The number one mistake in curtain selection is based on price. Just because it’s high priced or says it has good quality doesn’t really mean much. Getting a really pricey set of curtains that look nice may end up to be almost as thin as a piece of paper. This doesn’t block out any sound what so ever and now you may have a several hundred dollar set of curtains that might as well be taken down the second you put them up if you actually wish to block out some noise. Not to also mention that thin curtains usually don’t block out any sun or moonlight which if they did could lower your heating and cooling costs.

Here are some quick general tips on what to avoid if you are looking for curtains to help keep the noise low:

1. One type of material to avoid and while it maybe obvious is silk. Most of the time anything that deals with silk is going to be very light and not what you are looking for even though silk curtains do look nice.
2. Any kind of curtain or drape that doesn’t block out the entire window. You will want at least 4 to 6 inches below the window sill covered.
3. Watch out for curtains that have huge openings near the curtain rod. Some of these can be ignored if the curtain rod is placed high enough or covered with a valance, however a curtain that has no holes lets in a lot less sound.
4. Curtains that allow sunlight through them even if a little bit. If light is able to get through that means sound easily can too which is why blackout curtains work so well.
5. The word thin.

Just remember when you are making a selection to think about how can the sound get in and where the sound is coming from. If there is a hole anywhere the sound will find its way through.