What I’m about to write about is not an “ideal” design situation. In fact, it’s more of a “good enough” design solution. But the fact is, most of us are dealing with these “good enough” scenarios, aren’t we? The majority of you reading here did not custom-build your house with a furniture plan in place already to perfectly plan the placement of said furniture around things like windows and doors. We have all inherited architecture and floor plans, and we just make it work.
Case in point: my current bedroom. No, not *this* bedroom. But the same one I wrote about earlier this month with the behemoth wall of sliding closet doors.
Due to the unique combination of the floorplan of the room and the size of our furniture (read: huge king-sized bed, large nightstands), we can really only put the bed in one place: against the one large window. That window? It’s off-center to the wall, which makes my bed (which is centered on the wall) sit halfway on the window and halfway on the wall. It looks…kind of wild.
When we moved in, the landlord already had a (very dinky, wobbly) curtain rod in place that we just left up until we could figure out what we were doing here to make things look better. My side of the bed is on the part with the wall, so I put up my art and sconce the way I had it in my previous room prior to moving. My husband’s side is directly under the window, so it can’t accommodate the matching sconce.
Let me show you some pictures so you can get a sense of what I’m talking about:
Obviously, it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen but it’s also not the best. It feels very wonky, lopsided, and not intentional. To me, design should always feel intentional and this ain’t that.
So, I couldn’t help but wonder play around with some ideas for how to fix this knowing that others reading are likely dealing with something similar, whether in their bedroom, living rooms or just any space where your furniture doesn’t intentionally line up with a window. I cooked up five ideas, three of which I mocked up as a solution in my own room. After seeing them all, I’m very excited about two of them for myself. Shall we take a look? Let’s!
Option 1: Fake Your Window Width
Okay, so this is by far the easiest solution, even if it presents me with a few gut-wrenching problems. Because our window is very large (71″x74″), we have a lot of wiggle room to place curtains to make it LOOK like the window is in the center-ish of the bed. Basically, I’d add a longer curtain rod or ceiling track and mount that the same distance to the left as it is to the right of my bed (not the window). From there, add a few drapery panels that would cover the wall behind the headboard and just a sliver of the actual window. The key is to have the same weight of curtains on both sides and just a part of the window showing in the center.
The only problem that arises for me and me alone is I would no longer be able to have my beloved sconce above my nightstand. I LOVE these sconces and use mine often. Sure, I could replace it with a table lamp, but I really prefer to have surface area on my bedside table not eaten up by a lamp. Remember when I said this was a lesson in “good enough”? I guess some sacrifices have to be made for the greater good, huh?
The result is a stately window and drapery moment that would really help make our large bed and bedroom feel balanced and centered.
Option 2: Cover The Whole Wall In Draperies
This next option is for drama lovers only…and people with few allergies. A full wall of draperies = a full wall of dust BUT if you like the look, perhaps you can deal with the maintenance.
The below room is in the home of Sarah Sherman Samuel and wow what a look. The curtains not only cover the windows but also act as the texture and “paint”. Making sure you have enough pleating in your drapes is paramount to this looking more 5-star boutique hotel, less Motel 8. A ceiling track or pinch pleating will keep your drapes visually tidy, as well some curtain weights at the bottom.
The below image is a great example of how this can work in a much narrower, less grand room than Sarah Sherman Samuel’s. In fact, off-center window or not, the full wall of curtain panels is *the* moment in the small bedroom. Food for thought.
And look! You can see place art within the draperies! I’m actually not 100% sure how to do this…anyone have any ideas?
And here it is mocked up (poorly) in my bedroom. It’s a very large wall, so a neutral panel (probably white or ivory) would be best to not suffocate me mentally. I like the concept, but I’m not sure it’s totally right for me (achooo!).
Option 3: Balance The Window With Art And/Or A Mirror
Okay, maybe THIS is actually the easiest option on the list. No extra panels, no extra-long rod, no Zyrtec loaded up in our bloodstream. Just. hang. art. Wait…should I just do this and move on? Since moving to California from Florida, I have avoided hanging anything directly above my head in bed. You know…earthquakes and such. I could potentially secure the art a bit better with earthquake-specific putty but then I worry it’ll rip the drywall off when I go to remove it eventually. That’s fashion, baby.
