While listening rooms (especially those that use vinyl) may sound reminiscent of an interior quality for mid-20th century American suburbia – picture enjoying a brandy on the rocks while Elvis sings about a relationship that can never last -the reality is that listening rooms are on the rise in 2023, from those with vinyl collections to modernized setups with HD TVs and surround sound speakers.
Another popular trend right now is the rise of home libraries, the perfect place to relax and indulge in a creative and intellectual space – both in your mind and surroundings. Whichever of these options you’re considering, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s begin!
Creating a Listening Room in 2023
Through several lockdowns, it may not surprise you to know that at-home listening rooms have become more common in recent years. Moreover, this trend looks set to stay even with lockdowns a thing of the past.
The Correct Space
To create the ideal listening room, first and foremost, you need to choose the right space in your home. Ask yourself which room would be best to convert into a listening room, both in terms of the space required and where it is located.
Walls
In addition, you’ll want to consider whether or not you’ll need to have a wall knocked down (if deemed safe and appropriate by a qualified professional.
However, on the other hand, whether you want to make the space smaller with the addition of a new stud wall or to aid in soundproofing, you might be wondering how much does a stud wall installation costs? In general, the pricing will come to around £800 to £900. With that said, stud walls in their own right aren’t necessarily good for soundproofing. Of course, you can simply request that soundproofing measures be considered for the installation.
Getting the Right Volume Output for the Room
If you want to have speakers added, it’s important that you choose the right ones for your proposed listening rooms. You may want to run through this with a professional designer or another suitable professional.
One way that things might go wrong is if you have larger speakers added to a small room, as this lead to too much feedback. All in all, it’s essential to get the right volume output for your listening room for the optimal experience.
Soundproofing
Another consideration is ensuring adequate soundproofing measures are taken. For instance, soundproofing insulation can go a long way toward making the auditory experience as close a match to your ideal scenario as possible.
Moreover, you’ll want to undertake key soundproofing efforts to ensure you don’t have enough other household members or spark drama with the neighbors.
Creating the Perfect at-Home Library
For bookworms worldwide, a domestic library sounds like a lovely addition to their home. But what are the best practices for bringing one to life?
Choosing the Right Location
First and foremost, you’ll want to find the right room to build your home library. You’ll primarily want to consider the size of the room and where it’s located to find the ideal space.
You may want to consider soundproofing measures, although this will depend on how loud your home usually is and whether the room you have in mind is within close proximity of noisier spots (e.g., the living room where someone may be watching TV).
Find the Ideal Design
With so many ways to design an at-home library, you might want to hire an interior designer to help you create the perfect library for you. That is unless you already have a fairly clear vision in mind.
Either way, here are some tips worth thinking about:
- Add ornaments and decorate the space.
- Arrange your books based on genre, spine color, or (if you want to be extra meticulous) even alphabetically or chronologically based on when they were published.
- Have the perfect seating arrangement. Whether you’d like a sofa with a coffee table or armchair, consider what the perfect seating arrangement looks like for you. Be sure to have plenty of comfort and support for your back, especially if you plan to spend hours or even tens of hours in your home library each week.
- Include storage boxes for magazines.
- You may want to use a mix of horizontal and vertical stacking for your book collections.
- If you have children (or relatives’/friends’ kids who tend to visit), consider having a section for children’s books.
*If adding plants and you have pets, just double-check that the plants you have in mind are not harmful to your animals.
