What kind of furniture is best for a music studio?
In this post, we will talk about the acoustics in the studio. Generally speaking, the acoustic design of a recording studio begins with nothing else but the furniture. Some may find it strange, but the furniture is the main acoustic parameter of a home studio. This parameter strongly depends on how the furniture is arranged, what furniture is used, and in what quantity.
What kind of furniture is better to use in a home studio in this material, we will learn which furniture is useful and which is harmful in terms of acoustics. Also, talk about how it should be arranged. Do not be afraid that you may need to rearrange the furniture to improve the acoustics of your room. To tell you the truth, I can hardly imagine a home studio with no furniture at all. Of course, anything is possible, but such recording studios are much rarer. And besides, a completely empty room does not always contain an advantage over a room with furniture.
In any case, the furniture in the room in the first place will always have an impact on the acoustic characteristics of the studio. And this influence can be both for the better and for the worse. I remain a supporter of the so-called dead acoustics in relation to a home studio. So one of our tasks is to create a muffled room, i.e. without reverberation, echo, and any other sound reflections. Then, how does furniture help us?
Very simple! One piece of furniture has sound-absorbing properties, the other sound-reflecting. We just need the first one, which is sound-absorbing. In this case, you can use any upholstered furniture. For example, it can be sofas, armchairs, beds, as well as bookcases (just not glazed), bookcases, bookshelves and so on (picture below).
At the same time, such furniture as sliding-door closets, all kinds of sideboards, treillages, and other furniture with flat and smooth surfaces (pictured below) will reflect sound, which is exactly what we do not need. I recommend getting rid of such furniture in your home studio. If you can not get rid of such furniture, at least try to reduce its quantity. It is also desirable to finish such furniture with sound-absorbing materials.
Furniture in the room can be placed in different ways, but it is desirable to do it evenly and not to sharpen the symmetry. The main thing is that the furniture should not be placed thoughtlessly, and with a certain calculation. You must have an idea of where the table, the microphone stand, and the performer will be placed. I will talk more about this in a future post. In the meantime, think about this question. It’s hard for me personally to give specific recommendations, as rooms come in very different layouts, shapes, and sizes. However, I will give you some tips on furniture installation.
- First of all, plan the arrangement of furniture so that the microphone stand and the desk are as far away from each other as possible and as far away from walls, windows, and corners as possible. Of course, it seems strange, especially if we talk about a small room. However, if you think carefully, you can always find the best solution.
- Use the furniture as a divider between the microphone stand and the desk. For example, in this way you can separate the microphone stand and the workplace with ordinary open bookshelves. At least this will not spoil the acoustic characteristics of the room.
- Avoid arranging furniture with flat surfaces opposite each other. This arrangement of furniture usually leads to standing waves due to the formation of parallel surfaces, which is a serious problem in home studios.
Built-in cabinets with sliding doors in the music studio
You can’t do without furniture in your music studio. It’s worth taking the time to think about it thoroughly. The best solution is built in wardrobes with sliding doors, which will save you a lot of hassle. You need to have guests and visitors in your music studio. Try to use mostly upholstered furniture, and think about the right arrangement in the room. Discard furniture with flat surfaces, or upgrade it if possible.
In order for the built-in closet to cause you not sighs, and raptures, you need to think carefully about the internal layout: distribute departments and sections, plan shelves and hangers, drawers and organizers. At the same time, let’s find out how many swords, pants, and boots we have.
Question 1: How big can you make a closet?
It is clear that you have to start from the size of the room or part of the space (say, a corridor or hallway), which you decided to set aside for a built-in closet. But there are a number of important nuances.
Question 2: What is the depth of the closet?
The standard depth of a closet with hinged doors is 60 cm. So much is needed to freely fit hangers with clothes on a normal longitudinal rod: for the convenient location of outerwear requires at least 55 cm, lightweight – 5 cm less. If it will be a closet with sliding doors, it is better to add another 10 cm – so “eat” the design “compartment”.
A cabinet with a depth of less than 50 cm will have to replace the longitudinal rod at the end. Calculate their number correctly: on average, 8 shoulder hangers fit on a 40-cm end rod.
Idea: You can use the closet to compensate for layout flaws. The example in the photo is a closet with sections of different depths. One with the ability to enter (walk-in closet), the other is the size of a standard closet. Behind a closed door, it’s impossible to guess that there was an unfortunate ledge in the room.
