So you moved into a new place and everything is good and well until you realize… you don’t seem to have a bedroom door.
Obviously, this can be a bit of a problem.
Whether you moved into a renovated attic, a bedroom that has yet to be finished or another living space that is missing this vital fixture, falling asleep with a barrier to block outside noise can be challenging.
It’s safe to say that we take doors for granted until one day we try to go to bed in a noisy house without one.
Fortunately, there are a few ways in which you can soundproof a doorway without an actual door. Through these methods described in this post, you can create a barrier that blocks sound like a door.
But how do I know about how to effectively block noise from an open doorway? Well, unfortunately, I have had to deal with this problem myself. Long story short, I once had to sleep in an attic that didn’t have a doorway and given that there were people below me making plenty of noise, I spent a good part of the evening trying to figure out how to soundproof the doorway. Given that I have experienced this dilemma, and having experimented with soundproofing appliances in my own home, I can share some of the best ways I have come across to address this issue.
Soundproof curtains
Soundproof curtains are one of the most effective ways to soundproof your doorway when you are missing a door.
However, you might be curious to know how effective soundproof curtains actually are.
Ultimately putting soundproof curtains in your doorway will make your room quieter but not in the way you might think. Soundproof curtains may only slightly reduce the decibel level of noise entering your room. The real benefit of these curtains is that they quickly muffle any sounds echoing around your room.
Let’s pretend someone had an air horn and blared it from downstairs up to your doorless bedroom with soundproof curtains in the doorway. You still would hear it from your room at first. However, the sound would not reverberate around the room and would be muffled much more quickly with the curtains in place. In other words, you would hear the air horn but the sound would be snuffed out quickly, making your room overall a much quieter place.
Better yet you can hang soundproof curtains over your doorway in the exact same way in which you would over a window. Easy peasy.
Blankets
Blankets are another excellent way to soundproof a gaping doorway.
Unfortunately, although blankets can be effective for dampening sound, they likely won’t be as effective as soundproof curtains.
However, the benefit of this approach is that you probably already have some blankets lying around that you can use. If possible, try to get the thickest and heaviest blanket you can find in order to muffle as much sound as possible.
There are a few ways in which you can hang your blanket up. The first way would be to use heavy-duty mounting tape to secure clamps above your doorway. These clamps can be used to hold your blanket over your door. A more simple method would be to use duct tape to tape your blanket to the wall above the doorway. However, with the second method, you are more likely to peel paint off the wall when removing the duct tape.
Makeshift door
If you don’t happen to have a door, there are ways in which you can get creative with the materials you have laying around your house to substitute for a door. It might not look pretty, but these approaches can work at least as a temporary solution so that you can get some rest.
Some of the most common materials lying around your home that you can use to make a makeshift soundproof barricade include mattresses, couch cushions, and kitchen table/fold-out tables.
Mattresses: If you have an old mattress lying around your house that no one else ever uses, it can be a great barrier you can use at your doorway to block sound from entering your room. A twin mattress would be ideal given that it would better fit the shape of your door, however, a mattress of a larger size would also work. A larger mattress would just be more difficult to prop up on the doorway.
Couch cushions: Couch cushions are a great way to barricade your doorway. If you have a couch that has removable seat cushions, it would be worth a shot to try to wedge your cushions in your doorway.
Tables: If you have a table that can fit the frame of your door that isn’t being used, this could also be an effective substitute for a door. The tricky part of using a table would just be positioning in your doorway so that it doesn’t fall over. It may be necessary to use a bit of tape to secure your table to the frame of your door.
Other ways in which you can block sound in a doorless bedroom
Soundproofing your exposed doorway is the first step you need to take to get better sleep. However, you may end up finding that the methods you try simply aren’t as effective as simply having a door in place. In turn, you may need to take some extra precautions to ensure that you can reduce as much noise in your room as possible.
Acoustic panels
Lining your walls and even ceiling with acoustic panels is an excellent way to muffle sound in your room.
You can simply buy these acoustic panels in bulk and place them around your room. This way, any sound that does get through your doorway will be quickly dampened by the acoustic panels around your room instead of echoing off of the walls.
Perhaps the best part about acoustic panels is that they are also quite cheap. You can get a pack of twelve 12X12-inch panels for as low as 20 dollars.
White noise machine
A white noise machine won’t block out the noise in your room per se. However, it very well might help you fall asleep easier nonetheless.
These devices do essentially what you might expect them to do. They create white noise.
Soft white noise can drown out other noise that might enter your room. It might seem counter-intuitive to try to fall asleep more easily by creating more noise. However, people often do fall asleep more easily when they have constant but gentle background noise such as the drone of a fan or the pitter-patter of rain.
Earplugs
Last but not least, you can use earplugs to block noise.
If the noise is bad to the point where even a blocking your door won’t cut it, earplugs might be the way to go.
Earplugs are great because they are EXTREMELY effective at blocking noise. After all, using earplugs is like putting mini acoustic panels where you need them the most: your ears.
The only problem for some is that earplugs can sometimes pop out during sleep and depending on the shape of your ears, they can be uncomfortable.
Regardless, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.
Final words
Although these methods for soundproofing a doorway without a door can be effective, there certainly other household devices lying around that you can use to block noise. You might just have to think outside the box.
Additionally, acoustic panels and white noise machines are just a few examples of ways in which you can soundproof your bedroom in general.
For a complete list of the best methods for soundproofing your room from top to bottom, you can check out this guide here!
