Calm Room Design
Arranging furniture to soften sound in a room
How furniture placement softens an echoey room, from finding reflective surfaces and placing seating to using bookshelves and upholstery to scatter sound.
The collection
Calm Room Design
Layouts, surfaces and furnishings that make a room feel quieter, from arranging furniture and choosing floors to planning open-plan spaces and windows.
Calm Room Design
Calm room design basics: layout, surfaces and sound
A calm room depends on its proportions, a balance of hard and soft surfaces, the ceiling, noise sources inside the room and a door that closes. A clap test shows whether the room reflects too much.
Calm Room Design
Hard floors or rugs: comparing options for a calmer room
Compares hard flooring, area rugs and underlayment on echo, footstep noise, comfort and upkeep, and explains which combination suits a calmer room best.
Calm Room Design
Open-plan living spaces that still feel quiet
How to keep conversation and appliance noise from filling an open-plan room, using furniture zones, rug placement, ceiling materials and separated kitchen activity.
Calm Room Design
Planning a quiet bedroom layout
How to arrange a bedroom to limit noise from inside and outside the home, covering bed and door placement, soft surfaces, and choices for walls and windows.
Calm Room Design
Window treatments that soften outside noise
Curtains and blinds soften higher-pitched outside sound and room echo but do little against rumbles. Fabric weight, fit and glazing decide the real gain.