Need privacy & sound control in my bedroom

LeMoine Sharpe
by LeMoine Sharpe
My bedroom slider faces a busy road. Without summer foliage, sound is a huge problem. I am looking for ideas to block out lookie-loos; a type of privacy screen (for want of a better word) that would also help defuse traffic sounds.
  6 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Jan 10, 2016
    Maybe try putting up a insulated drape of a sort on the sliding glass door to aid in the blocking of noise.
  • Plants are great for cutting down noise. I am not sure of your growing conditions but looking at evergreens (conifers). You could even add trellis' with fast growing native vines that would help shield from the road. You could use an 8' fence section for a facade in front (closer to the edge of your property) of your bedroom door and add vines and even pots for color and green. There are a lot of fast growing plants and going to a nursery/garden center in your area and seeing what they sell and what you like is where I would start. good luck
    • See 2 previous
    • LeMoine Sharpe LeMoine Sharpe on Jan 11, 2016
      Thanks for the ideas...all good ones, especially using a fence section as a façade. Nothing I've planted thus far has survived, I think because their is a 300 old year old oak tree shading the area. Pots of plants/flowers will probably work for color.
  • MN Mom MN Mom on Jan 10, 2016
    I like the Garden Frogs idea of planting something or even erecting a section of lattice with planting a to help physically block the area outside your slider. Drapes would be great if you wanted to lock out everything (light and sound and air flow) but seeing as you live in a temperate area maybe the planting would work better. Best Wishes!
    • LeMoine Sharpe LeMoine Sharpe on Jan 11, 2016
      @MN Mom Thanks. All great ideas I will incorporate. I did see a curtain rod made of industrial pipes with an all-season fabric that one could put on the outside of the slider. It would be easy to pull closed at night before locking up. It's rare that I would keep the sliding door open except some spring and fall nights. I do have a small window I can leave open. The rest of the seasons it's air conditioning or heating.
  • Kayo Frazier Kayo Frazier on Jan 11, 2016
    Here's my 2 cents...I would add 2 layers to muffle sounds from the road...1 ~ Bamboo fencing to enclose the whole balcony if you don't want to see the road at all. 2 ~ Then add some seasonal curtains around the balcony to further dampen the sounds.
  • LeMoine Sharpe LeMoine Sharpe on Jan 15, 2016
    All good ideas. Some I had already thought of and appreciate the reinforcement. I will post once the project is completed.
  • Allinthefamilysingers Allinthefamilysingers on Jan 24, 2016
    i had a window that was too inviting to the wondering eyes i mixed mod podge with a food coloring and covered my glass panes then hung a sheer curtain with a draw string heavy drape over and had three layers of window at my own preferance I just mod podged my lower case windows.