Aside from making your hi-fi and home theatre system sound amazing, improving your home's acoustics and reducing noise pollution can profoundly affect the mental health and wellbeing of all who live there. Whether internal echoes from having high ceilings and hard floors or outside noise pollution entering through windows and doors is the cause of your home's acoustic problems, the solution is simple: you need acoustic sound blocking curtains.
Aside from making your hi-fi and home theatre system sound amazing, improving your home's acoustics and reducing noise pollution can profoundly affect the mental health and wellbeing of all who live there. Whether internal echoes from having high ceilings and hard floors or outside noise pollution entering through windows and doors is the cause of your home's acoustic problems, the solution is simple: you need acoustic sound blocking curtains.
Indoor noise sources may appear relatively benign in isolation, but they can create an unwelcomely loud living atmosphere when added together. Slamming doors, running water, hot water systems, TVs and desktop computers; musical instruments and sound systems; exhaust fans; vacuum cleaners; air conditioning units; refrigerators; food preparation appliances; arguing children; wailing babies, and even buzzing light bulbs can all disturb the peace we try to find in our homes.
The loudest and most distracting noises usually come into your living spaces from outside the home. Road noise is typically the worst noise polluter and comprises cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, trains, aeroplanes, helicopters, etc. Depending on where you live, you may even experience industrial or agricultural noises and sound pollution from machinery, construction, and yard maintenance, particularly leaf blowers, lawnmowers and high-pressure hoses. Other pest noises include barking dogs, hooligans, raucous parties and loud neighbours.
It's not only the source of the noise that matters. Many physical features of noise, such as loudness, vibration, and pitch, can affect how sound is perceived. 'This means that a noise's timbre, your mood, and the time of day can all play a role in how problematic a sound is to your wellbeing. Many health issues have been linked to prolonged or excessive noise exposure, from stress and poor concentration to productivity losses at work, communication problems and fatigue caused by sleep deprivation, to more serious problems like depression, anxiety disorders, heart disease, cognitive impairment, tinnitus and even hearing loss.
Unsurprisingly, most external noise pollution comes from outside the house through the windows. The most effective solution to stop excessive noise pollution is installing double- or triple-glazed windows; these windows use multiple panes of glass with air or inert gas in between.
Multi glazed windows not only block out a lot of noise, but they become significantly more effective insulators, making your home more energy-efficient and saving you money on utility bills. That said, extra glazing is a considerable home improvement expense, and not everyone with unwanted noise problems is in a position to replace their windows. For a much simpler, more affordable solution, sound-absorbing acoustic curtains can measurably reduce the amount of noise pollution you experience.
Soundproof curtains are heavier and thicker than standard curtains, and they are designed to keep out light and sound. The porous surface of these drapes absorbs sound waves, resulting in a substantially quieter space. Despite their effectiveness at reducing noise, soundproof drapes are a bit of a misnomer as they will not entirely eliminate all sounds to silence the room fully.
There are a lot of curtains that are sold as "soundproof," but they aren't; they are just extra thick curtains. At Amaru, our custom acoustic media sound and light blockout curtains are made with heavy, tightly woven, specialty sound absorbing drapery fabric. Amaru's sound blocking and home theatre curtains are constructed to create extra folds of fabric. They are fitted to hang from ceiling to floor and extend beyond the window frame to achieve optimal room acoustics and generate a baffle to dampen excess noise.
If you have a dedicated movie-watching space in your home, acoustic theatre curtains are not only beautiful but are also an integral part of the setup.
With the proper installation, light and noise blockout curtains can present you with a cinematic experience like no other. These specialty drapes will reduce reflections on the screen, stop unwanted light for improved picture quality and greatly enhance sound quality when watching your favourite flicks.
A room with a high ceiling is visually pleasing and might feel airy and spacious, but high ceilings, especially when coupled with hard floors, often create noticeable echoing in the room, which can be a nuisance.
Installing acoustic drapes acts as a baffle to stop the bouncing of sound waves, which can stop echoing and generally improve sound quality in the room.
Light and noise pollution entering the bedroom can be a genuine health concern for light sleepers and shift workers, contributing to insomnia and poor quality sleep.
Babies and young children can be particularly sensitive to waking to noises at night or during nap times. Prolonged exposure to sound pollution and disrupted sleep have been studied and found to lead to anxiety and a range of other cognitive and behavioural disorders.
Acoustic sound and light blocking bedroom curtains can help to create a quieter, safer and cosier space to fall asleep in.
Although they won't provide as much soundproofing as a double or triple glazed window, sound-absorbing curtains are a fantastic option to increase the acoustic quality and reduce sound pollution in your home, without breaking the bank. For expert window furnishings advice and a free measure and quote for custom home theatre curtains and acoustic drapes to match your home and lifestyle, contact Amaru today.
