I'm finishing up my home office and I'd really like to reduce the noise. I've seen acoustic panels all over the internet, but I don't want to drill holes everywhere in my rental walls. Is there a solution with adhesive or something similar that actually stays put?
I've got roommates who've struggled with that too, and honestly specialized adhesives like 3M Command or extra-strong strips work pretty well if your panels aren't too heavy, but real talk if you actually want to really dampen the noise you're gonna want something thicker and at that point you'll probably have to make a few discreet holes with anchors or super thin stuff that fills back in easy. Otherwise there's freestanding panels or ones mounted on rails that don't need anything but a bit of space.
Quality adhesives are already pretty good, but you really gotta check the maximum weight your rental wall can actually support, or you risk ending up with glue marks that are impossible to remove! Personally, I've seen people also go for lightweight acoustic panels mounted on aluminum frames that just lean against the wall - zero damage and you can move them around however you want when you leave.
The guys are right about adhesives, but you should also consider rail or lightweight batten systems that you can attach with adhesive hooks - they distribute the weight better and are easier to remove without leaving marks if you use Command strips specifically made for drywall. Otherwise there are also panels that just lean against the wall, like on a little frame, zero fastening.
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