I've been thinking about adding some hanging paper lanterns in the corner of my living room. We don't walk in that area except to open and close the curtains anyhow. Right now there is one large lantern, but I plan to add a few more.

What do you hang things from the ceiling with. Hooks?

I really feel energized in a space that has things (i.e. lanterns, poms, mobiles) hung from the ceiling, provided they are hung properly.

StephieBee-I have used white cup hooks and fishing line in the past with excellent results.

I had a place once that had a ceiling fan right over the obvious spot for the bed. It felt like a helicopter was about to land on me. The fan got taken down. The examples in the photos above just creep me out (also look like cheap froo-froo to me. Obviously I take dislike of hanging things further than most, but I'd hazard a guess that people who don't like hanging things are pretty firm about it.

I also wonder how to hang things from the ceiling without causing damage. I've often wanted to hang paper lanterns, etc. in the dining room for a party or something, but how to do so without possibly damaging the ceiling paint (from strong tape) or putting holes in it?

I have to agree with the roomie on this one. Even if you hang the decoration snug against the ceiling, it’s going to shrink the room a great deal. For most people it’s going to feel like they have to duck and, even if you aren’t, a guest may be tall enough to make hanging things from the ceiling annoying or dangerous. Perhaps a corner display would be acceptable? You could create a big puffy cloud of colorful tissue paper pom-poms in a corner and it wouldn’t affect the feel of the room in the same way as hanging them from the ceiling would.

I like hanging stuff in a large space, but not in a small space (for the same reason as your roomie). In a small space, hanging stuff from the ceiling just feels very clausterphobic.

I like hanging things but not directly over where your head would be - in our family room we have some of our daughter's art (mobiles and things made at school) hanging in the corners. It adds a sense of whimsy to a room that's already kid-centered and so I like it, but I'm not sure I'd do it in every room. That said, our daughter used to have a canopy thing over her bed and recently wanted it taken down because 1) it was too princessy for our now rockin' tween and 2) she didn't like something over her head. So there you go.

Sometimes I like the way stuff hanging from the ceiling.. But every time I almost hang something, I think about how the heck I am going to clean it...

reminds me of the cheap christmas decorations my roomie and i hung from our college dorm drop ceiling. personally, unless it's in a kid's room, i think it looks and feels a little bit like an elementary school classroom.

I like hanging things in corners, too. That way you get the extra dimensional effect, without anything really being in your way (or over your head).

Nothing over my head when I sleep!

I think really simple mobiles in large, open rooms with nice sunlight can be stunning. We did some hanging paper birds in our daughter's open air transom above her door. I agree though, cleaning things hung from a high ceiling is difficult.

My husband is 6'4". Few ceilings are high enough to accommodate his head and pom poms. ><

Because paper lanterns are so light-weight, I find that silver push-pins work great and leave very small holes that can be easily patched. When including a light kit, I use two push-pins close together; one on each side of the cord.

Yeah, I think it looks really young. Plus I'm concerned about clearance. My bedroom is sizeable, but the ceilings are 8' or 9', I think, and I'm wondering if I can get away with a chandelier -- only because I love chandeliers so much! I definitely wouldn't risk it for pom-poms or other elementary-school looks.

It's definetly possible to hang stuff from the ceilings and not have it look too juvenile. There are some beautiful, artfully modern mobile to be found. Lanterns are beautiful alone or in groups. even swaths of fabric look cool. i have several artisinal folk art mobiles from south america and they add a great decorative aspect to the room. I say go for it! but too many things hanging from strings (like the flowers in the 4th photo) will look cluttered and silly. unless of course, that's the look your going for.

I say try it out and see how you like it. If it does seem to get in the way maybe just cluster some in a corner instead of throughout the space. I love the inspiration pics!

My daughter has three swiss-lace looking paper Chinese lanterns in three different sizes hanging in just one corner of her room. It looks lovely and grown-up. However 1) it is in an unused corner of her room. 2) it doesn't hang over the bed or block a window and 3) her bedroom gets dusty so cleaning involves a dry bristly brush attachment on the vacuum and two people (one to hold the lantern from swinging and the other to use the vacuum.

We hung them from the ceiling with white push pins and clear fishing line so it looks as if they are floating in air.

The examples in the pictures above do look like classroom art.

I do it every year around the holidays with paper mobiles.

The Polar Bear wall, is it a stencil or wallpaper? I love it so much!