Q: My bedroom is right by a busy car park, and it’s noisy even when I close the windows. Besides getting double-glazed windows, what can I do?

A: Double glazing your windows is really the most efficient way to seal out external noise. However, if budget or building management rules forbid that, look around the room for ways to deaden sound.

Noise is enhanced and bounced about by hard or polished surfaces, such as ceramic floor tiles, big mirrors and metal surfaces. You can cover the floor with a large, thick rug, and drape metal cupboards or boxes with thick fabric. You can also cut sound transmission by draping the windows with two layers of curtains – a thick sheer for day and a heavy velvety one for night.
If you want to go all the way, put up wallpaper on the walls opposite the windows. Ask for sound-absorbing types such as thick flocked velvet, pulpy or honeycomb-textured materials – many of which were acoustically designed for AV home theatre rooms – and you will soon find yourself sleeping like a baby.

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Photography: Alvinn Lim