A quiet home starts with good apartment acoustics
We live in an era when noise is almost omnipresent. Cars outside the window, neighbours through the wall, the washing machine in the bathroom, phone notifications – sounds surround us from morning to evening, and we often don't even realise how much they exhaust us. Yet silence is neither a fad nor a luxury for the privileged – it is a basic human need that we have somewhat forgotten in the modern world. And the good news? You can improve the acoustics of your flat without extensive renovation and without an astronomical budget.
Research repeatedly confirms that chronic noise exposure has demonstrable health effects. The World Health Organisation, in its recommendations for acoustic environments, states that night-time noise above 40 decibels increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, sleep disorders and chronic stress. Yet most people think about how to repaint the living room or which tiles to choose for the bathroom, while giving no thought whatsoever to the acoustic comfort of their home.
And yet a quiet home is one of the most valuable things a person can treat themselves to today. Not because it is unattainable, but because it requires a little conscious attention and a willingness to approach living spaces differently – not merely aesthetically.
Try our natural products
Why the acoustics of your flat matter more than you think
Try to imagine Markéta, a thirty-four-year-old graphic designer who works from home in a panel-block flat on the outskirts of Prague. In the morning she is woken by a tram, in the late morning the neighbours above her work out with dumbbells, in the afternoon someone behind the wall watches television at full volume. Markéta thought she simply had to adapt – after all, she lives in a city. It was only after several months of persistent fatigue and difficulty concentrating that she realised the cause was not work overload, but the acoustic chaos of her home.
This story is not exceptional. Millions of people live in conditions where noise literally steals their energy without them being fully aware of it. Our nervous system processes sounds continuously, even when we are not consciously perceiving them. The brain constantly evaluates whether something might be a threat, keeping the body in a mild state of alertness. The result is fatigue, irritability and the feeling that one has never properly rested – even at home.
The acoustics of a flat are not solely a matter of noise from outside. Equally important is the so-called reverberation time of the interior – that is, how sounds resonate within the space itself. Modern flats with concrete ceilings, smooth walls and minimalist furniture are acoustically very hard. Every sound bounces off surfaces and creates an unpleasant hum that, while not loud, is constant and tiring. As architect and acoustician Leo Beranek once observed: "Good acoustics is not the absence of sound, but the presence of the right sounds in the right place."
Changing this is not as complicated as it might seem. The key is to understand how sound behaves in an interior and to consciously adjust the environment so that it is more agreeable to our senses.
Sound travels through both air and solid materials, and every surface either absorbs or reflects it. Hard, smooth surfaces – glass, concrete, ceramic – reflect and amplify sound. Soft, porous materials – textiles, wood, cork, felt – absorb and dampen it. From this follows a simple conclusion: the more soft materials in the interior, the more pleasant the acoustics. And the closer the flat comes to what is known as acoustic comfort.
Practical steps towards a quieter home
The most effective and at the same time most accessible tool for improving the acoustics of a flat is textiles. Rugs, curtains, upholstered furniture, cushions, throws – all of these function as natural sound dampeners. Heavy curtains reaching from ceiling to floor can significantly reduce noise coming from the street while also lessening the echo within the room. It is no coincidence that homes with a rich textile furnishing feel subjectively calmer and cosier – this is a direct consequence of their better acoustics.
Another key element is floor coverings. A carpet or rug on a hard floor can reduce footstep noise by tens of percent, which is appreciated not only by the flat's own residents but also by the neighbours below. Natural materials such as wool, jute or cork have the added advantage of being not only functional but also ecological and health-friendly – they contain no synthetic fibres that might release harmful substances into the air.
Bookshelves full of books are another excellent and entirely inconspicuous acoustic solution. The irregular surface of book spines scatters and partially absorbs sound, so a room with a large bookcase is acoustically far more pleasant than an empty white wall. Textile-backed pictures, upholstered panels or natural decorative elements such as macramé or hanging tapestries work in a similar way.
Plants are a welcome bonus in this context. On their own they are not a significant acoustic dampener, but larger indoor plants with dense foliage – such as monstera, ficus or various palms – contribute to the overall absorption of sound while also improving the microclimate of the room. A combination of greenery, textiles and natural materials creates an environment that is not only quiet but also visually pleasant and healthy.
Noise coming from neighbours or from the street through windows and doors is a chapter in itself. Here the most effective solution is quality sealing. Self-adhesive draught-proofing strips for windows and doors are an inexpensive investment that can significantly reduce the penetration of outside noise. Where circumstances allow, it is also worth considering replacing windows with ones that have a better acoustic rating – modern double or triple glazing is considerably more effective in this regard than older single-pane glazing.
There are also specialist acoustic panels and wall coverings that are installed directly onto walls or ceilings. These products, originally intended for recording studios and office spaces, are now available for domestic use and their design has improved considerably – variants exist that look like decorative features while serving a very practical function. When selecting such products, it is advisable to favour those made from natural or recycled materials, which are kinder to the environment and to the health of the occupants.
The wabi-sabi philosophy of Japanese design, which favours natural materials, irregular textures and the presence of "imperfect" surfaces, is acoustically very wise. An interior inspired by this approach – with wooden elements, linen fabrics, bamboo accessories and ceramics with a rough surface – will naturally be quieter and calmer than a sterile minimalist space of glass and concrete.
There is also a less obvious but very effective approach: conscious furniture arrangement. A large wardrobe or bookcase placed against a shared wall with a neighbour acts as a natural sound barrier. A sofa or upholstered couch turned towards the window dampens noise coming from the street. These are minor changes that require no structural work or major investment, yet can have a noticeable effect on the acoustics of the entire flat.
It is also important to consider sources of noise within the household itself. Noisy appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers or fans should stand on anti-vibration pads, which prevent the transmission of vibrations into the floor and walls. Quiet household operation is just as important as protection from external noise – and modern eco-friendly appliances generally have lower noise levels than their older conventional counterparts, which is a further argument in favour of a sustainable approach to equipping the home.
Silence as a conscious choice and a way of life
Improving the acoustics of a flat is not merely a technical matter. In a certain sense it is a philosophical choice – a decision to treat one's home as a place of restoration and calm, rather than simply a functional space for sleeping and working. In an age when we are constantly bombarded with stimuli, information and sounds, consciously creating a quiet home is one of the most effective forms of caring for one's own mental health.
Silence as a luxury does not mean luxury in the sense of being unattainable. It means consciously choosing materials, accessories and spatial arrangements that support calm and wellbeing. It means investing in quality textiles instead of yet another decorative object, choosing a natural wool rug instead of a shiny laminate floor, or hanging a tapestry on the wall instead of an empty frame. Each such choice is a small step towards a home where one can truly pause and breathe.
And that is precisely what Markéta from Prague eventually did. She bought heavy linen curtains, added a large wool rug to her work corner and fitted draught-proofing strips to the windows. The result? It was not the dramatic silence of a recording studio, but a calm, absorbing space where she could finally concentrate and genuinely rest in the evening. The acoustics of her flat were transformed – and with them, the quality of her everyday life. Is that not, after all, what we are all after?
