I have a large (48"W x 36"H) abstract painting in mostly black, white, and orange with a bit of chartreuse that my brother painted in acrylic. It is flanked by two carved wooden African masks, and one of those did fall down in the 1994 Northridge quake but was not seriously damaged. I have it hung more securely now.

In the past, I have hung tapestries above my bed, and those are better if you are afraid of falling objects. I have been to Oaxaca several times to buy rugs (tapetes) there, but now have them only in my living room (see photo below).

What kind of headboard do you have?

Lars

my MIL

hahahaha Annie!

Lars, I love the tapestries and Boop, while I havent seen a photo of your bedroom, a tapestry seems like it would go so well with your bohemian style!

PS. I am the same way about things hanging over my bed. I don't live in earthquake territory either but a bedroom can have localized seismic events! ;)

I'm the same way, so I'm leaving it blank. If you want to do something interesting you can do a focal wall with wallpaper or stencil.

Here is my "stuck-in-the-90's" bedroom.

I do live in earthquake country, so nothing hangs over the bed.

We have an antique Dutch tapestry hanging over our bed. It is about 24" x 60" and hangs by wooden rings clipped along the top edge on a rod wrapped in Belgian linen.

I have a picture of a tipi we stayed at in Nova Scotia hanging over my bed. My husband enlarged it and built a frame, giving it to me for my birthday, so it's very sentimental.

I have 3 photos I took of doors in Mykonos. Not the best picture, but you get the idea.

Above our bed, the oil painting frame is heavy but also on a heavy cord and 2 pic. hangers in the wall, so not going anywhere..
Blue/green master suite
Pink/green guest suite

I printed this photo I took in Ethiopia, 24x36 and put it in a frame with mat so it's pretty large. I then printed 3 of 12x18 prints that were of other kids from the same trip, matted and framed. I planned on hanging them over the bed with the 3 smaller ones hanging stacked vertically on the left and this large one on the right but ... my husband said he hated this pic. So they are propped against the wall in the hallway. :(

So nothing is hanging over the bed. Do y'all think what I wanted to do would look good? Or do I like them just because it was an amazing trip?

Here it is framed with one of the small ones.

Boopadaboo, your pictures 1 and 3 remind me of women's underwear. Not sure I would want something that looked like that over my bed.

Right now I have a straight row of four small vintage paintings hanging above my bed. We don't live in an earthquake zone, but I've never liked heavy things hung over beds or sofas, maybe because I grew up in an earthquake area, maybe because of the bad 'feng shui' of weight hanging over you.

In the past I've had a tapestry, a giant rosary, and for a few years a long rectangular vintage mirror, but the mirror is freakily lightweight for its size.

Sundownr, that is a beautiful photo but I will side with your spouse on this one. To me, photos of people are not 'bedroom' decor.

I'd be proud to hang photos like that in my living room, dining room, den or study, but the bedroom....not really.

A painting. Not sentimental or meaningful in any way. Rather a yawn if you ask me!!!

I have a tapestry....

Nothing. I can't see that area when I'm laying down, so I don't care. Headboard is pretty tall.

We have an old, wooden arched window minus the glass over our bed.

I once had a very heavy mirror over my bed. My mom about died when she saw it. The walls were concrete and I hammered a nail in to hold. It wasn't going anywhere.

Sundownr, I think that's a *gorgeous* photograph-- a great photo technically and artistically. I wouldnt use it in my bedroom just because it's so vibrant.. but I would absolutely hang it in my home.

A painting that makes you yawn is perfect for over a bed - you do not want something too stimulating, perhaps. I think the Ethiopean photo is beautiful, but I also would not put it in a bedroom. Portraits are difficult to place, especially when they are large and have an engaging glance. Here's a photo of how our livingroom looked when we first moved in - actually the photo is of the dining room and art studio as seen from the living room, but you get to see an 8' high self portrait of my brother the minute you walk into the house, which was a bit unnerving for me at first. Then I got a large portrait of me that a friend in San Francisco had painted in the 1980s and hung it in the hall overlooking the dining room so that my brother would have to look at my portrait behind me while eating dinner. (BTW, I made all new pillows for the sofa.) Anyway, there is another tapestry in this photo, or at least a partial tapestry showing.

When hanging the Ethiopean portrait, you may want to consider using just two of the small paintings and have one on each side. You could hang the third one in a neutral space, but I think it would be nice to have symmetry.

I think a shawl hung on a dowel of some sort could work over a bed, but it will give the room a very feminine look. For a masculine extreme, you could get a couple of African spears and hang them crossing each other, or a pair of ceremonial swords. The swords can then be used when you go to a renaissance faire or disguise yourself as a pirate or Zorro for Halloween. There are several stores near me that sell ceremonial swords, possibly for use as props in movies, since they are close to some studios.

