Small homes and studios

Living zone Acoustic Design for Small homes and studios

Find the noise source and its route through the space. Treat sound leaking between rooms differently from echo inside one room.

Living room inspiration: seating grouped around a shared focal point.

Plan in this order

List sources of speech, equipment and impact noise at the busiest time.
Put quiet work away from busy edges where possible. Check doors, gaps and service penetrations before adding finishes.
Use absorption for excessive echo. Ask an acoustic specialist where speech privacy or isolation is essential.

Worked example

Sound from a television carries directly into an adjoining bedroom through a hard-finished open plan.

Turn the speakers away from the bedroom wall and add a rug and curtains; inspect door gaps if speech still carries.

How to test it

Recreate the noisier activity and listen from adjoining seats and rooms with doors both open and closed.

Apply it to this space

Layout: Anchor seating on a wall and preserve a central route; use a movable table rather than fixed dividers.
Detail: Choose a sofa with hidden storage and a rug to mark the lounge footprint.
Trade-off: A larger sofa improves comfort but limits hosting and sleeping flexibility.

The Elixir portfolio

Photographs for design inspiration