apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hey, welcome! I love this question! Your room is looking really cute. Way to go thinking about earthquake-friendly decorating. Some ideas for you:

- A hanging quilt or textile; we've had a feedsack, a woven tapestry, and a quilt so far
- Mobiles for the ceiling
- Bunting/garlands; lots on Etsy! Paper chains you make yourself are fun too, or make them out of fabric.
- Painted canvas art; I felt that the lightweight wood frame in ours would be OK even if it crashes right on her head
- Consider getting posters laminated onto foam core; I don't know what the process is officially called, but two of my local shops do it and small posters finish up reasonably lightweight
- If you frame anything, replace the glass with acrylic; most framing shops will cut it for you. That way, there is nothing to shatter if it falls off the wall
- How about those vinyl decals that are all over the blogs these days? There are really fun ones for kids.
- On the same note, I personally love those animals cut out of vintage wallpaper
- A line with clothespins, with flashcards or photos or whatever clipped to them
- Hang a soft basket from the wall and stash a couple special stuffed animals inside

My rule of thumb is, 'would the baby be OK if that fell on her head?'.

In addition to the acrylic instead of glass, when I hang anything framed, I use that system with the twisted wire across the back of the frame, screw a cup hook in the wall, and then hang the wire on the hook (instead of the usual nail). It's extremely unlikely any earthquake (or toddler) can shake the frame off a hook like that.

I have a feeling I'm going to be coming up with more ideas all day, I hope this gets you started! As a native Californian whose own house fell down in an earthquake as a kid, I totally support you being paranoid now so you can have peace of mind when the decorating is done. I do cringe when I see occasional photos of nurseries with heavy items up high - it's instinct, after all these years. And don't even get me started about being stopped in traffic under bridges in places like Boston...oooh!

Hope you have a lot of fun exploring your new city and websites looking for the perfect thing!

A decal seems like a good option for you, if you're really concerned about it. Also, I can't imagine that those framed bits of fabric in embroidery hoops could hurt anyone if they fell. Or how about a shelf mounted to the wall with safe but cute things on it, like stuffed animals, a decorative pillow, a children's book with a nice cover, etc. Or you could put a shaker rail/pegs or other hooks on the wall, and hang cute clothes, a pretty blanket, etc. Speaking of which, did you see the Shaker wall quilt idea last week? Put up the pegs, and make a special quilt or tapestry your art over the bed.

i live near SF and put vinyl gear decals above my sons bed in his room, and there are glow in the dark stars on his ceiling. his wall is painted with a gradient of horizontal stripes though... for the room you posted i would try a bunting made from vintage fabrics. you can make them yourself very easily! :)

thanks for the great ideas so far!! i'd forgotten i submitted this question; gets me excited about finishing the room!

if you want to see more of our house, check out our entry in the room contest! if you like it, please give us the thumbs up... voting ends this afternoon!
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/room-for-color-2009/kates-lovely-light-blue-living-room-room-for-color-west-8-097713

i was going to suggest decals. i think the biggest deal is in the nursery. as far as the guest bedroom, as long as their isn't glass or heavy objects right above the bed, and heavy objects not secured to the wall in other areas. i live in sf and i know it's not the best attitude, but i sort of have the attitude that i'll do what i can, but if there's a big enough quake, my wall decor will be the least of my worries. i totally am with you on the nursery though--i think people have had great suggestions of soft things on the wall, acrylic, and decals, etc.

I use these 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Command-17204-Picture-Hanging/dp/B000M3YGOQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1255037905&sr=8-2

I collect antique frames and I have about 50 hanging over my bed. Use several strips on each frame (they are like plastic Velcro and come off easily with no marks when you want to move things around). When you apply them, press for 30 seconds. They are so strong, you can almost hang onto the frame with all your might and it won't come off the wall. Ignore the review about it not sticking. They must not have pushed for 30 seconds when installing. Believe me, they're great!

Ditto on using lightweight materials for framing pictures, and you can use a stud finder if you really want to use the wall studs for securing shelving or hanging pictures.

We posted framed pictures on the wall right above our baby's crib, and we live in southern California. Our method was to screw the frames directly into the wall - a screw in each corner. We then filled the holes and touched up the paint. Oh - and no glass.

Ummm...move baby's crib away from the window! (duh?!)

Before any earthquake happens she'll pull on those curtains and pull the entire rod off the wall. And I hope she doesn't try to eat that plant...

Also, art on canvases are not very heavy. We also live in SF and have 4 foot by 5 foot canvas above my son's bed.

burnttoast... we pull the crib away from the window and into the middle of the room every night and for all naps. he loves pulling on the curtain and reaching for the plant. thanks for the friendly suggestions & your concern for his well being.
i put it against the wall so there is room for playing on the floor.

JetKatDesign - You're sweet. I wouldn't have called burnttoast's comments as "friendly suggestions" or concern for your sons well being. Some people are just so rude on here!

www.growingupcreative.com

look at the toilet paper roll art she made--awesome, cheap, and wouldn't hurt if pulled down.

also since you rent and may be super-sensitive to ruining walls i read that you can make(or buy) fabric decals and then adhere them with cornstarch. they come right off without damage to the walls.

good luck!

We found hooks that secure both the top and the bottom of a frame. They weren't available in any of the big box hardware stores, but the local Ace in Oakland carried a pretty extensive line of earthquake products. We rented for our year in Montclair and the walls were just fine when we left.

we did canvas art. you can stretch textiles across a frame, or even check out some of the prefab art from urban outfitters. (check out the Wild Things, and Giraud canvases.)

http://tinyurl.com/yk72n7k

we found the frames to be pretty lightweight, then we did our best to secure them to the wall using similar methods to those already described here.

all our art, even the grown up art, we have framed with UV plexiglass because if any of that comes down in a quake, you don't want to be stepping on broken glass!

Another way that you can help to secure a frame to the wall in earthquake country is to use a product like Quake Hold under all four corners, after using a hook or nail (as mentioned above). Quake Hold is museum putty. Warm a small (like a tiny pea) amount in your hand and roll into a ball. Stick those balls under the corners of the frame, then push securely against the wall. The only time I've had that fail is on a frame next to a door that slams shut multiple times a day - and it took over a year and a half of the door slamming for the photo to finally jump off the wall!