A few more similar examples from the world of Pinterest:
Annnnd…I’m really into this mocked-up in my own bedroom. Or is it just that I’m responding better to the clean, sharp Roman shade instead of the flowy drapes? Probably. But I do think in general it feels—you guessed it—intentional. The arrangement as a whole is weighted equally on both sides, between the mirror and the art on the left and the tree on the right. I’d have to relocate my peacock mirror to lighten the load on that side, but I’d be okay with that.
Annnnnd annnnnnd….my sconce can stay. (For anyone who is like “poor Charles, where is his sconce?”…he cares nothing about having a sconce, never turned it on at the old apartment, and is normally found in his natural habitat hunched under the covers trying to block the light of his phone from me in the dark while I’m trying to sleep.)
Option 4: Balance The Window With Shelving Or A Bookcase
I’m clutching my skull just looking at these (again, earthquakes) but if you don’t live on shakey grounds, I love the idea of adding a wall shelf or two and displaying some of your pretty beloved things like in the image below from A Beautiful Mess.
Here’s a similar concept from an Apartment Therapy House Tour. Just make sure the shelf is high enough that you don’t bonk your head on it when sitting up.
Option 5: Embrace The Asymmetry
I’ve mentioned intentional design a few times in this post, which leads me to option 5. The below image from Dabito of Old Brand New has been in my saved folder for a while mostly because I applaud his brazen design choice to *purposefully* hang his art off center to the bed underneath it. If you click the arrow on the image and scroll to the right, you’ll also notice he brought in a large branch clipping to fill the visual void.
While no, this isn’t a window, it is a reminder that symmetry is not the only way. And that off-centering things can actually be a design move to keep things interesting.
Anyone out there have any other ideas they’ve employed in their own home to visually balance an off-center window? I’d love to hear it (and see it!). I hope this was helpful, and if not, at the very least, you enjoy a peek into my bedroom and my own personal design issues.
And as always, if there’s a small design conundrum you need help solving, let me know in the comments! Keep me employed with blog posts to write so my toddler can keep living in this home long enough for her mom (me) to solve all the decorating dilemmas that are present.
Your friend in design, Arlyn
**UPDATE**: There was an outpouring of “Arlyn, move your bed centered under the window!” to this post, and I figured it best to add an update as to why that doesn’t really work for us in our particular floor plan. Trust me that if centering the bed under the window was the easy/right solution, that’s just what I’d do. However, moving the bed unlocks a whole slew of additional problems to solve.
A few examples: if I moved the bed to the right, the space to the left of the bed would be VERY open. Sure, I could put a piece of furniture there but that would only solve the visual puzzle of the wall. The actual floor space in front of it would be a wide-open field. Not to mention how unbalanced the room would feel (I know this because we tried it when we moved in and it was visually awful). As the wall perpendicular to that is fully closet doors, there isn’t much usable space to make a half-empty room feel more complete. Also, there is only one small wall to fit our dresser where our TV sits above, and we are TV-in-bed people, so moving the bed directly under the window would render that useless (yes, even on a pivoting wall mount, which we have). And lastly, I do not like the foot of my bed being *right* at the door, which is what would occur if everything shifted right. SO, all of that to say, “Arlyn, employ secret option #6 you overlooked and move your bed!” is of course a solution to this in theory, but it’s just not willing to create more design issues for myself by doing that. (Even if I’m sad about my sconces haha).
Why not move the bed over to center under the window? There seems to be plenty of room on the right and it’s easy to imagine a cozy corner on the left, maybe a chair? small desk? Sure the bed would no longer be centered in the room but at least to my eyes, that’s easier to accept visually than the offset window. And you get to keep both sconces?!
I am guessing that the entry to the room is on that sorter side — so if you centered the bed, you would be walking into the right/bottom corner of the bed when entering the room.
Maybe because more space is needed for something (desk, bookshelf, crib, dog bed, etc ) Or perhaps it’s a risk in an earthquake to sleep so close to a glass window or glass anything.
Added a note to the end of the post as to why that wouldn’t be the best solution!
mmmh, why don’t you move the bed further to the right? there seems to be enough space next to Charles’ bedside table to place the bed centrally in front of the window. Or is there a door that can no longer be opened when the bed is further to the right?
