Many apartment dwellers accept outside noise as a fact of life – some even like it – but if a quieter home is what you desire, these budget-friendly tips for soundproofing your apartment can help muffle and even mute the sounds coming into and out of your happy home. Whether you’re simply trying to be a courteous neighbor or hoping to silence the sounds from next door, these simple solutions should make for a quieter environment.
Cover Your Walls
While sound-absorbing materials like cotton, foam and felt will definitely help dampen sound traveling between walls, they can also leave your apartment looking like a music studio. The good news is that you can achieve similar benefits with simple home décor. Adding artwork, picture frames or a living wall can actually muffle noise. To take it one step further, try hanging wall tiles, tapestries or a rug for greater soundproofing coverage.
Decorate with a Bookcase
A bookcase, especially one filled with heavy, thick books, is another soundproofing tip for noisy neighbors and thin walls. Plus, you get the benefit of additional storage space! Just be careful not to leave too many empty shelves, since those hard surfaces can actually counteract your efforts. For extra noise-blocking insurance, you can line the wall behind your bookcase with a foam egg crate or other sound-absorbing material.
Go Thick on the Rugs
If you’ve got hardwood floors, rugs can help soften apartment sounds. Even if you have wall-to-wall carpeting, rugs provide additional soundproofing properties, and can help you tie together a room. Go for “high-pile” textures, and look for a density rug pad to boost your noise-blocking potential. Remember, noise ricochets off hard surfaces, so choosing furniture with more fabric can actually help to dampen sound, as well.
Supplement with White Noise
When all else fails, a simple fan or white noise machine can help drown out unwanted sounds. This can be particularly helpful if noise is problem when you’re trying to sleep. You can even find free apps for smart phones that offer white noise options, including faux fans and the oddly soothing sound of a hairdryer. Hey, at least we didn’t suggest ear plugs.
Is Urban Noise a Problem?
If you’re currently living in Chicago and the sounds of the city have become a nuisance, you might want to check out Oak Park Apartments. Just 7 miles west of downtown and accessible via the CTA Blue and Green Lines, Metra and both the CTA and Pace buses, Oak Park is a much quieter suburb of Chicago. In fact, according to Thrillest.com, it’s arguably Chicago’s coolest suburb.
Oak Park Apartments offers one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments for rent near Chicago, as well as studios and pet-friendly units. Browse our available apartments or contact us for more information.
