5 Tips for Soundproofing a Home Office

Looking for ways to reduce noise for your work from home space? Check out these 5 ideas to help you sound proof your home office.

With four kids who homeschool, we don’t have a very quiet house. And ever since 2020, my husband has been working from home full time. Let’s just say that finding ways to sound proof our home office was a win for everyone. 😉

Why Sound Proof a Home Office

The spare bedroom at the top of our two-story staircase was the most logical room for his home office. Fortunately, it had a nice large window and we didn’t need it as a bedroom. Unfortunately, all the noise, echo, and footsteps from both upstairs and downstairs funneled right into that room.

We explored some expensive soundproofing materials and options: outfitting the existing wall with full acoustic panels installation like recording studios, installing an exterior door, adding more sound-absorbing insulation to the walls and another layer of drywall, and more. In the end, though, I’m pleased to say that we found a combination of less expensive and less invasive methods that did the trick.

Not everyone needs a quiet home office, but for those who do, here are a few simple and relatively inexpensive ideas that will help reduce noise level in your workspace.

5 Tips for Sound Proofing a Home Office

1. Add a rug.

Even if your room already has carpet, layers will help block sound. Adding a rug to the space is both functional and beautiful. For extra sound absorbing materials, add a rug pad underlayment. If you are still getting reverberation, try adding some thick drapes. Thick materials help absorb the sound waves.

If your noise is coming from outside, then soundproof curtains can help, too. In our case, our children were ensuring that all the noise was coming from inside the house – ha! Blankets and other soft materials around the room will add to the noise reduction.

2. Install weather stripping around the door.

We considered replacing our hollow-core door with a solid core door, but after adding some weather stripping around the office door, we decided that a good door seal was a sufficient sound barrier. Just install the self-adhesive strips to the top of the door and side of the door for a tight seal.

3. Use a door draft stopper.

To complete our door soundproofing, we used an inexpensive door draft stopper to block noise coming in at the threshold. We found this simple little pillow-like item that functions similar to a door sweep on Amazon. You slide the pad right under the bottom of the door and it helps block noise.

4. Hang acoustic panels.

Rather than full-wall panels, we chose three 24×36″ linen wrapped acoustic foam panels to reduce sound. The sound absorption of sound waves is still amazing. It not only helped block sounds and vibration coming from the stairwell but also improved the acoustics inside the office by removing reverberation and echoes.

They were easy to install with the provided cleats and screws.

5. Invest in a good speaker.

All the other tips help make the space quiet, which is perfect for video conferences and phone calls. But my husband loves a good space to think when he’s alone, too. And beautiful, clear music not only stimulates the brain but drowns out any extra loud kids down the hall. 😉

So for Christmas last year, I got him the Sonos 5, and he absolutely loves it. Noise canceling headphones are a good option, too, but who wants to wear headphones all day?

Other Home Office Ideas

Curious about this space? Check out how we maximized storage and made a beautiful workspace. And let us know in the comments if you have other easy solutions to creating a sound proof home office.