Why not move the bed to the right so it aligns with the window? Looks like there is plenty of room to do so…
Without knowing what’s on the other walls, have you considered moving your bed centered under the window? It looks like the sconces would still work and you could embrace the asymmetry by putting a chair or bookcase on the more open side.
Totally hear you, but the room is set up in a way that there’s an obstacle on every wall if I did that. Either our dresser and TV would be too far away to watch comfortably, or the door would be right at the foot of the bed, of a giant hole would open up in front of the wall of closets that just wouldn’t visually make sense.
Make a diagram for us floorplan junkies!!
As usual all great ideas but I think the art one is easiest – if you are worried about hanging something above the and it falling on you can I suggest something on a stretched canvas – it’s pretty light weight so on the off chance it fell you wouldn’t be too hurt! Also you can pull your bed an inch or two away from the wall as it will likely fall straight down behind your bed head.
Yeah that’s a good idea. I have those two pieces above my nightstand that if they fell on my head wouldn’t concuss me haha
When I lived in NYC, my bedroom wasn’t large enough for tables on both sides of the bed, so I had low hanging lights on each side of the bed (didn’t think of sconces, also sconces seem way too fancy for me). Could be an option if you go with #1 or 2. I also think there are plenty of art options that wouldn’t be heavy that could be put above the bed (e.g., tapestry, framed fabric or a print in a very lightweight frame) if you went that route.
I have a dream of a very specific tapestry I saw once upon a time in a house tour that would be wonderful above my bed, but…dare to dream to find that somewhere.
Sarah from Room for Tuesday has a great tutorial on hanging art in front of curtains! https://roomfortuesday.com/how-to-hang-artwork-in-front-of-curtains/
Thank you!
I really love option 3-especially with the heavy curtain on one side or the roman shade.
I’d love to see a post about front doors that open straight into the living space. We have four full seasons and both my partner and my son have size 13 feet-cute solutions like a small basket mean their shoes don’t fit!
Yes, I thought having the curtains only on one side was surprisingly critical to pulling off a balanced, interesting look.
My old living room was just like this. You open the door and BAM…living room. No entryway, no foyer, nothing. Just door to room. I ended up buying a pretty shoe cabinet for a wall to the right of the door. I styled it nice and pretty and created a tiny little “foyer” landing strip that houses a ton of our shoes in a compact space!
That’s exactly how my house is. Ban you walk right into the living room. I love your idea! I’m going to try it! Thanks
I would center the bed on the window. This would allow you to keep the Roman shade and both sconces. You could fill the “empty” corner to the left with a large mirror, a tall piece of furniture or something architectural, tall branches or a plant or two, maybe even a small chair. I think wallpaper would look awesome and “hide” the issue even more, but that’s a big commitment for a rental and impacts what you can do with the closet wall.
Agree- I would try to get the bed as close to centered on the window as possible -It looks like you have the room to push the bed closer to the wall on your husband’s side (can tell from the photos showing the lamp cord plugged into the outlet show a lot of room on that side. Maybe try a larger curtain rod to balance so that curtains do extend a little past headboard on both sides. I think you might be able to keep the sconce if you don’t have the curtains too wide, but really a table lamp in a similar style would work very well. Not sure if there is a reason you have not tried this, but it might also give you room for a full-length mirror near that door on your side of the bed – is it a closet?
Hey Arlyn, I’d go with Jess and Emily’s inspo photo, with drapery on one side and art on the other. I’d opt for a big, physically lightweight piece with plastic/plexi glass instead of the real stuff to avoid the worst scenario in case of earthquake! Another option for art is to hang woven art of any kind: tribal basket art, tapestry etc. to avoid the danger. Your posts about real life scenarios are my absolute fav on this blog, Arlyn! Thank-you.
Thank you Allison! 🙂
Art does not have to be heavy. Use a beautiful piece of fabric or embroidery and hang it “framed” on top and bottom with magnetic poster edging. Picking up some of the tones in the headboard and your bedding might help it feel truly intentional.
what happens if you center the bed on the window instead of in the room? Not enough room to walk on the one side? Or is it just that the nightstand is too wide? Then try with a slimmer nightstand and see what your eyes think. Maybe the symmetry you are looking for can be achieved in a different way, without Zyrtec.
