Sleep soundly night and day: Two ways to create a soundproof room

Maybe it’s the drone of rush-hour traffic. Maybe it’s your neighbour’s yappy dog. Or perhaps it’s just your partner’s loud closing of the kitchen cupboards. Whatever. Trying to sleep when everyone else is awake is close to impossible. Without soundproofing that is. So what if you could install your own affordable DIY soundproofing? You’d do it wouldn’t you! All for a good day’s sleep.

A curtain in front of a window, and a wall made from fabric-filled photo frames. Both are examples of bedroom soundproofing.

1. Soundproof curtains

Goodbye noise from outside

An IKEA sewing machine, fabric, measuring tape, pins, scissors and cotton thread on a table close to a wall.

What you need:

Two pieces of metre fabric (any you like) of the same size, enough to fit your window
A piece of wadding (that stuff from inside a synthetic quilt), that’s 2cm narrower and 2cm shorter than the metre fabric
Two eyelets (to hang it up)
Cotton thread
A tape measure
Some pins
Scissors
A sewing maching
Some dressmakers’ chalk

A close up image of a hands, that is layering up grey fabric and wadding to start sewing a soundproof curtain.

1. Layer up

Place the wadding in between the two pieces of metre fabric with a 1cm gap, on all sides, between the edge of the wadding and the edge of the metre fabric.

A close up image of hands, showing how to pin the hem in place on grey fabric.

2. Fold and pin

Fold the edges of the metre fabric inwards to create a hem and pin in place.

A close up image of an IKEA sewing machine and a persons hands, showing how to sew a hem on grey fabric.

3. Sew the border

Sew the two sides together with the wadding inside, removing the pins as you go.

A close up image of hands, using dress-makers chalk, marking out a lattice design on grey fabric.

4. Mark out a lattice

So the wadding stays equally distributed, you need to sew a lattice design into the curtain. Start by marking out equal squares using the tape measure and dressmakers’ chalk. (The size of these vary depending on the size of your curtain. Just make sure they’re all of equal size.)

A close up image of hands, sewing a lattice design in place on grey fabric.

5. Sew the lattice in place

Sew the lattice design into the curtain. Use double lines to ensure the wadding stays in place. Rub away the chalk when you’re done.

A close-up image of hands, cutting two holes then pushing the eyelets into them on grey fabric.

6. Put in the eyelets

Put in a couple of eyelets in the top corners, so you can easily hang your curtain from hooks in the wall. First cut out a circular shape the same size as the eyelet. Then push the eyelet in place. It should be a snug fit.

A dark-blue soundproofed curtain hanging in a window, over a table with books, and blocks out outdoor noise and daylight.

And voilia, a DIY soundproof curtain

Top tip: dampen even more sound by hanging thick curtains at the window, in front of the soundproofed curtain. They’ll help block out light too.

A glass with green leaves in front of a window with blackout curtains for extra sun-blocking power.

2. Soundproof wall

Goodbye noise from inside

A scissor, tape, a photo frame, grey fabric and white wadding on a table. They will be used to make a soundproofed wall.

What you need (to make one. To cover the wall you’ll need more of course):

A picture frame in a size of your choice (we used 40cm x 50cm)
Some wadding, 2cm narrower and 2cm shorter than the picture frame
A piece of metre fabric (in a colour you love) that’s 10cm wider and 10cm longer than the picture frame
Scissors
Tape

A close up of a person’s hands, layering up grey fabric, white wadding and the back of a photo frame.

1. Layer up

Layer the wadding on top of the metre fabric. Then place the back of the picture frame on top of the
wadding.

A close up of a person’s hands, tapes grey fabric to the back of a photo frame.

2. Fold and tape

Fold the corners of the metre fabric over the back of the frame and tape in place.

A close up of a person’s hands, removing plastic from a photo frame.

3. Remove the plastic

Remove the plastic (or glass) from the picture frame.

A close up of a person’s hands, placing a grey fabric-covered back of a frame into a photo frame, and folds over clips.

4. Put it all together

Put the back of the picture frame, with the wadding and metre fabric attached, into the front of the frame and secure it in place with the little clips.