If you look forward to peace and quiet after a hard day’s work or an important meeting, you might have certain spaces in your home or office that you find to be more relaxing than others. Committing to turning these areas into dedicated quiet rooms, using acoustic art panels that absorb noise and other unpleasant ambient sounds, can help you relax.
Alternatively, you can even use quiet rooms to improve your workflow in your home office or commercial building, as well as to help improve focus for people who are using the area. No matter your goals for your quiet room, acoustic art panels can help you achieve them. Here’s what you need to know about how acoustic art panels work – and how to use them for maximum effectiveness.
What Are Acoustic Art Panels?
Acoustic art panels are a type of artwork or installation that can serve multiple functions. Since it is art, it can certainly be used as a focal centerpiece—and these panels are customizable too, so you can alter them to suit your visual aesthetic no matter where they will be placed.
However, they are also a utilitarian tool that absorbs sound and can reduce echo and noise within a space. In this way, you can beautify any area while also making it quieter and more comfortable to inhabit or work within.
Acoustic art panels come in a variety of shapes and sizes, as well as depths. Thicker panels will absorb more sound, but the thickest choice is not always the right one for every situation. You can work with a professional to determine how thick and large your panels need to be. You will also need to consider how they are placed.
Acoustic Panel Placement and Strategy
Acoustic panels will still work no matter where you put them, but they may only be operating at 10% or 20% of their maximum efficiency if you do not install them in the ideal location. The good news is that you don’t need to be a scientist or an architect to figure out where acoustic panels would serve your needs best.
Just be sure to think about the following factors:
1. Symmetry
Acoustic art panels work best when they work together. A single panel may help, but it will not be as effective as multiple panels in a complementary arrangement. For example, panels placed directly opposite each other can almost entirely deaden noise traveling through that space, as the sound waves have nowhere to bounce off of in either direction and will be absorbed.
Similarly, you will want your acoustic art panels to be placed in an even, symmetrical orientation across a wall. This ensures that no matter where sound waves land, they will hit a panel if they are moving in that direction.
2. Spacing
If you want symmetry in your panels, why not just line your entire wall with them? The ideal alignment for acoustic art builds in some spacing between panels so that the room still sounds natural and comfortable. Maintain even spacing between all panels.
3. Location
One of the most important factors when creating a quiet room with acoustic art is to determine the locations where sound is amplifying. Sound waves bounce off of flat surfaces. Consider the areas that are generating the most noise (like a kitchen with banging pots, or big front windows that let in the sound of traffic or other outdoor ambient noise).
Then, place your acoustic art opposite these locations, so that sound waves traveling from them are absorbed immediately, before they have a chance to bounce and echo.
4. Height
While you can technically place acoustic art anywhere, it is best used at eye level for multiple reasons. First of all, it’s art—which means it would be nice if people could see it and look at it like they would any other installation or painting.
Second, you want the sound to be absorbed at ear level; if you absorb sound near people’s feet or above their heads, some echo and reverberation will still reach their ears, and the effect of the panels will not be as noticeable.
If you are having problems with sound echoing above you, such as in a vaulted ceiling or large conference space, some acoustic art is specially made to be suspended from the ceiling to account
for this.
Trust the Pros When You Order High-Quality Acoustic Art Panels
Whether you are working with a space in your home or office to deaden the noise, acoustic art panels can be a great help. And because they are customizable, you can create them in any style, with portraits, patterns, logos and colors of your choice.
The experts at Tree Towns are proud to offer high-quality acoustic art panels that suit your needs. Reach out to learn more or to get started with an order.