How to Reduce Echo in a Room
How to Improve the Acoustics in Your Room (Decoratively)
Hello hello hello… In the good old days (you know, the 90s), echoing didn’t seem to be such a big issue for homeowners – wall-to-wall carpeting, upholstered furniture, traditional layouts, and 8′ ceilings make a big difference in the sound absorption of space. However, echoing seems to be a common complaint these days, and there are a few reasons for this…
4 REASONS YOUR ROOM MIGHT ECHO
The better your understanding of the ‘why,’ the easier it will be to problem-solve!
1. WOOD OR TILE FLOORING
Many carpeted rooms are being replaced with wall-to-wall wood, tile, laminate, and concrete floors, and these are some of the biggest offenders for echoing.
Carpet absorbs considerably more sound than hard surfaces, particularly on stairs and in rooms with high ceilings.
In the above photo, nothing will absorb any sound – all surfaces (even the leather) bounce it.
HIGH CEILINGS & OPEN CONCEPTS
Today’s average home is being built with an open-concept floor plan. There are no longer walls to coral noise. Along with these open layouts, we see a ton of vaulted ceilings, or at the very least 9-10′ ceilings.
It’s the stadium effect…
LEATHER FURNITURE
While leather and vinyl are ‘soft surfaces,’ their sound-absorbing features are far different from those of fabric.
BLINDS INSTEAD OF DRAPERIES
Decades ago, blinds weren’t as popular. However, once the 1″ aluminum blind became popular (the 1990s), many people ditched the more traditional approach of drapes. And in doing so, they encourage a whole new level of sound absorption…or lack thereof.
Again, fabrics absorb sound; wood and metal do not. Is a fabric blind better than a metal or wood one? You bet, but it’s hard to beat the acoustic value of folds of drapes.
The soft surfaces in your home absorb the sound waves – the hard surfaces bounce them around worse than double-d’s on a jog (a problem I do not have…nor do I jog). While it’s best to conquer acoustics when your home is being built, it’s most often too late for that (you know, by 40 or 50 years), so read on, my friend!
Here’s a list of items that absorb sound in a room. Adding some of these items to your room can improve the acoustics and reduce the echoing.
1. ADD UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE
Furniture that’s upholstered in fabric will absorb sound. While it’s okay to have some leather, the fabric pieces will absorb the noise thrown at them rather than bounce it back. If you’re a lover of leather, consider leather for your main piece but fabric for accent chairs, ottomans, etc.
This next long open concept space could throw a lot of sounds if not for the upholstered sectional, area rug, and toss cushions. Even the flat fabric chairs and bamboo blinds help to stop sound from bouncing.
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This can be more challenging in a kitchen, where, at best, you can add some counter stools. Well. ADD THEM! Every little bit helps!
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2. USE AREA RUGS
When it comes to area rugs, the bigger they are, and the denser/longer the fiber is, the more sound it will absorb. As will wall-to-wall carpeting. This said, even a low pile rug will help prevent noise from bouncing off your hard surface flooring.
Echo could be a huge challenge in this living room…
While the area rug and fabric sofa will help, a few things could be added if the goal is to improve the acoustic value…
- a fabric accent chair on either side of the fireplace
- a slightly larger area rug (one size up)
- drapes on the lower windows mounted about halfway between the lower and upper windows
- canvas art on the far left wall
- decorative basket with throw blankets (every little bit helps)
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Many avoid area rugs (more often men than women) because they ‘don’t want to cover up their beautiful floors.’ And while I sidestep many design guidelines or rules, I stick to this one. Rugs work. They ground a space, add acoustic value, and give your floor a chance to shine as you provide it with something to PLAY with and contrast with.
Rooms (especially living rooms) with hard flooring and no rugs look unfinished – always, no exceptions.
Can you even IMAGINE the echo in this room (below) if it were empty? Even with leather furniture and no area rug, things would be BOUNCING off the walls!
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3. ADD DRAPES, EVEN IF YOU DON’T USE THEM
Draperies are, hands-down, one of the best ways to reduce echo in a room. All the sound waves bouncing off your walls will hit the drapes and dissipate, getting lost in the folds.
Fabric sofa, area rug, toss cushions, textured baskets – COME TO MOMMA…
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While these sheers (shown below) won’t absorb as much sound as thick, dense drapes, they’re better than nothing. Combined with the area rug they will definitely help to dampen any noise.
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4. FABRIC BLINDS
If you aren’t a fan of drapes, consider fabric blinds like cellular, pleated shades, or Roman blinds. Heck, install them AND drapes and hit it full force!
