Almost anything you do to furnish or decorate a room will help, so pick and choose the steps that most appeal to you. The more floor space you cover, the more sound you'll dampen. Walls and windows are next. Here again, softer is better. If you prefer a barer look, you can choose from among the various sound-absorbent wall coverings, which are designed to absorb sound, like MHC's Sound Control wall and ceiling panels or Owens Corning's SelectSound panels.
Furniture also eats noise, and lots of it.
Even a glass table will help, but softer, larger, more complex furnishings have the greatest dampening effect. A big tufted couch will gobble more sound than a simple deacon's bench, and a big breakfront more than a low sideboard. And more pieces break up more sound. Today's Homeowner, a division of Times Mirror Magazines. Privacy policy .