TIANLICHUJU — PERSONAL VERIFICATION WORKSHEET
Softening a contemporary living room with one tactile layer
https://tianlichuju.com/journal/softening-a-contemporary-living-room-with-one-tactile-layer/

PROPOSED CHECKS — NO MEASURED RESULTS SUPPLIED
Date: __________________  Units: __________________
Room / product reference: __________________

1. Cause of the cold impression
Where: At each regular seat, with the room in its normal occupied evening condition.
Record: Separate notes under temperature, contact, seating support, exposed light, and competing sound; record the activity being attempted beside each observation.
Your observation: ______________________________________________
Interpretation: The categories prevent a visual complaint being mistaken for one cause; they do not diagnose a heating fault or a health condition.
Alternative: Address the identified building or seating problem rather than expecting a textile purchase to resolve every kind of discomfort.

2. Rug edge and useful coverage
Where: Around the actual seating group and the route used past its most frequently moved chair.
Record: Mark candidate rug dimensions in centimeters; note whether occupied chair feet and the walking turn cross an edge.
Your observation: ______________________________________________
Interpretation: A footprint tests placement, not slip behavior, cleaning performance, or the acoustic effect of the actual rug product.
Alternative: Change the size or omit the rug if useful coverage introduces more catching and movement conflicts than it resolves.

3. One-change comparison
Where: At the same reading and conversation positions before and after one reversible soft layer or lamp change.
Record: Keep the task and active sound sources similar; record what becomes easier, unchanged, or worse without assigning invented performance percentages.
Your observation: ______________________________________________
Interpretation: A noticeable preference supports a local choice, not a general claim that the intervention improves every room or user.
Alternative: Remove an unhelpful layer and test the next identified cause instead of accumulating cushions to justify the first purchase.

PRACTICAL TRIAL
1. Touch the proposed upholstery with bare forearms before judging its softness visually.
2. Place a real cup and book within reach of each main seat.
3. Try the intended cleaning attachment and instructions against a representative textile sample.

COMPARE THE SAME SCOPE
- One useful seat or textile intervention
- Task-light position and source shielding
- Cleaning, replaceable covers, and later reuse
Cost drivers: Custom upholstery or unusual rug dimensions; Specialist cleaning required by the finish; Power changes for a more useful lamp position
Choose another route when: A decorative softening exercise is unsuitable as the only response to actual temperature problems, failing seating, or a significant unresolved sound issue.

EVIDENCE BOUNDARY
No acoustic, thermal, or comfort performance has been measured. The proposed comparison records household observations and keeps technical diagnosis outside the decorating trial.

PHOTO REFERENCE
A red sofa sits beside a dark fireplace opening, with a trunk used as a low table.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Room_with_fireplace_-_before.jpg

DECISION CONDITIONS
choose: Choose one useful soft layer when the occupied review identifies hard contact, unsuitable seating, or an overly bare social area that the proposed item directly improves.
alternative: Reposition a reading lamp, change a chair, or adjust competing activities when the problem is glare, support, or overlap rather than a lack of decorative texture.
stop: Stop decorating as the sole response if actual temperature, significant sound concerns, or an underlying furniture problem needs a different kind of assessment.

PUBLISHED REFERENCES
NIOSH: Implement Engineering Controls
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/prevent/engineering.html
NIOSH distinguishes noise-source controls from treatment of reflected sound and explains that hard surfaces reflect while porous absorptive materials can reduce reflections. This supports identifying the relevant cause before expecting a decorative textile to resolve every sound complaint in a room.
Scope: Workplace noise guidance explains mechanisms; it does not predict a domestic rug's measured benefit or provide a hearing assessment.
Photographer: Ryan Snyder
Licence: CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

Notes: ________________________________________________________