Patent ID: 7793366

Claim:
A combined decorative wall treatment and piece of furniture, comprising: a wall anchor component, to be fixed to a wall without contacting a floor, and comprising pivot structure defining a fixed horizontal pivot axis; and a generally planar movable component, comprising: a first end that is pivotally connected to the wall anchor component; a second end, opposite the first end, that swings free; a frame comprising pivot structure, at the first end of the moveable component, that cooperates with the wall anchor pivot structure such that the movable component pivots about the fixed horizontal pivot axis between: a vertical position, in which the movable component extends upward from the fixed horizontal pivot axis, is juxtaposed to the wall, and does not contact the floor, so that the combined decorative wall treatment and piece of furniture contacts only the wall, and no part of the combined decorative wall treatment and piece of furniture touches the floor; and a horizontal position, in which the movable component extends outward from the wall and reveals a surface of the furniture; a decorative panel mounted to a display side of the movable component, the decorative panel comprising an outer face that faces outward from the wall when the movable component is in its vertical position and downward toward the floor when the movable component is in its horizontal position, the decorative panel further comprising side faces extending backward from the outer face toward the wall, the decorative panel thereby enclosing the frame and the furniture surface when the movable component is in its vertical position; a counterbalance mechanism coupled between the wall anchor component and the movable component, such that energy is stored by the counterbalance mechanism as the movable component is lowered to its horizontal position, and such that said energy can be released in order to assist in raising the movable component to its vertical position; and at least two supporting legs pivotally attached at proximal ends to the frame at the second end of the moveable component.