Cool look and totally functional however in Boston it would be against fire codes.

...but does it actually work?

And yeah, it seems like it would be against fire code of ANY state. Lining the ceiling with cardboard/paper-ish material, who woulda thunk. Are you sure it's egg crates, not just stuff that looks like egg crates?

You need to spray these with fire-retardant before you put them up. You can get the fire-retardant liquid from several poultry supply companies.

Fire-retardant is easy enough to find. While working for a students' union, every poster, banner or other large paper object hung in a public space had to be sprayed with fire-retardant prior to hanging.

It's absolutely imperative to do, what with the fact that heat, smoke and sparks all rise and a lot of lights (particularly halogens) give off large amounts of heat. The last thing you'd want is to have a stupid kitchen mistake burn down your ceiling.

Ah, fond memories of countless spare-room or garage band rehearsal spaces. Not-so-fond memories of the stale-smoke-beer-sweat smell the absorbent egg cartons retained.

This is how my husband ruined his mother's ceiling, many years ago when he built his own studio in the laundry...

It's ugly - looks like a homemade studio. But I appreciate the fact that they have even thought about acoustics. I hate those modern cafés with huge windows and bare walls, they are so noisy. I want to talk to people in a café, not yell at them.

Wow. This reminds me of the 70's when radio stations would! cover the walls of the DJ booth with egg cartons. But... it really works.

They used to have a ceiling treatment just like this at Doughboys on Highland & Lexington. Not sure if it's still there since it's a new place now, but always thought it was interesting.

I think this is an EXTREMELY reckless post. No mention of fire code, or the importance of a code review/consulting a professional before altering public spaces.

I was living in Rhode Island when Great White preformed at a local venue. The owners had put foam soundproofing (extremely flammable, like paper) on the ceiling. The band had illegally used pyrotechnics and the foam caught on fire (regardless of the illegal pyrotechnics, a kitchen fire could have been in their future). Fire raced through the venue.The foam produced a thick black smoke, and the working exit signs were not able to be seen though.

There were a lot "owner improvements" (bottlenecked at the entrance to make check in easier...) that made this bad situation worse.

There is a reason for codes that is much higher than a local restaurant having a "cute" idea.

How are these "organic"? They're reused, allegedly, but I'll bet they're not real egg cartons. Square One had to pass the Los Angeles inspection process, and trust me, slapping up egg cartons wouldn't pass.

Beth--did you actually ask anyone at the place about this ceiling. (reporting, etc.)

And 342336LD--this isn't remotely the most reckless post on the whole site.