Interior Design Today - Episode 020

Welcome to the Interior Design Today radio show with Mary Knackstedt. In our 20th episode, Mary talks about acoustics. It isn't just what we can see, but what we can hear. One of the most important things that we all appreciate is a good conversation; one in which we truly understand what the other person is saying and what is really meant. This takes in many components. We do need to be able to hear what they are saying, and then, of course, if we are fortunate enough to be in the same room as them, we're interested in their body language and how they respond; their persona. What I find to be a major issue in almost every interior space that I see is that so often we are not considering acoustics. It isn't just in the theatre, to be able to hear the wonderful symphony or theatrical production, but it is also a question of sitting in a restaurant and being able to hear what is being said by the others at your table. It is also frankly about not hearing what is being said by those at another table. I think it is the responsibility of everyone, whether doing a family room or an office, a restaurant, or any space where communication to consider acoustics. Even in our offices, we're looking at what works with this piece of equipment. There are some types of environments which are really destructive to every bit of sound. In our residence, we seriously want to hear 'what we want to hear' and we don't want to hear 'what we don't want to hear.' Often, when families are very young, parents are very sensitive to hearing what is happening in the nursery, so they'll mic it so that they can be sitting in another room and be totally aware of whether the child is in any form of distress. As the children grow older, they tend to make a lot more noise, we then reach the position where we would really prefer not to hear the noise quite as often. Drumming, television programs, etc... are things that we really don't need to hear. As children age, or as we share our spaces with other adults, we all have things which are for us to hear and not for the rest of the group. It is critical that we understand this. After all, this is part of our life. We want to share some things, but other things are really just for our use. This is part of designing interiors. Let's look at the acoustical aspects of design. We have seen wonderful designs of open entrance areas, up into the bedroom area. Families turn on the television in the family room, and children can hear it in their bedrooms just you can in the family room. This is not an appropriate design considering this space may be shared by people of various age. If there are one or two people in the house, it may not be a problem, but it can quickly grow to be a major consideration. I was interested in a conversation today where someone said in a restaurant, 'It's so noisy, I'm really disturbed by this.' They had a bit of a hearing problem. They suggested putting acoustical tile on the ceiling. I said, well, that would help some, but the reality is we need acoustical absorbing material closer to the level where voices are used. When seated, the voice area is somewhere between 3 and 5 feet, not at 10 feet. For the sound to get up there and to come back, it really is reverberating and causing a lot of other issues that we don't necessarily want or need. As you look at what you want to hear and do not want to hear, consider that we know a lot about acoustical control. Whether it's broadcasting or blocking, we know how to encourage the right volume. We have wonderful materials today that don't necessarily look strange, but they're very decorative and appropriate and can be incorporated into any type of space to make it more comfortable. When looking at the design of your space, it isn't just furniture or materials, but it's also: how will the space work for us? Acoustics need to be a consideration from the very beginning. Please subscribe to the video or audio version of the radio show via iTunes or listen to it at http://interiordesigntodaypodcast.blogger.com via the following MP3 Link.