Did you know? Over 70% of companies are continuing to adopt permanent remote working strategies for select employees.
To capitalize on this increasing job flexibility, you need to rise to the trend and become agile.
With that, the first step to being a flexible worker is setting up a home office. It will enable you to comfortably perform your day-to-day duties from the comfort of your house.
However, to maintain the same level of professionalism when working from home, you need a quiet home office to promote productivity.
Thus, soundproofing your home office is vital. It will eliminate any distracting noise that interferes with your work schedule throughout the day. Hence, you can achieve your daily targets as efficiently as you would in a work office.
So today, we’re giving you three easy tips on how to soundproof your home office.
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Incorporate Soundproofing Decor
Did you know? You can decorate and soundproof your home office at the same time.
So, before you splurge on furnishing your office, check out these tips on how to hit two birds with one stone.
Here’s a list of office decor pieces that double up as soundproofing tools:
- Curtains
- Acoustic boards
- Acoustic tiles
- Carpets
Soundproof Curtains
Ditch the blinds and go for thick fabric polyester blackout curtains instead. They’re commonly used in home theaters and you can install them in your home office too.
A good example is the Nicetown Insulated Soundproof Curtains, pictured below. The heavy material in these curtains absorbs more sound than regular fabric.
Although you won’t completely block outside noise, the drapes go a long way to muffle nuisance noises and lessen echoes in your home office.
Remember: Always double check to make sure the description indicates that the drapes are soundproof. Otherwise, you may mistakenly buy ordinary heavy drapes that won’t block any noise.
Acoustic Board Panels
The second decorative item you can purchase to soundproof your home office is acoustic board panels.
An acoustic board panel both soundproofs and changes the appearance of your wall instantly. Since they resemble decorative strips or large picture frames, they will elevate your office aesthetic.
You can also go a step further and hang pictures, motivational quotes, or to-do lists on top of the boards. They make your wall look more decorative while blocking outside noise.
Pro tip: Hang the acoustic board on a wall facing a busy street on either side of the window. This will give the effect of an accent wall while at the same time providing significant sound absorption.
Acoustic Floor Tiles
The third decorative soundproofing tip is to use sound-absorbing flooring materials.
You can use acoustic floor tiles like the Pro Source EVA Foam Tiles shown in the picture below. They are light and easy to install by interlocking together over the original flooring.
To achieve a higher Sound Transmission Class (STC) rate, it’s best to accompany the tile layers with a carpet on top.
With that, don’t just buy any standard carpet.
You need a sound-absorbing carpet to lay over the tiles. These soundproofing carpets are made with a thick pad. Hence, they’re dense enough to reduce the sound of footsteps transferring to other rooms in the house.
On the flip side, if your home office is above a noisy room, this is a painless way to soundproof noise from below. With minimal effort, you can work from home quietly.
Note: You will achieve maximum sound-absorption when you combine the two ideas. So remember: lay the carpet over the tiles.
Seal the Gaps in the Room
Noise is notorious for sneaking in through gaps and holes in a room, even when it appears to be locked up tight.
This part is easy because the spaces in your home office are generally located around doors and windows.
Door Spaces
First, prioritize sealing the door spaces. These include gaps between the door and floor as well as around the doorframe.
In this case, use compressible foam gasket material to absorb sound entering the room from the bottom of the door.
A door sweep kit is an excellent example of non-expensive material you can use beneath the door.
The high-density foam seal in the door sweep makes sure the door is tight against the floor to seal the gap and block noise.
Secondly, seal holes between the wall and the doorframe.
Here, you need to remove the original striping foam and install a quality dense foam tape.
Apply it to the doorframe so that the door compresses against it when closed, as shown in the picture below.
Subsequently, you’ll quickly achieve a solid core door by filling your home office’s door gaps using the above simple hacks.
Note: If the door is hollow, some noise will still penetrate the room.
However, worry not because we’ll give you another painless tip to soundproof the door further down.
But first, don’t forget the window gaps. We have an easy fix solution.
Window Gaps
Simply use window sealing tape like the roll pictured below. The tape applies pressure to the existing window frame. Consequently, it forms a seal and reduces the vibrations and noise that enter the room.
This is a much cheaper option compared to buying and installing new soundproof windows.
It will not completely block all the noise, but it will make working from home easier by dampening the sound from outside. Thus, you’ll enjoy quieter meetings.
Another solution is to build some window inserts that essentially plug all those gaps. The insert is typically a frame with clear acrylic that seals around the window frame.
Make Use of Unusual Materials to Soundproof a Home Office
Perhaps you’ve incorporated all of the above tips and your home office is still not quiet enough to do your work from home peacefully.
So to achieve a noise-free working space, we’re providing ways to soundproof a home office using two objects you may have lying around your house.
These are items you could have in your garage right now.
And they may just be the passkey to enhancing the serenity you need to work from home.
Moving Blanket
The first item is a moving blanket. They provide more functionality than simply wrapping furniture.
And so, don’t get rid of them after moving. Instead, use them as noise-canceling covers.
Since they are made with plush cotton batting and polyester backing, they weigh over 5 pounds each. That makes them sufficient enough to block noise and provide soundproofing.
One of the areas you can use them is on the inner part of a hollow door. All you need to do is stick one to the door with strong glue and then place an acoustic board over it.
Without blowing your budget, simply reuse the blankets to achieve a solid core door.
Also, if they are in good shape, you can hang them over walls and secure them with nails.
Bookcase
Another strange item you can use to soundproof a home office is a bookcase.
Do you have an old bookshelf that is awkwardly placed in another room of your house? Well, don’t throw it away just yet because you can utilize it to achieve a semi-drywall if your office has a hollow wall.
Drywall is constructed with a combination of many layers of gypsum board, steel, and in some places, stone. These layers build up the wall’s mass and block sound to significantly increase the Sound Transmission Class (STC) rating.
All you need to do is give the bookcase some fresh paint, fill it up with books, and place it against a wall.
Hint: Place the bookcase over a wall with an acoustic blanket to create a layer of drywall.
Use the above tip to reduce noise while saving money, since constructing real drywall is far more expensive.
*Last updated 2024-10-11 at 12:55 / Product Links & Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
