Here’s a fun fact: I haven’t always been a design fiend. When I moved to Los Angeles in 2012, it was for a job in the recording industry. I started my career as a runner (read: dignified gofer) for the famed alternative producer John Feldmann (if the name doesn’t ring a bell, this song might!); at night, I shared a dumpy 2 bedroom crash pad in the valley with 6 (!!!) now-prolific producers, songwriters, and musicians. I was making $500 a month, I was scrappy, and I was surrounded by noise 24/7. At 20, it was a dream. At 32, I look back with bewilderment: who was that?
Because now, the click-clack of my downstairs neighbor’s clogs drives me up the wall. The muffled conversations, the creak of her floorboards, the high-pitched sneezes, or the guttural nighttime coughs – they’re too much. The 20-year-old rat who’d zonk out in a cacophonous frat house after a 16-hour work day has aged into a 32-year-old crone who really values a little peace and quiet, you know?
But this is where I need to say “thank you” to all of those former roommates of mine because they taught me every DIY soundproofing trick in the books. There were the ugly fixes – like egg crates taped to the ceiling or mattresses jerry-rigged to the walls with bungee cords – but there were also some smart, not-hideous sound-dampening techniques. That’s what we’ll be talking about today. Let’s jump right in with a twist on an old favorite…
An Extra Thick Rug Pad
1/2″ Felt Pad | 7/16″ Memory Foam Pad
Your best soundproofing will come from a felt or acoustic foam floor underlayment – so keep that in mind, future renovators! – but a thick rug pad can help dampen sound, too. I prefer felt because its dense fibers are better suited to absorb sounds from speech or music, but this thick memory foam can also help (and it’s a total dream to walk on, BTW).
But wait, there’s more! For bonus sound dampening, cut up an old rug pad and place it underneath your sofa, bed, or any other large furniture piece in your home. It’s an inconspicuous extra layer of protection that can help trap any other rogue sound waves.
And A Sturdy Rug
Vintage Turkish Rug | Custom Moroccan Rug
For the ultimate reduction in sound, opt for the tightest weave you can afford. Keep an eye out for rugs with a higher KPSI, or knots per square inch. A good rug will have at least 100 KPSI, while a great rug will have over 300 knots per square inch.
Etsy and eBay are your friends here – focus your search on vintage handwoven Turkish, Persian, Moroccan, or Tibetan rugs to find sound-dampening floor coverings that won’t break the bank. (Surprisingly, pile height is less of a factor here – a higher pile only accounts for a 2% reduction in sound, on average.)
Thick, Correctly-Mounted Window Treatments
The advice here isn’t just “get heavy drapes.” Au contraire, mon frere. We’re talking specifics. If you’re really trying to block sound, you need to get prescriptive with fabric weight – you’re looking for a material that’s 12 oz to 18 oz/yd, specifically. This info isn’t always readily provided, but it’s worth asking about – not all velvets were created equally! (Homerilla offers an affordable velvet drape that weighs a bit more than 13.5 oz/yd, FYI.)
Now, let’s talk install: you’re going to want 100% fullness here (e.g. a 50-inch window requires 100 inches of curtains), and, for most effective sound dampening, the rod should extend 3″ to 4″ off the wall. I’d recommend this French-return style rod in particular – it extends 4.5″ off the wall and it was specially designed to eliminate light leak, too. (A real double whammy for anyone trying to get the darkest, quietest room possible!)
Add Bookshelves
Walnut & Mahogany Bookshelf | Pine Bookshelf
The denser, the better! If you can, go for a wood bookshelf. Softer woods (pine, balsa, MDF) are good for absorbing sound, whereas harder woods (oak, birch, walnut) will block sound entirely. If you’re trying to drown out a loud next-door neighbor, try some hardwood shelving on your shared wall! But if you’re looking to drown out more ambient or street noise, a softer wood might be your best bet. (Or, like the Old El Paso commercial says, porque no los dos?)
Dress Up The Walls
The walls are your canvas – literally. Hang ALL of your art. Hang a tapestry or a rug. And if that’s not enough, try hanging some aesthetically-appealing acoustic panels (yes, they exist!). I’m partial to the Felt Right tiles in particular because they’re well-made, easy to install, thoughtfully designed, and super multifunctional – install them a mess-free accent wall, add some pins to use a few panels as a cork board, or line the walls of your playroom with life-sized versions of Tic Tac Toe or checkers to keep the rumpus contained.