I vote drapery wall! That’ll add texture and volume and you can still get that asymmetrical look. Hanging art on the drapery rod seems pretty easy – basically the drapery panel on the left would be stationary, you’d use wire to hang art directly from the rod. This seems kinda weird bc we’re used to thinking drapes can move, but a lot of those rooms that have wall to wall drapes feature panels that don’t move. Depending on the width of the drapery panels, you could also have the sconce coming through the drapes (mounted to the wall behind) so you don’t have to lose that functionality. My LA place has tiny bedrooms so I’ve had a lot of weird bed/window confrontations. Excited to see what you do!
Yes! I’ve seen the “sconce through drapes” look and it’s so posh if done well.
I would move the whole bed setup to center under the window!
If it were me, I’d opt for “centering” the window with drapery (but I am a fabric junkie). In your case, I vote for the embrace it with art option. I think it would look really cool and flex your “I’m a designer and can pull this look off” mojo. Can’t wait to see how your room turns out!
If you centered the bed under the window AND used curtains to replace the closet doors like you talked about before, add a chair on that side by the closet curtains or even another dresser to visually fill that side and add more clothes storage. Not sure if that would be too heavy with both a nightstand there and a dresser, but it would fill the space. Or maybe just large scale art on that wall?
Loving your practical, relatable posts, Arlynn! Could you do option one, but with the bed centered on the left window, so that with curtains in place it would create the illusion that the window is three panels wide instead of the existing two. Looks like this would allow nice symmetry, and room for both night stands to remain, as well as placement of both sconces.
I like Option 3! Bold wallpaper or a lush paint color on the entire wall, move the mirror to the wider side, stage it and viola!
Love it!
I have the same problem. Whatever the solution I think one has to be convinced of their choice and go all the way in. Draperies work just as well as art. But I think heavier art all over the wall is going to balance the window (windows have strong features) better than two or three delicate pieces. One can go with soft looking art, but my preference is for a large gallery wall than a few dainty pictures. It just balances a big rectangular window and drapes better. I know that a lot of you like dainty art and lots of small decor elements, so if that’s the case then maybe doing a whole wall of art of different size and shapes. Alternatively don’t put anything on the walls and focus on the lamps you love, or put in just one picture of whatever size perfectly in the middle of the empty space. As long as you love the picture it doesn’t matter. You can pick up and add interesting elements in other parts of the room instead. Imperfection adds character to the room and perfect spaces are boring. So if there’s no balance here then add it in other… Read more »
This is such a tricky situation.
Arlyn, you’ve come up with great potential solutions!
Until the last few years on this particular blog, I wasn’t aware that so many people had beds under/in front of windows. Even tge Henderson’s mountain house!
If I was faced with this, I think I’d choose another home (clearly *I.F.* there were other rentals available, etc.).
I wouldn’t choose to buy a home with this situation.
In fact I wouldn’t choose a home where the only place for the bed had feet facing to the east (Feng Shui coffin position); but then I’m pedantic about this topic and refuse to have a TV , eectric clock, devices, etc. in the bedroom. 🛌
Same here! I don’t live in the US and have literally never come across this bed in front of a window thing in Europe. Maybe it’s more common in places without cold or wet winters? Where I am that would be too chilly and damp for a bed so maybe that’s why it’s not a thing.
So, I’m wondering what is on the opposite wall to the window? Is that an option for the bed? Facing the light of the window in the morning?
I wish! That’s how my old room was set up and it was beautiful. But the opposite wall is the door to the room and a very small sliver of wall that houses our dresser and TV.
Really? That’s so interesting to me! So does the bedroom just have one window then? I feel it’s very common here to have 2 windows in a room so that the only space to put a bed is in front of a window.
Could you add a floor plan so we can see why the bed can’t go anywhere else. Even with the curtain solutions the window will still look off centre unless you close the curtains over part of a it, which loses you a lot of light.
Hi Arlyn,
I would love some advice on how to make space for a new baby. My husband and I live in a 3 bedroom townhouse which seems like it should be plenty of space for the 2 of us and a newborn, but we both work from home and I haven’t quite figured out how we can arrange everything to accommodate two workspaces, everything a baby will need (I don’t even know what this all involves! Aaah!), our own bedroom, and a sometimes additional sleeping space for family members who might be visiting. I’m hoping to figure something out that won’t involve putting my (extremely clutter-prone) husband’s workspace either in with my workspace or in the bedroom. Thanks!