Lars

Right now I'm loving the tapestry/canopy look. It's simple and easy, and the fabric can be a plain or dramatic as you like

Here is a link that might be useful: Tapestry Canopy

Thanks for the comments - I won't hang this picture in the bedroom! :^D

I love the photograph, and as long as it wouldn't scare you in the middle of the night, why not hang it in the bedroom!?

My sister and I shared a room until I was in 4th grade. We had tapestry canopies over our twin beds. :)

We wanted our bed in the front room upstairs because it has a lovely bay window, and because of the peculiarities of this house and its renovation, that meant shoving the headboard up against the (non-working) fireplace. So the plain rectangular linen headboard sits just under the mantel shelf with one cream bowl on it, over which is a large mirror in a wide, weathered white frame.

And if we have an earthquake, which is extremely unlikely, the mirror will hit the shelf before it breaks and falls on us.

But I have plenty of peroxide on hand to get the blood out of the linens ...

I Have a large mirror hanging over my bed its the same color as my bedroom furniture so it really brings the whole room together!

My headboard is quite tall so I don't have anything above it. I do have a chandelier hanging above the foot board of the bed.

Depends on the season -- right now -- a large antique portrait for the winter months to work with the winter duvet cover in dark sage green with gold rope trim ....

Then I move that portrait over the fireplace for the summer months because the lady wears a soft green dress and helps the whole room to feel cool and fresh -- and another one takes its place over the bed .....

Yeah .... it is a bit odd .... but the move really works here! :)

HI teacats. Where have you beeeeeeen?

I have a collection of small mirrors with decorative frames.

jamies: Waving!!!! Hi! Great to be back! Been sick with a miserable virus -- and finally feeling better! :)

Thank you all for sharing. Walnutcreek you cracked me up. I think I could see that with the white one, I am not so sure about the green one. Maybe I need to keep looking.

I think sundownr that it would not be something i would hang in my bedroom, but I think you have changed your mind anyway.

Lars I think you are right, it might be a bit feminine. I think that weapons might not be harmonious, but I do think DH would love that! Somehow it seems like it would be bad Feng shui.

I hear what you are saying Jamies about not seeing it when you sleep. Our bed is the first thing you see when you walk in the room though so I think it would be nice to put something in the big open space on the wall. Maybe that will have to wait till the kids are older and we just have an interesting headboard.

There was a Henredon campaign bedroom set with a huge headboard wall unit thing for sale nearby. I was tempted to get it.

Sundownr, that photo of yours is totally gorgeous! Although it may not be right for your bedroom, I hope that you hang it somewhere it your home. It truly is a beautiful piece of art!

Although we collect art and have lots of it around here, I've just hung a simple metal cross over our bed (I also collect crosses). I didn't want anything to compete with our wrought iron headboard from New Orleans. This isn't the best pic, but it's the only one I have of it. Sorry!
Lynn

Have you considered wallcoverings? Like grasscloth. It'll add visual texture and color without having to hang something over the bed if you're concerned about things crashing down on you.

It is the light that hanging above my bed.

Here is a link that might be useful: light

We have a print of a watercolor that we saw on our first trip to Hawaii. Something about it makes me really deeply remember that trip that we took 25 years ago.

Our entire purchased, not our idea, master bedroom has mirrors over the entire ceiling.

We have paid a contractor bank to get rid of that!

Over our bed we would like a ceiling fan and a couple remotes. Mirrors? Are you kidding?

Suzi

desertdance - Wow, yikes! I don't like mirrors in my bedroom at all, let alone a whole ceiling of them. Not only for aesthetic reasons, I'd be afraid to sleep lest one com crashing down on me in bed.

My headboard is my old pantry door from my 1926 Wisconsin bungalow. I have the art and a swing lamp and a handpainted (by me) applique on the headboard.

Such good ideas!!
Deb...yawn? Don't think so~ lovely & peaceful!
My hubs is fearful of something heavy falling on him while sleeping (fine, I do have a habit of hanging plates everywhere...) so we have sheer curtains. Works for both of us.

Lynn, I love the simplicity of the Cross above your bed.

For those of you who say you're not in earthquake territory, that's what I thought too, here in OK. Last year our house shook so bad we ran outside! Pictures ended up crooked.

I've been using a lap quilt that I made years ago. It would actually feel nice if it fell on me. lol

We have an antique Dutch tapestry over our bed. You can't really see the subject matter in the photo, but it is a typical Flemish style farm scene.

Funny this thread was resurrected! I still dont' have anything over the bed, but I know what I am going to hang. :) We used to have a little basement room with a couch and table - kind of a hang out when I was growing up. My mom put a cotton tapestry kind of thing on the wall. it wasn't of a scene, it was just colorful. I know I have it somewhere. I am going to use that once I find it. :)