Here’s another quick tip to help soundproof your room or rooms to make it just a tab bit quieter.

When soundproofing windows and curtains you may not be able to do everything you want to help keep your living space as peaceful as possible. Perhaps you rent so you can’t change the windows to soundproof ones and maybe your roommate doesn’t want heavy curtains but silk ones instead. What ever the various reasoning maybe there are still a few options available to you so don’t give up hope just yet!

Furniture and art! You obviously don’t wish to block any windows or exits trying to keep out the sound but various furniture and art will help you out as any sound will get absorbed just at least a little bit in most circumstances when coming into the room.

Lets look at art! While paintings may not seem like they would help due to being so small/flat, sound loves to bounce off very large flat surfaces like a bare wall. A wooden frame around the painting not only helps reflect sound coming from the side but the entire painting creates a small space between itself and the wall which can also help reduce sound. Another popular option is a tall bookshelf as a full bookshelf creates a very solid “wall” that will likely be at least a half a foot thick and will stop sound in its tracks. As like the painting it helps reflect sound coming from the side (in a much bigger way obviously) and is a solid barrier against any sound coming from directly behind it. Just make sure the bookshelf is filled with thick and heavy books or it may not be as helpful as you would hope. The other types of furniture can be anything like a couch or seat will help but usually due to the lower height they won’t help as much as like a bookshelf could.

What about Placement!? Placement location of the furniture is also important because if there is a noisy wall behind you due to neighbors, you should look at what you can place between them and where you’ll be in the room. Placing a few bookshelves behind you with your couch in the middle facing your entertainment center should greatly help keep the neighbor’s party noise out of your room while you’re trying to pay attention to a movie. When filling up the room with furniture and various art you will not only reduce the options for noise to easily bounce off of but will also help absorb it before it gets to your ears. A side benefit to all of this is it also helps prevent sound you’re making from leaving the room and creating a noisy situation for others.

Good luck on decorating your rooms and reducing the noise!

A few details about the curtains listed in this deal:

• The deal itself is for two 40x84inch curtains in chocolate color which is fairly cheap as its only $15 dollars a decent size curtain.
• The curtain is faux silk which is a nice light curtain good for any room of the house but usually more for a living room setup
• Grommets with an inside diameter 1 5/8 inches
• Free shipping for Amazon Prime members
• Made by Jaclyn Love

View this delicious deal here! Jaclyn Love 2-Pack Chocolate Curtain with Grommets!

It’s still winter and if you’re looking for a curtain that reminds you of hot chocolate on those crisp cold mornings. Take a look at this curtain!

Heritage has put up several styles of Halloween specific curtains on sale for you to select from!

If you like ghosts like me perhaps these would fit your house well. Though they may seem just a bit too friendly.

Heritage Curtain (Ghosts)

So perhaps you’re more of a spider person then you may want to select these instead. Would probably look great at night with some fake spider webbing and some low lighting.

Heritage Curtain (Spiders)

They also have a witch and skeleton curtain style as well for sale (just click on one of the links above to see the other selections). The curtains themselves go for around twenty dollars a panel so not really cheap if you’re looking to keep the spending low. They are definitely worth it though if you’re looking to decorate your house for Halloween even more than any of your neighbors. As for the curtains themselves they are just an October curtain as it’s not made to be year round unless you just love Halloween that much. However the curtains are machine washable which is good especially with everyone walking around with caramel apples.

Have a safe and joyful Halloween! Ohhh and don’t forget to get a pumpkin to carve!

Let see what these curtains have in store for you if you purchase:

• Thermal Backed – Straight off the curtain offers great insulation that can save you a bit of money and keep you warm as we transition into the winter months. Of course if there’s still a few hot days left it will keep your home nice and cool if you wanted. However they are thinner than some curtains so you may want to invest in something thicker if you have really drafty windows. However in most cases the thermal backed part though will do its job quite well for you.
• Light reduction – While these are not blackout they will help keep light incoming into the home down. So while this may not be the perfect set of curtains on a window that gets a lot of light they’ll still be perfect for the others that get less and works fine at night.
• Machine washable – What else there is to say other than yay! No dry cleaning required for this set but you will need to make sure wash them in cold water.
• Sound reducing – Does reduce sound a bit and is stated to do so. From what we can tell however there is no actual testing done to show that they reduce noise by a certain amount.
• Material – The material itself is 70% polyester and 30% cotton. There have been concerns and complaints by others that they can come with wrinkles and maybe unable to get rid of them. Washing may also cause wrinkles that you can’t remove but you should be able to remove small wrinkles with an iron on very low heat.
• Colors – The colors are amazing rich looking and just have this nice warm feeling to them. If you’re a fan of curtains that have more than just one plain color this curtain is really for you. The colors work really well together and can add to any room that you want a little more warmth and style. There are also three different color sets the curtains come in themselves: Autumn, Mocha, and Sage.