Mama of 2 here, and our first was born in a studio where my husband also worked from home – her crib was in a closet and it was miserable LOL (now we are in a 3 bed house and my kids are 7 and 10 *single tear * My advice would be to prioritize your own separate workspaces in the other 2 bedrooms and make sure 1 can also accommodate guests sleeping over or a parent crashing when you need some uninterrupted sleep and the other parent is on call with baby (pullout couch, air mattress etc, murphy bed, etc). Baby won’t need their own room til at least 6 months+ and by that time you’ll have a better sense of what works for you all as a family! A mini crib or bassinet in your room + a diaper changing pad on top of a dresser is really all you need. Congrats and good luck!
Have a look at the Tiny Canal Cottage archives. Whitney Leigh Morris did wonderful things to make her small space work with a baby and 2 working from home spaces.
I also recommend the website 600sqft and a baby – brilliant ideas and tours of small family homes with innovative solutions for fitting in small people!
Check out the “No nursery? No problem” post here: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/small-space-nursery-ideas
I like option 3! Either drapery on one side over the woven shade in the mock-up. A whole wall of drapery gives me hotel vibes. BTW, where is your tiny lamp from on the beside table? It’s so cute!
Oh gosh I wish I remembered. It was a random panic purchase when I was shooting my previous bedroom. I thought it was from Etsy but don’t see it in my order history.
Here’s a similar little lamp: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195791555918?
Option 3 all the way. This looks the best *and* is the most functional, so a win all around. (And hey, you can get another post out of how to hang art over the bed securely in earthquake-prone areas, so yet another win).
Don’t be an LA rookie! Get poster putty and live your life. I’ve lived in CA on and off for over 50 years and never worried about that magnitude of quake.we generally experience the “rolling” kind, Northridge was how many years ago?
Hi Arlen! Great examples, I have a similar situation so I’m excited to try these at home. Re: hanging art, the SSS inspo pic seems to be hung from slim chain on the ceiling. Re: not liking table lamps, could you hang a light from the ceiling to drop over the bedside table?
My favorite solution to this problem comes from Brady’s bedroom https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/bradys-bedroom-makeover-parachute. He used a large wall sconce to balance the off center window. It’s one of my all time favorites actually! Good luck, Arlyn!
I do love this solution, too. Hm…now you have me thinking.
I am always so excited to see a post from Arlyn! I love your writing style and the relatable content of your posts. Well I enjoy everyone’s voice here, really. It’s a nice blend of voices on the blog.
Love the roman shade in your mock up. I like how the rectangle of the roman shade relates to the headboard. Being off center from one another actually makes this more appealing than if it were a roman shade centered over the bed/headboard so that is part of why the roman shade really works for me. Something about the verticals of the curtains crossing the headboard is what makes my eye want them to be balanced. With the roman shade my “need” for things to be centered feels lessened.
Arlyn, I love your posts, you are such a creative problem solver! I am a big fan of Option #5 here.
Here’s my small design conundrum – we only have two small windows in our kitchen and we’d like to replace one with a larger window opening to let in more light. But, we live in an old neighborhood with homes close together so we need some sort of privacy so that we’re not constantly waving at our neighbors (we have kitchen sinks that face each other). Window treatments would block out the light we are trying to let in, and I don’t love the obscured glass options I’ve found – they look better suited to a bathroom. Any good ideas for kitchen window privacy?
Cafe curtains?
So many good ideas here, Arlyn! My vote would be draperies all along the wall, as I feel like it would elevate the room so much. Maybe you could have Calico hook you up? 😉
And then you could move your beloved sconce to another area of your place – a reading corner or nook, perhaps? Or in a hallway? Above shelves? No need to give it up!
It would be fairly easy to hang the curtains wider like option one and also hang the sconce, just be sure the sconce is placed at a seam between two curtain panels. Heck, you could even mount your husband’s sconce on a “post” over the window and make his peek out to match yours.
LOL at all the comments just telling you to center the bed under the window. Move it to the right!
I have been dealing with this exact situation since we moved into our house 2yrs ago – and am still stuck on a solution. I so appreciate the post!!
Hope it helped in some way!
I like option 3 three the best, especially with the curtains gathered to the right of the bed and not coming up right behind your headboard (like in the opener photo). I live in Utah (earthquake country) and we hang our art with “earthquake-safe” picture hangers like these (though I think broken glass is still also a concern).
