6 Ideas for the Perfect Home Music Room

The main photo is courtesy of Splacer, which features a Music Studio Loft in Brooklyn.

It’s every musician’s dream to have a room in their home designed and dedicated to the pursuit of their artistic passion. However, those fortunate to have adequate space often discover that transforming a room into a functional, creative escape that doesn’t result in noise complaints, or other inconveniences, can be an arduous task.

To help you sort through a myriad of challenges, consider these six practical tips on how to design an enjoyable music room that will mesh seamlessly into your existing home!

6 Ideas for the Perfect Home Music Room

Get Stylish with Acoustic Panels
Choose Multifunctional Furniture
Select Décor to Fit Your Musical Mood
Optimize Your Floor Space as Much as Possible
Make Sure Your Flooring is Up to the Task
Don’t Settle for a Dark Room

Closing Comments

Also see:

How to Resolve Soundproofing Issues in Your Shared-Wall Home

How Acoustic Panels Can Help Mute Loud Interior Spaces

How to Apply Transformable Interior Design to Your Home

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Related Topics: Interior Design | Home Décor | Home Wellness | Home Renovations | Enjoying

1. Get Stylish with Acoustic Panels

Throughout the decades, musicians have resorted to a wide-range of creative solutions in their attempts to achieve excellent sound control in their home studios. From egg cartons to bubble wrap, there have been countless Hollywood films depicting aspiring musicians spending weeks collecting necessary materials, buying roll upon roll of duct tape, and more – only to have the makeshift solution fail them in the middle of a vital recording session.

Fortunately, there are far more practical – and stylish – means of expertly controlling the sound in a home music room in 2023. Start with top-notch studio acoustic panels that are between 1 to 2 inches thick that can be affixed to the walls of your room in a manner not much different than hanging a picture.

Recording Studio With Ultra Violet Florescent and White Acoustic Panels

Photo by Pixabay.

These panels are typically made of a solid fiberglass or poly-fiber core and are covered in fabric for aesthetic effect, giving you unlimited possibilities in design styles.

Most importantly, they offer a Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) between .85 and 1.10, which means a high percentage of sound is absorbed within your music room. This ensures that only minimal noise will transfer to other areas of your home, while also eliminating unwanted echoes during recording sessions.

2. Choose Multifunctional Furniture

Even in the most sprawling homes, having a room dedicated solely to music may be considered to be a bit ambitious. With the increasing adoption of remote lifestyles, areas such as home offices, gyms, and multifunctional rooms are increasingly becoming must-have spaces in modern households. When adding these needs with the necessities of most households, your music setup may be facing some stiff competition to find viable space.

So if you’re going to take the plunge and make a music room, be sure to make it as multifunctional as possible upfront, so that it can quickly transform into a guest bedroom, home office, or informal social gathering space, when the need arises.

A high-end futon or daybed is a must-have piece of furniture because it can serve as a place to accommodate guests comfortably in your studio during the day while transforming into a private bedroom at night.

Splacer Mod Villa with Recording Studio - Red Voice Booth

Image courtesy of Splacer.

Other furniture ideas include desks with pullout/hideaway keyboard trays and studio desks that include rack space for recording gear.

Also keep in mind the inherent flexibility of many popular musical instruments and accessories that one can never have enough of in a bustling, dynamic music studio, such as:

Cajons
Guitar Stools
Drum Thrones
Bar Stools
Sheet Music Stands
Guitar Stands
Keyboard Stands
Tall Side or End Tables
Instrument Wall Hangers
Floating Shelves
Benches

A key benefit of music “furniture”, best epitomized by stools, is that they are often small and light, and can be moved around with ease to accommodate many different situations and group sizes.

Image courtesy of D’Addario.

Most of these items can also be useful to musicians and non-musicians alike. Sheet music stands, for example, can also be used as small easels to showcase create artwork and décor wherever you prefer.

Cajons are especially unique as they can serve three creative purposes:

Percussion Instrument
Seating
Work of Art

Image courtesy of LP.

Tall side or end tables are also invaluable to have when hosting fellow musicians, as well as regular guests, as these table types are highly portable and are useful for conveniently placing personal items nearby, such as mobile phones, wallets, purses, keys, notepads, refreshments, and more.

3. Select Décor to Fit Your Musical Mood

While there are some musicians whose musical tastes truly run the gamut across all genres, it is highly likely that you have a dominant preferred playing style. Therefore, keep in mind décor that will help facilitate your desired musical mood.

If you are a folk musician, look at the various furniture wood stain colors and living plants to help create a natural, earthy ambience that can match the gentle sounds of an acoustic guitar.

Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

For those with a bit more emotional edge to their sound, darker colors with a textured accent wall may help you get inspired.

If, on the other end of the spectrum, you are making a music room for a child exploring their passion for a new instrument, more playful colors with popular themed art may be a conducive way to go.

4. Optimize Your Floor Space as Much as Possible

As mentioned previously, a music room is likely to face stiff competition for space in your increasingly bustling household. With this in mind, it’s critical that you optimize whatever space you have to the absolute fullest when you find it.

Wes Hicks Music Room Interior with Guitars and Keyboard

Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot you can do about bulky items like drum sets, vertical basses, or grand pianos. However, for smaller instruments and accessories, be sure to equip the room with ample shelf space and hooks for hanging.

Another great idea is to replace a traditional hinged door with a sliding pocket door. This can add several square feet by eliminating the need for the door to swing open into the room.

Also mentioned previously, incorporating smaller, movable furniture pieces can make a space more flexible and enjoyable for all participants and attendees.

5. Make Sure Your Flooring is Up to the Task

One of the more frustrating aspects of being a musician is finding a place to jam out with friends. However, once this issue is resolved, there are other aspects to consider.

While having a new music room is undoubtedly exciting, the traffic from having other musicians bring their instruments into and out of your sacred space can wear out your floors rather quickly.

As a result, it is a great idea to avoid carpet and vinyl tile in favor of more rugged polished concrete or engineered hardwood in your studio. Although you can achieve a wide range of designs with these materials, area rugs are an easy solution if you are concerned that the floors are not up to par with the rest of the studio design theme.

Closeup view of heavy music studio rug.

6. Don’t Settle for a Dark Room

Lighting can be a tricky subject when it comes to music studios. While natural light is all the rage in home design, it presents a challenge unique to recording studios, as windows make it more difficult to mitigate sound transfer.

Therefore, it is not uncommon to set up shop in more closet-like areas devoid of windows. While this type of dark, moody ambience may be ideal for some musicians, other artists will want to get creative with their lighting when windows are not in play.

Lamps, light strips, and other types of lighting accessories (some of which can be controlled by your smartphone) are effective ways to manipulate light in your studio to set the ideal mood for your desired playing experience.

Home Recording Studio Desktop with Microphone and Microphone Screen with ambient lighting

Closing Comments

Don’t be afraid to go the extra mile to design the perfect home music room!

Image courtesy of CollectorMount.

Having a home music studio is a dream-come-true for most musicians. However, optimizing the space can be a bit of a challenge for those inexperienced in designing a home studio.

From stylish acoustic panels to carefully placed lighting strips, from any of the six ideas listed above to create the perfect music room for your home!

When in doubt, always plan for flexibility, as this will get you more viable and affordable options down the road as both your musical and household needs evolve.