Working from home: How to drown out the noise

Working from home, and even relaxing at home, can be tough due to noise from the kids to the neighbours. But there are simple ways you can find peace.

Harken!

The music of our homes; joyous voices uplifted, the thrilling beat of artistic pursuits and the spine-tingling notes of at-your-fingertips technology.

If only it was that rosy all the time. Real life however is increasingly noisy.

We’re living closer together, hybrid working means we’re spending more time at home and, finally, architecture has not been our friend when it comes to keeping the racket down to a dull roar.

Perhaps through an abundance of distractions, we are forgetting the value and importance of a bit of peace and quiet. Well, at least some quiet. Easy to say, and easy to achieve with a few ideas up your sleeve.

Reducing noise at home starts at ground level: the floor

Floors are too easy – and yet often ignored.

Sound with floors (and ceilings) is about percussive noise – when something strikes the floor and the sound travels through to the next space as well as into the room itself. So, fixing floors also helps fix ceilings.

Working from home can be great. If you don’t have noise issues.

Under floor insulation is a huge help – sorry for those who don’t have access. On the room side, carpeting is the easy go to – but not always possible if you are renting, or if you particularly like polished boards, or for that matter, concrete.

If you want to wind the sound up in the TV room, but keep the fun to yourself, it has to be carpet and add some specific sound proofing underlay as well – which will reduce both the ambient TV speaker and impact noises.

Then we come to other floor coverings – the more the merrier as long as they are fixed securely. There are frequently really good sales on rugs, from Freedom to Fantastic Furniture plus, of course, Decor and Carpet Court.

Get on their newsletter list so that a bargain doesn’t pass you by, you can always unsubscribe after the floor is covered.

How to reduce sound transference in an open-plan space

We have spent decades creating homes with vast open spaces, but open plan meant soundwaves had nowhere in which to crash and burn. They carry on until they’re stopped.

So, if you don’t want walls, can’t afford a rebuild, or are renting a space that’s loud, start by looking at the walls.

Hanging some art work or even a wall hanging (no, not macramé) can help soften the sound blow. You don’t need something the size of the Bayeux tapestry, but a few selected pieces will help. Furnishings too, absorb, being soft and deep. (What a great excuse to get a bigger lounge, right?)

If it’s not the kids, it’s the neighbours …

But back to the wall – hunt down job specific sound buffers. Ikea, for example, has a sectional sound-absorbing hanging system called Oddlaug that can be suspended on walls or from ceiling tracks for $55 for a pack of 15.

Windows, indeed glass doors are also culprits in noise crime. For smaller spaces, look for acoustic roller blind fabric and even special purpose acoustic drapery. Of course, you could always dust off the Berlina and having bought judiciously at Spotlight create an alternate window sound crusher for a smaller outlay. Extra hint: where possible, hang your curtains from the cornice, not lower.

What works for ceilings and how can I reduce noise from above?

Ceilings are less easy to sort out, but not impossible.

If you search ‘sound clouds’, a product range in size, colour and price will pop up, many of which can be adhered to the ceiling, while most are hung. They weigh little (like a couple of kilos) so hanging them is not a struggle – and in that way, they can suppress both sound that travels up from the room, but also noise coming down from the ceiling. Plus, they can look really fabulous, and very current from a design perspective.

A black ceiling, with striking suspended sound clouds is a cool statement. Also, a great way to hide a shocking plaster job. Or, go industrial and use studio acoustic tiles everywhere. You can buy 30x30cm tiles in packs of 40 for under $100.

Noise insulation.

Of course, if you have access, batten insulation in the ceiling with something like Rockwool Safe’n’ Sound is great, and a quick solution if you have rafters in place. For a green idea, collect egg cartons. The humble carton has some great insulating qualities, is a fine way to reuse and recycle, and can glued in place on panels.

Originally published as Working from home: How to drown out the noise