Do Fitted Wardrobes Block Noise?

We all want to sleep in peace, right? The last thing you want when you’re trying to get some well-deserved shuteye is the drone of traffic, sound from other rooms in your house or even worse… noises from your next door neighbour… particularly if their bedroom is the other side of a wall to yours. Don’t think we need to elaborate on that. Other noises can keep us awake, from sirens to burglar alarms and much more.

So how can you turn your bedroom into a sleep haven... can you do or change anything in order to reduce the amount of noise coming into your room at night? 

How does sound get in?

There are quite a few ways in which sound is able to bleed into your bedroom, so it’s important to cover all bases. This can include the walls, ceilings, flooring, windows and doorways. If your walls are brick, they’ll prevent a lot more sound than a plasterboard stud wall, even with insulation the cavity.

What can a lack of sleep mean for us?

Noise pollution which causes a lack of sleep can have a huge impact on our mental wellbeing and affects our focus, cognitive abilities and mood the following day. In fact, according to this article from Healthline, a lack of sleep can negatively impact your memory, your concentration, your immunity and your blood pressure!

Do fitted wardrobes act as soundproofing?

Adding a couple of layers to your walls will naturally reduce the amount of sound ingress that your bedroom experiences, particularly when those layers (of wood, for your wardrobe cabinets) also have clothing between them adding even more sound insulation.

Although it won’t stop everything, a fitted wardrobe will help to block noise from coming into your room. This is particularly true if you’ve gone for a if it’s a wall-to-wall wardrobe that fills a space, which most of our fitted bedroom customers have.

The best kind of fitted wardrobes for this purpose are ones with solid, full backs and doors. We recommend at least 18mm thick (like ours!) and any good quality fitted wardrobe will be made from high-density particle board with a melamine face, otherwise known as MFC. Dense materials like this are the best at reflecting noise.

Other ways to stop sound

There’s a number of different things you can do for your bedroom in order to reduce the amount of sound ingress and aid with a restful and peaceful night’s sleep.

For your walls, if you’ve got stud walls with no insulation, then adding cavity wall insulation can help reduce sound from coming through. Although this isn’t what the insulation is designed for (it’s mostly for thermal benefits and reducing energy usage) the sound blocking is a happy byproduct.

For your windows, ensure that they’re closed tightly and that the seals aren’t compromised. You can also invest in heavy-duty insulating curtains, including ones that are designed to reduce noise.

Other benefits

It's not just sound insulation that makes built in wardrobes great... there's a host of other benefits too. For example, adding fitted wardrobes can increase your house value - which is great if you're looking to sell in the future and want to enhance your home's worth.

In addition, they give you some truly dynamic and bespoke storage beyond anything else that you can get off the shelf at a furniture shop.

So if you're wondering if fitted wardrobes are worth it - we would definitely say they are. But then, we are a bit biased!

I want some fitted wardrobes

We can help with that! Why not download our brochure to learn more about what we do here at Online Bedrooms, producing high quality fitted furniture that’s made to measure for your space but delivered for you to assemble yourself, saving you a small fortune compared to the ‘full service’ companies.