apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

80F today and snow in the forecast for tomorrow. Gotta love spring in the Rockies. But the daffodils are coming up and am barelegged today!

Sunburnt from playing kickball in golden gate park, and wondering if my fellow San Franciscans can help me out with a design/saftey question. I want to hang something above my bed ( a picture, or even a shelf) but I don't want something to come crashing down on my head in an earthquake. Any saftey tips?

-2 C and 30cm of snow on Friday.....22 C and sunshine on Saturday. craaaazy! Can't pack away the winter coats yet, but i'm loving opening the windows wider!

I'm afraid to hang anything there even in quake-free Amsterdam.

Those decorated wall carpets are rather 70s, but could they work?

unframed pics/cloth on stretched canvas? the boards are lightweight enough that you wont be hurt if they fall..

Yep, something in fiber/cloth (barkcloth, silkscreen, etc.) is a classic option. If you're craft inclined you could mount an installation of small found objects (like leaves, feathers small or small bits of clay) with tacks or map pins. You might consider an oil painting on stretcher bars, otherwise unframed. That said, we decided to hang nothing and instead go with a tall headboard.

How about mounting a low-profile (or ultra designy?) curtain rod and hanging some great fabric as a headboard? The bonus is that you can change it out as frequently as you like.

thanks for all the great suggestions! Thinking I might go the stretch canvas route. Now, I just need to find one I like...

quietcal: try ebay. There is so much nice retro fabrics available there.

I've submitted this question to every section of AT but it hasn't been asked so I guess it's not a Good Question. But I still need some input -

How does everyone feel about buying major upholstered furniture (sofas, chairs) without trying them out first? There are so many wonderful pieces online but I am very leery of making such a large purchase without sitting in them. Case in point - my mother needs a wing chair but she's not in any physical condition to go around trying them. How do you make this kind of decision?

Anne,

I bought a sofa from room and board totally untested. I did however do the following:

1. Checked sofa measurements against my body and other similarly scaled sofas to make sure the fit would be good (I'm petite and a too large sofa just sucks).

2. Scoured AT for references to the sofa I bought (Loring) and read what other buyers had to say.

3. Completed a serious investigation into the quality of furniture I was buying. The cushions are down wrapped, the frame is built with "mortise and tendon" joinery, the fabric is high grade upholstery velvet, etc.

4. Room & Board in particular has designers on the phones, not "order takers." In fact, they are what I would call a service company, not a furniture company (their first "product" is service, not matter what they're selling). The designer I worked with found someone my size on staff to test various sofas for me (feet flat? small of back where? etc). We then narrowed down those under consideration that met my criterion.

Because their service was so awesome, I also got a dining table, 4 dining chairs, a cabinet, and some patio furniture.

I guess the moral of the story is, if you're going to by upholstery without a in-person test, make sure that you're buying from a retailer with stellar service before anything else.

I would say that Crate and Barrel's service is a very close second.

P.S.

I in fact LOVE my sofa! :-)

Oops, just saw that Anne had emailed us and posted her question here, too. Oh well, check out the Good Question:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/seating-sofas-armchairs/sf-good-questions-would-you-buy-upholstered-furniture-online-048248