5. WANTED – DEAD OR ALIVE: PLANTS
Okay, maybe you don’t want dead plants, but fake or real plants are a great way to improve your acoustic, breaking up the solid expanses of wall space that sound can echo off. Maybe the sounds still hit, but at least it slows the heck down through diffusion.
This next living room has a great balance, including an area rug, leather and fabric, toss cushions, and a plant…
If acoustics were a challenge in this space (doubtful), adding drapes would make a big difference.
6. TOSS CUSHIONS & THROW BLANKETS
Adding toss cushions can help absorb some sound if you have a leather sofa. You’ll probably need to add a throw blanket, as cushions tend to slide on leather! I know leather’s slippery and toss cushions can slide right down (another reason there are few types of leather I love), but give it a go. This is also important as nothing is more boring and undecorative than a plain leather sofa.
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ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS THAT CAN HELP WITH ECHO/ACOUSTICS
I’m not hitting this point as hard as it’s most often after building that you realize your room is really echoey. However, if you’re remodeling, DIY-friendly, or want to build a new home with these considerations, here are some ideas…
COFFERED CEILINGS
The recessed panels of a coffered ceiling can help slow down the sound in your room. I won’t say it will absorb it as well as fabric (or acoustic fabric panels, which nobody wants in their living space), but they can help.
It’s not just the ceilings in this next home that will help with acoustics, but even the layering of the built-in book cases do a good job.
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WOOD BEAMS
Just as with coffered ceilings, while they might not absorb sound, beams can help improve your room’s echoing. Basically, anything that breaks up a hard, flat surface will help a bit…or a lot.
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ITEMS THAT DON’T ABSORB SOUND & MAY CONTRIBUTE TO ECHO
- Leather (as leather is generally reflective, it does not absorb much sound)
- Wood/laminate/tile floors
- Walls and ceilings
- Fireplaces, although a textured stone will be better than a smooth, shiny tile
- Mirrors and artwork (unless they’re canvas)
- Wood, metal, or glass furniture pieces such as tables/entertainment stands/etc…
- Wicker and plastic
- Doors and windows (windows are one of the worst echo offenders)
- Vaulted ceilings
Even with a vaulted ceiling, this lovely living room should have NO echoing issues…
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Other points to ponder to reduce echo in a room
- Solid wood doors are more effective at keeping sound within a room than hollow-core doors.
- Artwork can help on a small scale if it’s a canvas piece. However, the canvas must still be porous and can’t be sealed. Some go so far as to add foam, filling the space behind the canvas.
- While hard furnishings do not absorb sound, they help slow the sound waves, reducing the echo. Adding bookcases, side tables, and other furnishings will ‘help’ with the acoustics in your space.
READ MORE
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ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2019, UPDATED IN 2025
I am thinking of adding wooden or faux beam box type areas to my vaulted ceiling during renos. Would this help with cutting back the echo?
I would think it could help a ‘bit’ as it would stop the noise from bouncing directly off in some spots, but I wouldn’t think it would help a lot as it’s still hard surfaces…
Hi Kylie
We have a noticable echo in our vaulted ceiling kitchen . It previously had a dropped ceiling with 2′ x2′ acoustic tile, but we would like to remove this as part of the reno.. Would knockdown texture on the ceiling help reduce the echo? What about a feature wall of cork tiles?
Hi Marj! Sadly no, textured ceiling won’t do much to help. A feature wall of cork tiles though – absolutely! They are great for sound absorption!
Newly constructed house 2 bedroom its like 1 wall attached to 2 bedroom so no privacy whatever communicate its echo how to avoid n how to furnish
Ooo, that is SW Cyberspace, a super wicked dark charcoal/navy blue blend!
Hi Kylie! Along the same lines, we’re doing a large great-room remodel, modern style overall but still fun. Do you think a new-age “popcorn” ceiling would help in the sound reduction dept?? We’ll have mostly hard surfaces so I’m looking for anything that would help!
Oooo, I wouldn’t do it. I’d use all other avenues before doing even a newer, flatter but still textured ceiling – I don’t think it would be helpful enough and would stick with rugs, drapes, canvases, plants, etc… 🙂
Hi Kylie,
I think you mentioned that shiplap on the ceiling does not reduce a lot of room noise (we have very high ceilings) but is there such a thing as noise reduction shiplap? Something that looks like wood but is not.
That’s an interesting concept. I know that they make ‘fake beams’ out of a type of styrofoam, it could be interesting if they made the same product in shiplap!