Tonight “Toxic Hot Seat.”

The American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA)  will introduce a new Web site for consumers on Monday, the same day HBO airs a documentary titled “Toxic Hot Seat.”

The film details the influence of chemical companies and the tobacco industry on upholstered furniture flammability standards in the United States and how they gave rise to the widespread use of flame retardants.

The HBO special will air at 9 p.m. Monday evening.

Absent from the documentary film...is the residential furniture industry’s side of the tale, which includes nearly four decades of work to promote a standard designed to make upholstered furniture more fire-safe without the use of flame retardant chemicals.

Governor Brown Announces New Standards to Reduce Toxic Chemicals in Furniture

Thursday, we posted HBO To Air " "Toxic Hot Seat."  In a follow up, I noticed that California's Brown "...today announced the approval of the state’s new flammability standards for upholstered furniture, the culmination of the administration’s year-long effort to modernize the standards and reduce Californians’ exposure to harmful flame retardant chemicals."

“Today, California is curbing toxic chemicals found in everything from high chairs to sofas,” said Governor Brown. “These new standards will keep the furniture in our homes fire-safe and limit unnecessary exposure to toxic flame retardants.

HBO To Air " "Toxic Hot Seat"

Next Monday, November 25th, HBO will air a special titled "Toxic Hot Seat."  The directors James Redford and Kirby Walker disclose the foam  cushions we curl up on every day, contain up to two pounds of flame retardants. The chemicals may not stop fires. However, they do whoosh out of seat cushions when we plop down, hitching a ride on airborne dust and ending up in our bodies. They have been linked to cancer and other health disorders.

"The film explores how a 1975 California law requiring retardants (Technical Bulletin 117) became widely adopted. And it follows the firefighters, scientists, health advocates, state legislators and investigative journalists who brought attention to the chemicals, leading to a recent reform of the California mandate."

Design Details: Upholstered Furniture

Hello, everyone! I'm so happy to be visiting with you here at Landfair on Furniture with a guest post from Arcadian Home blog. It's a great place to find lots of interior design inspiration including interesting home décor ideas from accent furniture to mini pendant lighting.

Today, we're going to explore a few of the many beautiful design details that can be added to upholstered furniture. From pleating to ring pulls, tufting and nailhead trim, exquisitely worked details can bring a lovely custom look to upholstered pieces of all sorts. Please enjoy!

Thanks for letting me stop by.

~ Mari



This light-filled sitting area is awash in muted color and affords us a look at several upholstered furniture design details. The sofa, arm chair and leather pouf all show how versatile tufting is. Nailhead trim can be seen on the leather bench turned coffee table.



Here, a built-in banquette is beautiful with deep button tufting and inverted pleats on the wide skirting. A lovely tub chair has simple piping trim as a finish between fabric and wood. Modern pendant lighting and acrylic coffee table add a touch of glam to the space.



This tall upholstered headboard in chic stripes is finished with nailhead trim. The workmanship is extraordinary. Notice the perfect positioning of the trim on the stripes.



A breakfast room done in black and white houndstooth gets custom upholstered dining chairs with rolled backs, button tufting, simple piping and corner kick pleats lined in white.



This traditional arm chair has bias piping, nailhead trim and unexpected tiny pleats worked at the front corners of the seat—a lovely dressmaker touch.



Fine appliqué detailing can add a designer look to sofas and chairs with elegantly simple upholstery. As seen here, the key to successful implementation of this detail is meticulous workmanship.



Designer Helen Amy Murray's upholstered chair is all about the detailing. She cut this floral design into the fabric by hand. Her work is simply stunning.



Ring pulls are a perfect design detail for these elegant dining chairs covered in blue velvet. The oversized modern pendant light looks beautiful with the velvet and the antique mirror. Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

What do you think of these upholstered furnishings? Leave us your comments below and be sure to stop by our website for more home decor and lighting inspiration every day!


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