Bellevue, WA

People want to enjoy their home in peace, and if you’re outside in your backyard and there’s a lot of noise it’s impossible to unwind and relax. Whether the noise is from traffic, neighborhood construction, or kids playing basketball in a neighboring driveway, these sounds can easily filter inside as well.

Studies show that noise pollution is associated with a number of health conditions including stress, hearing loss, lack of focus and concentration and poor sleep patterns. Fortunately, there are quite a few ways to minimize outdoor noise so you can look forward to having a peaceful and relaxing backyard.

Barriers Work Wonders

Barriers like walls and fences do a great job of blocking out noise, especially traffic noise that can easily invade your backyard. People who live in high-traffic sections of town or near a major highway have experienced great success building thick walls, either masonry or modular or by installing high acoustic fences.

Plenty of Tall Vegetation Helps

It would be a good idea to plant a lot of tall trees, hedges, and dense bushes, anything that grows fast and tall because these plants can block and absorb noise. All these plants will look great in your yard and can be planted along the wall or fence for maximum results. 

But, if you don’t want a wall or fence and would rather just plant vegetation, then your best option would be broad-leaf evergreen hedges very planted very densely. Avoid buying plants with thin flimsy leaves because they won’t really block the noise. Tall plants with big broad leaves work best at blocking out sound.

Landscape Your Yard for Noise Reduction

It may not be feasible to build a wall, install a fence, so another option may be to hire a landscaper to dig out outdoor spaces, so they end up being much lower than before. Sinking your patio and barbeque area is a very effective way to block out traffic noise because you benefit from the sound-abating soil and plants surrounding your patio.

Create Soothing Sounds

In addition to your sound barrier, you can consider ways to create nice soothing sounds in your backyard spaces to muffle and distract from the annoying sounds.

Water features are very popular in backyards today because they’re not only attractive, the sound of running water is very soothing. Your yard is probably not large enough for a waterfall, but a small one would be great if you have the space. Otherwise, you might want to consider installing one or two outdoor fountains. The closer they are to your patio seating area, the better.

Block Your View of the Road

Once you have your barrier(s) up and cannot see the cars driving by, your mind is tricked into thinking it’s quieter in your backyard. Hearing is an attentional sense, so if you can’t see the traffic driving by you won’t pay it any attention, thus you’re less likely to hear it. So, blocking your view of the road from your yard will certainly make your yard look better, it also creates the perception of a quieter, more peaceful space.