This is a nice curtain panel that’s currently on sale for 58% off which makes it even a better deal. They are currently selling for $16.67 a panel right now on Amazon for the moment and ships free with Amazon Prime. Do note though that the purchase is just for one panel so if you have a bigger window you’ll need to make sure to purchase another panel. Overall if you’re a fan of rich colors and the autumn season these curtains are for you.

Take a look at the curtains here on Amazon to get them or see further reviews of the curtain. 52-Inch by 84-Inch Arlee’s Tuscan Stripe Thermal Backed Curtain (Autumn)

After spending a wonderful day outside in the summer sun you’ll want to come home to a nice cool home to rest and relax the night away. Perhaps you just need to take a break for a few minutes to get something to drink. In either case when you get inside you’ll want your home to be perfect and relaxing when you arrive.

The unfortunate thing is though, that the summer heat while nice outside is terrible inside and it’ll find its way in if you don’t have good curtains. A room with no curtains and wide windows can heat up a room to well over 100+ degrees without much effort during the summer time on those cloudless days. Even if you crank on the air conditioning this may not be of much help and you’ll be wasting money trying to keep a room cool that you aren’t currently in. Your own sauna in the house that you don’t wish to be there when you arrive home.

Insulated curtains to the rescue!

What kind of curtains will help you in the summer greatly? Insulated curtains as they are specially made to keep out the summer sun and allow you to keep a room much cooler. This can save you a few dollars a month or even more depending on how much direct sunlight the room gets. This cost will be easily recuperated by the savings on lower cooling costs and will be well worth it before the summer even ends. A great deal of curtains sold on any website will be insulated to help keep that room at the perfect temperature you want!

But sometimes curtains won’t specifically state insulated when you see that perfect curtain you wish to buy but there are ways to tell if they will help at least a little bit. The first way is check to see if the side that faces the window is padded with a white “foam” or layer to help reflect light. The next method is check to see if the curtains are blackout as this will stop any sun from getting in especially if they are 99% blackout. No sunlight will always immediately mean less heat and this is exactly what you’re looking for! Another term to of course look out for is thermal though it’s usually paired with blackout or insulated. Not all sites will list the words together but usually if thermal it’s made to help out during the really warm and really cold seasons. Lastly check to see if a heavy fabric is used as even though they may not be stated for blackout or insulated, a nice heavy fabric curtain can still help keep out hot air coming into the house from a window that doesn’t tightly close.

But what about my awesome silk curtains!

While silk curtains have a nice lovely designs and flow freely in the wind they may not help so much in terms of keeping the room nice especially during the summer. However a insulated blackout curtain with a very heavy fabric in the end is best for your room if you wish to keep it cool during the summer and warm during the winter. It maybe a bit costly up front but the savings made overall will be more than worth it! You can always bring out the silk curtains during the spring and fall seasons when insulated curtains don’t have as much use.

A few details about the curtain listed in this deal:

• The deal is for the 54-inch by 63-inch version of the curtain though they do have other sizes. However the other sizes may not be on sale or if they are, at a lesser savings.
• The deal is also for the silver version though there is 6 other lovely colors to select from: Black, Red, Taupe, Wedgewood, Cappuccino, and Loden. Selecting another color will also alter the savings however just like the size so be careful if you don’t wish to spend too much.
• The curtain is 100% polyester and is machine washable
• Grommets!
• Made by Trendex Home Designs

Take a look at this 55% off deal at the link here: Trendex Home Designs 54-Inch by 63-Inch Curtain with Grommets (Silver)

If you’re a fan of silver and stripes this maybe the curtain for you!

Description and information about this deal:

Today we’re reviewing the amazing Best Home Fashion Pinstripe Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtain. This is a beautiful set of curtain good for any place within your house and could be the perfect set for you. These curtains have a good combination of features to not only reduce noise but keep costs down as well. It’s a set that should be looked into if ever wanted to have a more soundproof house.

So lets look into everything about these curtains:

• Grommet fitting – Bronze grommets with 1.6 inch inner diameter to fit most standard curtain rods. These work very well and allows easy usage of the curtains.
• Insulating – Made to not only help reduce light coming in but really save on cooling and heating costs by give an extra layer of protection against the elements. The curtains themselves are stated to have over 32% of warmth keeping properties which really high compared to most which can be half that.
• Blackout – When they stated this curtain was blackout they weren’t kidding as there is absolutely no way light will come through these curtains. At 99.9% blackout of light these will make sure you have a light-less sleep so a really good set for the bedroom.
• Machine washable and that’s always a plus!
• Sound reducing – Thanks to the several layer weave and being made to not only be blackout but insulated as well the curtains reduce quite a bit of noise.
• Soft – To give you that warm cozy feeling you’ve always wanted at home especially during the winter these curtains will not disappoint. The curtains themselves are soft to the touch.
• Color and design – Currently down to Burgundy and Navy only as Beige is no longer an option. However the design and colors could just work well for about any house and room you wanted to place them.
• High quality – The curtains themselves are 100% polyester and made by Best Home Fashion which has a great history of making some quite amazing set of curtains that can last you quite a while.

