they also enhance productivity, motivation, and concentration! Not to mention, it’s more enjoyable to watch movies or TV shows and listen to music when the sounds travel properly. Thankfully, it’s very easy to improve the acoustics of any room within your home!
How to Improve Room Acoustics:
1. Install Acoustic Felt Wall Tiles
A new, trending solution that solves the acoustics problem in your home is as simple as acoustic felt wall tiles or panels. Coming in a variety of different colors and designs, felt wall tiles make the perfect addition to your living room, bedroom, or office. They diffuse and dampen unwanted echoes and prevent unwanted noise from entering the vicinity of your home. They also give the room a chic and modern look!
2. Purchase a Soundbar & Subwoofer for Your TV
To truly impress your guests with an awesome sound system, you should invest in a soundbar and subwoofer for your living room’s entertainment center. Because soundbar speakers have a more even, high-quality sound output, they will emit a balanced sound that makes you feel totally emersed in the movie or show. Flat-screen televisions either emit sound downward or towards the wall behind the screen, causing unpleasant vibrations that disperse awkwardly around the room. A subwoofer comes in as a right-hand man to the soundbar, as most speakers are not able to reproduce the level of frequencies sent from the audio source. Investing in a soundbar and subwoofer will better not only perfect the bass output but the entire sound distribution within your space.
3. Lay Down Carpet
Carpet is great for absorbing sound. If you’ve ever lived in an apartment with noisy upstairs neighbors, placing a layer of carpet between floors can make a world of difference. Carpets can help sound distribution within the room, as well as block out any unwanted outside noises. While you don’t have to put carpet down in every room, laying down some heavy, woven rugs can really make an impact on the atmosphere. Additionally, hanging a thick, woven tapestry on the wall can produce a similar effect, which brings us to our next tip…
4. Hang Things on Your Walls
No matter what it is, things hung up on your walls will keep noises from bouncing around. Wall hangings like the tapestries mentioned above are a great solution to this, but posters, mirrors, or other framed pictures are just as helpful. The fewer blank walls, the better!
5. Increase The Number of Soft Surfaces
Similar to the effects of laying down carpet, increasing the number of soft surfaces in your space will absorb and diffuse sound. Big, soft, and upholstered couches are great examples of this. Additionally, adding blankets, throw pillows, and poufs to your living room space will help defer some of the harsh noises and give your space a more pleasant ambiance. Not to mention, decorative pillows make a place feel homier!
6. Hang Up Heavy Curtains to Absorb Outside Noise
Curtains create a barrier between unwanted outside noise and the safe, quiet vicinity of your home. They do a great job of deterring background noise for both you and your neighbors. Curtains are another soft surface that dampens sound and prevents it from echoing around the room.
7. Install Soundproofing Doors or Window Inserts
If you’re in serious need of soundproofing, installing special, sound-deadening doors and window inserts is your best bet. Soundproof doors are heavy, insulated doors that prevent unwanted noise from traveling throughout your house. They can be pretty expensive, depending on quality and cost of installation, however, they can be extra helpful in deterring noise traffic. Window inserts operate in a similar fashion for the same purpose – blocking out the chatter. Window inserts are especially useful if you live somewhere incredibly noisy, like on a busy street or in a downtown area.
Conclusion – How to Improve the Acoustics of a Room in 7 Easy Steps
As you can see, improving the sound quality of your home is fairly simple. Many of these solutions are very easy to implement and can also give your interior design a little upgrade! However, there is one more important thing to keep in mind – sound travels differently depending on the shape and size of the room. You may have to manipulate the positioning of furniture, incorporate more soft surfaces, and hang up more walling hangings if your room is rather large or abnormally shaped. For example, high ceilings can make it slightly harder to balance a room’s acoustics, because of how much additional space they add. Rectangular-shaped rooms allow for the best sound distribution, as they have better bass reproduction qualities.