Fill The Gaps
Custom Draft Stopper | Acoustical Caulk
Bad news for my fellow old home dwellers: the gaps in our doors and windows are doing us dirty. A gap as small as 1% in any type of barrier will leak up to 30% of sound from one side to another; a gap of 5% will leak 90% of sound. Opt for a draft stopper in every door that faces a source of noise, and consider filling any gaps in your windows and doors with a specially-formulated acoustical caulk.
Pop In Some Plants
Woolly Pockets | Preserved Moss
Even better if you opt for pieces with rough bark or thick leaves (like ficuses or rubber trees), which are especially well-suited for absorbing a bit of sound. If you have a really green thumb, consider installing an indoor green wall (I love Woolly Pockets for this purpose – they make a great Christmas gift, too) or try hanging a few preserved moss panels (if your style is a bit more minimal, the latter is a great way to bring some life to your space without eating up any floor space!).
Invest In Permanent Solutions
Indow Inserts | Solid Core Door
If the DIY fixes aren’t really cutting it, you may want to consider investing in a few more permanent upgrades. Indow Inserts are custom-made to your exact window specifications, and they’re engineered to block out sound, heat, drafts, and more. If replacing your windows isn’t in the budget (or if you love your vintage glass windows, like I do!), an insert will make your home more comfortable in a number of ways.
And while you’re at it, consider swapping your doors! Replace a hollow, builder-grade door with a sturdy, solid-core option. I love the quality of Simpson’s doors (both interior and exterior – dreaming of one of their Dutch doors one day!), but you can also find great replacements at your local architectural salvage shop. Every little bit helps!
Turn Up the White (or Brown) Noise
Let’s break it down! White noise covers up all audio frequencies equally. If you’re struggling with hearing yourself think over your neighbor’s conversations or over general street noise, a white noise machine will help drown out those sounds entirely.
Brown noise, on the other hand, is best to drown out those low, rumbling, irregular frequencies. I prefer the sound (it’s more like a thunder rumble or a wave crash, to my ear) and I’ve found it to be more effective at masking snoring and idling cars. There are actually a ton of different noise colors, though, and our ears interpret these sounds differently – perhaps pink or green noise is more your speed?
Reevaluate Your Style
I’m sorry, minimalists – maximalists are the sound-dampening champions. I’ve witnessed this firsthand, too! When I moved into my apartment in 2019, I wouldn’t have even been able to tell you that I had downstairs neighbors. They lived in my building for 19 years and their apartment was a home, in every sense of the word – they had stocked bookshelves, tightly-packed furniture with worn traffic patterns in the rugs, and packed China cabinets filled with mementos from their travels. I never heard a peep!
But in 2022, those neighbors bought a home. And my new neighbor – an elusive woman who loved Japandi style and bare floors – became my de-facto new roommate. I heard her cooking. I heard her getting ready in the morning. I heard her talking on the phone. I heard her crying. I heard her working from home. I heard her ALL THE TIME. (I’m only finally able to admit all of this publicly because she moved out last month!)
To that end: if you’re in an older building, or in a place that’s poorly insulated, or if you’re the dreaded top-floor roommate, you may want to consider turning up the maximalism a bit. Take a page out of Mallory’s book – her restrained color palette makes this studio apartment feel calm, while her thoughtfully-placed furniture and decor will deaden noise from her neighbors.
Sodd a few thick blankets to your sofa! Hang a gallery wall! Or, if nothing else, throw down a rug (with a pad!) in your frequently-used spaces. Together, we can all make quieter, more sound-dampened homes! (To be fair, there are still more technical solutions out there – you could DIY acoustic panels with fiberglass; you could install a suspended floor and fill the void with rockwool; you could cut holes in the walls and squirt in some spray foam insulation – but for the most part, you should be able to make a substantial difference without breaking out the power tools.)
Please let me know if you’ve discovered any sound-dampening solutions of your own – I would love to hear about them! (And in case you’re wondering – three of those old roommates of mine were nominated for Grammys before their 30th birthdays. All of that DIY soundproofing in our dumpy 2 bedroom apartment really paid off, huh?!)
Opening Image Credits: Photo by David Tsay | From: Rustic Modern House Tour