This set is one of the nicer noise reducing curtains we’ve seen with an stunning beautiful burgundy color. If you’re a pin stripe curtain fan as well you’ll definitely want to check these curtains out! The curtains themselves are also on sale currently on Amazon for almost 70% off and look to be going fast at a low price of $24.99. A very good purchase for any new home owner looking to add a beautiful set of curtains to their house or apartment owner looking to reduce some city noise.

You can buy them on Amazon here: Best Home Fashion’s Pinstripe Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtain (Burgundy)

Drywall is your first line of defense in keeping unwanted noise from coming inside. Due to the fact that it’s a solid panel of plaster it gives great reduction to noise and a benefit towards thermal resistance. In most cases drywall between one house from the next will be fairly standard with the chance of thicker drywall being used in which case helps reduce noise even more. Usually however thicker drywall is put up in areas where more privacy is wanted like in an office area or between bathrooms.

The great part of drywall is the noise reduction.

As pointed out in an older post your standard drywall usually has a rating of around 30 STC which is good for stopping noise but could be a lot better. Typically if more noise reduction is wanted the standard drywall which is 1/2″ thick is replaced by a 5/8″ thick drywall. In a few cases this thick drywall can be doubled up but then you have the problem of shrinking your rooms in order to accomplish this, especially if you’re upgrading an existing home. However a lot of people do not know of the possibility of upgrading your house’s drywall to special soundproofing drywall. These types of drywall normally will stay at the 5/8″ thickness but provide significant noise reduction.

The STC rating can almost double which in return in some cases is just like putting up two more layers of noise reduction from just one wall(if not more!). The best of the best which can be up to an STC rating of 80 would make it pretty much impossible for you to hear outside noise through the walls. You could probably be able to put a running lawn mower next to the wall and not hear anything. Perhaps you would hear a very very quiet hum in the background if you listened closely. Imagine never hearing a car on the road while next to a busy intersection or people talking near your house. However these really high end STC rated types of drywall are typically for commercial uses like in hospitals and areas where there is a lot of noise from machinery. Though don’t rule out the lower end version as they can make a world of difference and still be quite affordable.

Costs between different drywall types.

Unfortunately there is no real standard pricing in terms of drywall but the general guideline is something like around $8-10 dollars for a panel. Soundproofing drywall will typically be between 3-4 times that a panel so it is quite the difference in price. But if you want to stop outside noise for good or at least in part of your house that extra expensive will be quite worth it. Always shop around though and get estimates as there’s a good chance you can get a discount between various companies. If you’re a do-it yourselfer, you have even a better chance of saving additional money but it will of course take some time to be properly installed. Installing drywall is something that can’t be rushed as every crack and hole just means less sound reduction and higher heating/cooling costs. Which brings us to the last point that while the costs maybe higher you will save money on heating/cooling costs due to the thickness and special materials used.

Is it worth it for me?

It really depends on how bad of a sound issue you are having. If it’s just a little bit a noise then drywall is probably not the best path to take. Not to mention that if it isn’t a lot a noise your main issue may just be your windows in which case that will probably be typically cheaper to replace/upgrade than an entire room’s drywall. Or just some thick curtains will help resolve the noise. If you’re really unsure though ask around for free estimates and for builders to come out and give you their professional opinions. (Always get a second and third opinion too of course!) Also ask if you could get in contact with any past customers of theirs who had special drywall installed to see their thoughts on if they think it was worth the change.

The important good details first:

• Tab tops – The 3 and a half inch tab tops makes it easy for the curtains to be open and close while looking very stylish at the same time.
• Over-sized – These are quite the big set of curtains/drapes coming in at 160″ overall width which is from two 80″ panels combined. They come in at around 84″ length to easily cover patio doors and tall windows.
• Colors – 5 amazingly looking colors to choose from to fit your life style: Plaid, Natural(displayed), Red, Sage, and of course a lovely Blue.
• Made in the USA!
• Foam backing – Creates a nice set of thermal insulated curtains which saves money during both the winter/summer seasons from lower heating/cooling costs.
• Light blocking – During the day they let in a little bit of light but during the night time they block everything out. So not fully blackout but in a lot of ways does a great job at keeping a good balance for people who don’t want to completely shut out the natural light.
• Sound reducing – Thanks to the foam backing and nice heavyweight cotton face they will reduce sound a bit
• Nice smooth draping effect – Only comes from the heavyweight cotton and isn’t as possible by other types

The real downfalls with the curtains/drapes themselves is the price and the fact that they are Dry Clean Only but that’s not surprising due to the material used. However for such a high quality set of curtains the price isn’t really a factor if you want to get something that looks amazing in your home.

Overall though a great set of curtains made by Ellis Curtain which produces its curtains right here in the USA as compared to a lot of competitors. While fairly pricey at around $105-$120 for the set the quality effort does show and by user reviews, quite loved. These curtains also have nice Amazon Prime shipping which of course is always an awesome plus!

Amazon: Fireside Tab Top 160-Inch-by-84-Inch Patio Door Thermal Insulated Drapes