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Life just outside your bedroom can be noisy. Whether it’s your dog barking at the trees rustling outside or your teens insisting that they simply have to blast their music at max volume, all the sound bouncing around inside and outside your house can make it tough to get some decent shut-eye. These seven easy soundproofing methods will help you quell the noise and finally sleep in sweet, manufactured silence.
1. Seal the Gap Under the Door
Sound can travel in through the gap beneath your bedroom door, which means that you’ll be tossing and turning while you’re forced to hear every single joke of the talk show your spouse is watching downstairs. Close up the gap by adhering rubber weatherstripping to the bottom of the door. (See our companion guide for more on soundproofing a door.)
2. Upgrade Your Bedroom Door
Bedrooms with a hollow-core door, which consists of a thin outer layer of wood with plastic or cardboard inside, tend to be noisier than those with a solid-wood door. Replacing a lightweight interior door with a heavy-duty, solid-wood model helps a lot with room soundproofing. A more substantial door can help block traveling sound, and save you from ever again having to hear your son playing video games until the wee hours.
3. Install Acoustic Panels
For serious soundproofers, the answer to your noise troubles may lie in the clouds—specifically, in an acoustic ceiling cloud hung from the ceiling of a room to eliminate echoes and absorb noises. Though pricey, foam https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-soundproof-an-apartment/ ceiling clouds like the Sonex Whisper Wave Clouds work well in lofted bedrooms or rooms with especially high ceilings.
4. Rearrange the Room
Soundproofing doesn’t have to cost a fortune. In fact, you can take steps to control bedroom noise without buying anything at all. Sometimes all it takes is rearranging the furniture with an eye toward absorbing sound and preventing it from hitting your ears. One effective strategy for blocking noise is to move a heavy dresser or bookcase to an outside-facing wall or to a wall that backs the hallway. (For more, see our companion guide to soundproofing a wall.)
5. Hang Soundproofing Curtains
A stylish method for soundproofing a room? Count us in. When you cover windows with soundproof curtains, you get a two-fer: an attractive, soothing decorative touch and an effective way to block the noise of traffic, sirens, and street noise. If curtains don’t do the trick, fear not—there are several ways to soundproof windows.
6. Apply Noise-Reducing Wallpaper
Wallpaper is enjoying a comeback, and it’s come back with a little something extra. It turns out that some wallpapers can help control noise. Sound-insulating wallpaper, like Arthome’s brick peel-and-stick wallpaper is made of thick polyethylene foam that dampens vibrations and sounds. Wallpaper probably won’t completely soundproof walls, of course, but it will make it a little easier to soundproof an apartment so you don’t hear the buzz-saw snores from your neighbor in the adjacent unit.
7. Deploy Foam Paneling
Tacking up some soundproof panels on one or more of your bedroom walls is a quick and effective way to absorb noise inside the room and cut down on the sound that enters. Panels are one of the best soundproofing materials, and they’re available in a variety of textures and colors. Then, when your neighbor revs his Harley first thing in the morning or your kid practices the recorder late in the evening, those unwelcome noises may be a little less irritating.