The main advantageous features of built-in closets
Built-in closets find their application everywhere, they are especially popular with connoisseurs of minimalist style. In addition, they visually expand space and save a lot of space. Thus, the main advantages of built-in cabinets are:
- saving living space;
- capacity (the possibility of storing many substances);
- reliability;
- multifunctionality;
- the possibility of producing cabinets for any size of the room.
Doors are an integral part of the design of any built-in closet. You can make doors to order or buy them ready-made. There is a huge variety of materials that are used to manufacture doors for built-in closets:
- glass;
- plastic;
- wood or chipboard;
- MDF;
- bamboo.
How to choose the right doors for built-in closets
Depending on the style of the room, your own preferences, and the size of individual rooms, you can choose a door made of those or other materials. In addition, the price is also taken into account, which directly depends on the material that goes to the production of such products. The choice of doors in the recessed closet should be approached with the utmost responsibility, the wrong color or shape of the doors can spoil the interior of the whole room.
Nowadays, most homeowners pay attention to sliding-type doors for built-in cabinets. First of all, it is convenient and practical. Getting the thing out of the closet is enough to push the door aside, without much effort due to the presence of a roller mechanism. Hinged doors are used very rarely because in the unfolded state they take up most of the space. In particular, such doors are not suitable for small rooms. Even rarer are accordion doors and roller shutters.
Sliding doors for built-in cabinets can use roller mechanisms at the top and bottom simultaneously or only at the top. The latter option is less preferable because in that case, the doors end up in a suspended unstable state.
Ultimately, when ordering doors for a built-in closet, the choice is yours. When choosing, you need to proceed from the style and color design of the room, size, and other factors. For example, if you place a closet in a small room, then preference should be given to a cabinet with doors of the mirror type, which will visually expand the space. If you want to diversify the interior of the room, to introduce a new “flow”, then you can use doors with stained glass images applied to them.
How the mechanism of sliding closet doors works
A closet is one of the most convenient elements of modern furniture for storing various household items, clothing and other things. It can be built-in or cabinet. The latter consists of a lower plinth, side panels, a rack, partitions, and an upper lid, the latter are installed sliding doors. The peculiarity of this option is its mobility and versatility. A built-in closet allows you to save money on the installation of side panels, back wall, lid, and sometimes the plinth. Also, it can be adapted into any free niche, it will look very attractive and harmonious. Due to the fact that the walls in the room are often not perfectly flat, the entire interior content must be adjusted individually.
The closet can be divided into 2 main areas – the storage system – what’s inside and the sliding door system – what allows you to get to the inside contents. Built-in closets – built-in closets to order, custom cabinets – https://urbanwardrobes.co.uk/services/hallway-wardrobesqw
The sliding doors are the main element of a closet. They slide on rails, opening and closing access to the interior contents. If the closet has 2 doors, only half of the structure can be open: the left or right side of it. And if the cabinet has 4 or 6 doors, the central part can also be open. In versions with an odd number of doors, the smaller part may be open: a three-door closet 1, a five-door closet 2/5, and a seven-door wardrobe 3/7.
The compartment cabinet door consists of a metal frame and filling. In combined models, in addition to the frame, special dividers can also be built in, where the selected filling elements, such as glass, mirror, plastic or chipboard/MDF are inserted.
There are 3 main types of sliding systems:
Steel – the most budget-friendly option. The weight of the door is transferred to the adjustment bolt of the bottom rail, whose task is to align the doors in a strictly vertical position. Under the constant pressure of the doors, the threads can tear and block the movement of the doors on the rail.
Hanging – a system where there is only one upper rail. Has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is important to consider that its cheapest variants are extremely short-lived, and can not ensure smooth running.
Aluminum – the most popular system, which has very lightweight. Prevents possible deformation of the door. It is very reliable, practical, and durable. It is worth considering in more detail the principle of operation of such a system.
The doors of the closet slide with the help of wheels on the lower and upper rails.
Bottom rail. A metal profiled slat with longitudinal slats serves for the smooth sliding of bearing casters. It serves as a bearing and withstands the weight of the door. To it are attached running rollers that will help the door to roll. If the cabinet is built, this bar is attached to the floor with bolts or specialized adhesive tape that does not damage the floor surface.