Oh thanks! Most of my frames have plexi rather than glass (a curious baby/toddler will do that to you) so that helps.
Thanks for addressing the “less than ideal” layout situations that most spaces deal with! My two cents… move the bed closer to the closets, use the Roman shade/art approach but with visually weightier art. Possibly use curtains on only the right of the window (dramatic color and double wide panel) and add a chair there instead of the tree. Might be wild, might be great?
Did you try the bed on a diagonal? I’ve seen this done and it was lovely.
My mom had my bedroom arranged this way when I was growing up, it worked perfectly. And didn’t block the window so I still could have air flow on hot days. (no AC back then)
I like the roman shade as it adds intent to the asymmetry Team shades and intentional off centeredness gets my vote.
I don’t know if this is feasible because I don’t know the measurements but is it possible to get two tapestries (e.g. https://society6.com/product/thai126397_tapestry) and hang them side by side? One tapestry can act like a Roman shade the way Orlando made the temporary Roman shades in Londo lodge (https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/orlandos-creative-diy-guest-room-ideas) and the second tapestry can be wall art. In my mind hanging the two tapestries side by side can read symmetrical when you enter the room? Hope that makes sense.
Why not do option 2 but with an oversized headboard like in the photo for option 3? You’ll lose some light from the window but if you incorporate the sconces into the headboard you solve the symmetry and the sconces issues.
Or
#2 and make a timber half wall to extend beyond the headboard, behind the headboard – again put your sconces on this. Maybe tie in with caning on your wardrobe doors?
Samsies. I went with art.
I have an example of working with off-center bed/center window. I recently redid the sleeping loft of our bedroom, which was a quirky addition by the previous owners. The window is long and mid-level, and so instead of curtains I built out the wall to accommodate sliding panels (IKEA Besta doors) and added floating nightstand shelves and pendant lights. My photos aren’t profesh in any sense but I’ll try to attach them here. I’ve got a Before, CAD model, and 2 Afters.
Er, make that 1 After.
New article/series request: Arlyn could you and/or Caitlyn do some posts about how to adjust your home design when your partner moves in with you? Not in the case when you both have random college hand-me-downs and can start fresh together, but like in Caitlyn’s case when you have a beautifully decorated and perfectly curated space before co-habitating. I feel like the biggest hurdle to any partner of mine moving in with me is that I’ve spent several years thrifting unique furniture and design pieces that are exactly my style but I don’t want to compromise and get rid of them to fit my partner’s style haha.
I have this same situation and I installed a Mouille double wall sconce. The short arm goes to the side of the bed under the wall and the long arm goes to the side under the window. It looks super intentional and is very functional. I had it rewired with two cords which are fished underneath the bed so each person has their own toggle for their light above.
Running into this problem in my 50s ranch. In my case, the window is centered, but to put a bed centered would eliminate room for pretty much anything else. So im looking to put it slightly off centered. The other issue is that with the 50s ranch is the high windows on the wall so putting anything off-center is 3x more of an eye-sore, and doing drapes to help balance feels wrong when all the windows are 4ft off the floor. :/
I would nudge the bed 12″ to the right to center it under the left window pane. Then move the curtains to cover the full right pane and a matching size space to the left of the window. That should enable you to mount the sconces above the nightstands and the art flanking the curtains.
Ahh, this post is so helpful! Our bed is centered between a tiny square window on the right and TWO tiny square windows next to each other on the left. (WHY?!!!) The non-symmetry of the whole thing makes me crazy. Never thought to add a piece of art or bookshelf the same size as the one tiny window to offset the other side with the two windows. Thank you Arlyn!!
Whichever you pick, is there a way to keep the sun from bleaching out your headboard. My bed is also in front of a window and the wood and pillow tops are really faded now. I tried putting UV film on last year, but I can’t tell if it is working.
I have the exact same problem in my current house with the window over my husband’s side of the bed. I solved it by hanging a fabric wall hanging on the wall on my side to balance it out. I’ve had art crash down in the night on my head before (luckily it was a paper poster from back in the day when I decorated hurriedly with those) so I am also very nervous about heavy objects above my head at night! With fabric you would only be partially smothered instead of knocked cross-eyed should the art decide to leap off your wall during the small hours of night.