For the Love of Music
Room Design

A music room design is for those who have a great love of music whether they play an instrument or not.

Just in the way that home theaters have become popular in the home, so are creating functional rooms for musicians and non musicians alike.

There are basically two ways to go. One for the pleasure of listening and the other is intended to play which will include a place for instruments and areas to relax and enjoy.

• Selecting a focal point for a music room design may come out of necessity and is probably already there if you have a piano, an upright bass, a drum set or a guitar collection.
• In the case of a baby grand piano or drums the focus is obvious, but for hand-held instruments you will want them to be on display in a visible place. When they are within reach, you will be more apt to play them more.
• Invest in guitar wall-hangers to provide a firm, safe place to display them off the ground and out of the main traffic flow of the room. They also provide a place to put other equipment you may have such as microphones and headsets and leaves space for the bigger instruments like drums or a piano.
• If you are not keen on having the drum set in plain view all of the time, conceal them with a decorative screen.

Decorating with old instruments that you no longer play is one way to adorn your music room. Check out garage sales and Ebay for tambourines, rain sticks, maracas and woodwinds and hang them from the wall along any memorabilia, art, posters and photos of your favorite artists and that inspires you.

This is one room where you are going to want comfortable seating. This could include a sofa, but definitely a chair or two.

Other furnishings necessary for a music room design will be a place for storing your CD collection, filing cabinets for sheet music and cabinets for electronic storage. Closet organizers help to keep instruments and other electronic equipment, while other storage can be in the form of shelves mounted to the wall for more overall space.

• A key consideration is great acoustic quality and adding sound absorption will make the music clearer as well as saving the noise from other rooms in the house.
• Fabric-covered panels are great sound absorbers and are available in many sizes, patterns and colors. They are created from foam boards and material and can be suspended from the walls or ceilings and depending on the color and fabric can easily be incorporated into the design theme of the room.
• Acoustical padding and composite ceiling panels are also ways to minimize the sound.
• Carpeting or adding area rugs if you have wood or tile floors, and hanging (musically inspired) tapestries will help to dampen the sound. Otherwise the sound will just bounce back and forth.
• Other decorative elements such as drapes and your comfy chairs will have an impact on the sound transmission. The fabrics used will help sound proof the room.

A music room design is going to need plenty of outlets if you will utilize equipment like amps and mikes.

The main floors of the home will provide the best lighting and climate for the location of your music room. Basements can get too cool and damp for the protection of your instruments and by contrast an attic can be too hot and dry.

Compliment the natural lighting with artificial floor and table lamps, and utilize task lighting for any music stands and under cabinet lighting. Adjustable window treatments will control the amount of light coming in from the windows and will also add to the acoustic quality of the room.

Place drums or the piano in the center with enough space to move around and save space with free standing amplifiers by placing them against the wall.

But if this is a music room purely for listening pleasure then the one thing that wants to be in the center of the room is you, surrounded by sound, which means strategically positioning the speakers so the center of the sound is where you will be. There is a wide range of high quality sound systems you can install that will help you to achieve this.

Return from Music Room Design to Room Decorating Ideas

Return from Music Room Design to Interior Home Decorating Ideas home page