Acoustic Wall Art: How Textile Art Can Improve Room Acoustics

When we think about choosing art for an interior, we usually think about color, scale, texture and how a piece makes us feel. But textile art can influence another part of a room that is often overlooked: how the space sounds.

Rooms filled with hard surfaces such as glass, concrete, stone, plaster and wood can feel visually beautiful, yet acoustically quite harsh. Conversations bounce around the room, footsteps sound louder and everyday noises can create an uncomfortable echo.

This is one of the reasons I love working with fiber. Besides bringing warmth, texture and depth to an interior, textile wall art can also help soften sound reflections and improve the acoustic quality of a space.

Why do some rooms sound so echoey?

Sound travels through a room and interacts with everything it meets. Hard, smooth surfaces tend to reflect much of that sound back into the room. When there are many reflective surfaces, those reflections can build up and create a space that feels loud, hollow or echoey.

This is especially noticeable in modern interiors with large windows, high ceilings, concrete floors and minimalist furniture. The visual simplicity can be beautiful, but there may be relatively few soft surfaces to help control all of those sound reflections.

Adding textiles is one way to introduce softer and more irregular surfaces into such a room. Rugs, curtains and upholstered furniture can all contribute, and textile wall art can do the same while also becoming a focal point within the interior.

How does textile wall art help improve room acoustics?

Unlike a flat glass print or a bare wall, fiber art is made from layers of soft, textured materials. Depending on the artwork, I work with materials such as cotton, wool, linen, bamboo and other natural fibers.

These fibers, combined with the three-dimensional construction of the work, create a surface that is much less hard and reflective than a bare wall. Some of the sound energy that reaches the artwork can interact with and be absorbed by the fibers instead of simply reflecting straight back into the room.

The irregular textures, knots, weaves, layers and varying depths can also help break up reflections. The result can be a room that feels softer, calmer and more comfortable acoustically.

Acoustic wall art without the look of an acoustic panel

Traditional acoustic treatments are often very functional in appearance. They may work perfectly in a recording studio or technical environment, but they are not always what you want to place above the sofa in a carefully designed living room, hotel lobby or executive office.

For me, that is where fiber art becomes particularly interesting.

An original textile artwork can give a wall color, movement, texture and personality while simultaneously introducing a large area of soft material into the room.

You do not necessarily have to choose between beautiful wall art and a softer acoustic environment.

Does the size of acoustic wall art matter?

Yes. When acoustics are an important consideration, the amount of textile surface introduced into the room matters.

A smaller fiber artwork can add warmth and softness, but a large-scale textile artwork or installation covers considerably more of an otherwise reflective wall.

This is one of the reasons textile art works particularly well as oversized statement art. Large wall hangings, framed fiber artworks, diptychs and multi-panel installations can introduce substantial areas of tactile material without making the room look like an acoustically treated studio.

The exact effect will always depend on the room itself, including its dimensions, ceiling height, furnishings, materials, placement of the artwork and the construction of the artwork itself.

Where can sound-absorbing wall art make the biggest difference?

I particularly love using textile art in spaces where people spend time talking, working, eating or relaxing. These are also often the rooms where uncomfortable reverberation becomes most noticeable.

• Living rooms with large windows, high ceilings or hard floors
• Dining rooms where conversations can become loud when several people are together
• Bedrooms where a softer acoustic environment contributes to a calmer atmosphere
• Home offices and meeting rooms used for calls and conversations
• Corporate offices featuring glass, concrete and large open spaces
• Hotels and hospitality interiors where acoustic comfort contributes to the overall guest experience
• Restaurants and communal spaces where many voices are present at the same time

Why texture and depth are so important in my work

Texture has always been at the heart of my work as a fiber artist. I am fascinated by what happens when fibers overlap, cross, curve and interact with light.

I create my artworks by hand using combinations of knotting, weaving, wrapping, dyeing and layering. That gives each work a physical depth that a print or traditional flat wall decoration simply does not have.

Visually, this creates shadows and movement that change throughout the day. Acoustically, all those fibers and irregular surfaces also mean that the wall is no longer simply one large, smooth reflective plane.

Custom acoustic art for large interiors

Because every interior is different, I also create custom textile wall art in specific dimensions, colors, materials and compositions.

This can be especially useful when acoustic comfort is part of the design brief. Instead of placing a relatively small decorative work on a very large wall, I can create an artwork that is deliberately scaled to the architecture of the space.

For larger projects, I regularly work with homeowners, interior designers and art consultants to create bespoke fiber artworks for residential, hospitality and commercial interiors.

The dimensions, color palette, materials and overall composition can all be tailored to the project. This makes it possible to integrate a substantial amount of textile into an interior while making the artwork feel like an intentional part of the design rather than a technical addition.

Learn more about commissioning a custom textile artwork →

Can textile art replace professional acoustic treatment?

That depends on what you are trying to achieve.

If you are designing a recording studio, auditorium or another space that requires measurable acoustic performance across specific frequencies, you should work with an acoustic specialist and use products that have been tested for that purpose.

My fiber artworks are first and foremost original works of art. They are not currently sold with a laboratory-tested acoustic rating.

However, if your goal is to make a home, office, hotel room or other interior feel less hard and reflective, adding large areas of soft textile material can be a beautiful way to contribute to a more pleasant acoustic environment.

Frequently asked questions about acoustic wall art

• Does textile art absorb sound?

Textile and other porous materials can absorb part of the sound energy that reaches them. How much depends on factors such as the type and thickness of the material, the construction of the artwork, its size and its position within the room.

• Can textile wall art reduce echo?

Textile art can help soften sound reflections within an interior. In rooms dominated by hard reflective surfaces, introducing large areas of soft and textured material can contribute to a less echoey and more comfortable acoustic environment.

• Is acoustic wall art the same as soundproofing?

No. Acoustic treatment primarily deals with the way sound behaves inside a room. Soundproofing is intended to prevent sound travelling between rooms or buildings. Textile wall art can help soften reflections inside a space, but it does not replace structural sound insulation.

• Is larger textile art better for room acoustics?

If acoustics are part of your reason for choosing textile art, larger pieces introduce more soft surface area into the room than smaller pieces. The overall effect will still depend on the artwork, its construction, the room and its placement.

• Can you create custom acoustic wall art?

Yes. I create custom fiber artwork in dimensions, proportions and colors specifically suited to an interior. If improving the acoustic character of a space is one of your goals, mention this when requesting your commission so scale, materials and placement can be considered as part of the project.

• Is textile wall art suitable for offices and commercial interiors?

Yes. Large textile artworks can work particularly well in offices, meeting rooms, hotels and hospitality spaces where the interior contains significant amounts of glass, stone, concrete or other hard materials. In addition to creating a visual focal point, the fibers introduce softness and texture into the room.

Art that changes how a room looks and feels

I have always loved fiber because it brings something tactile and human into an interior. It softens architecture, catches the light and creates a sense of warmth that is difficult to achieve with a flat image.

The fact that textile art can also contribute to a softer acoustic environment makes it even more interesting to me, particularly as contemporary interiors increasingly combine open layouts with hard architectural materials.

If you are looking for acoustic wall art, sound-absorbing wall art, large-scale textile art or a custom fiber artwork that feels like art first and acoustic treatment second, I would love to create something specifically for your space.

Rianne Aarts
Fiber Artist & Founder of Teddy and Wool