In the digital age of smartphones and GPS it's becoming easy to overlook the art of physical map making. I remember the days when the Thomas guide was a must have in my car at all times, but unless you're going into the wilderness, it's rarely necessary today to interact with a physical map.
Once again we are seeing that in a quickly changing world yesterday's necessity can become today's art piece. Besides the obvious educational value of having maps in the home, their graphic quality, sweeping lines, shapes and colors can turn a bland area into one of interest and delight.
Globes and paper maps can provide or inspire decorations that bring a sense of adventure to the room. The nature of maps often draw people in close and have them getting lost in all the wondrous details they provide and can instigate discussion amongst guests. Here are some examples of how cartography can still make its way into our lives.
Images: TOP ROW: 1. Kelly Hicks Design, 2. Callaghan Art Gallery, 3. Fonda LaShay Design, 4. Pure Green Design, 5. Kelly Hicks Design; MIDDLE ROW: 1. Martha Stewart, 2. Elle Decor, 3. Martha Stewart, 4. & 5. Realtor.com; BOTTOM ROW: 1. Once.Daily.Chic., 2. & 3. Martha Stewart
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I am a (lighted) globe fiend! I have a collection of them displayed all over the house. The make for really beautiful "night lights". I also recently picked up this vintage "swag" globe that isn't illuminated but has a bulb that shines out of the bottom, like a reading lamp or something. I couldn't pass it up at the antique mall. I don't have kids but I can't imagine a better lamp to leave on in a childs bedroom at night to scare away the monsters!
Mr. Modtomic
I feel like globe collections are on the verge of overexposure (this year's Keep Calm poster), but I don't care...I love them! I am working on a little collection for the top of my Expedit unit -- thanks for a little more inspiration as I curate my own display.
I want that bright yellow globe and that teal lamp! I have one globe. Just one. It's a vintage globe and as much as I love globes, I can't start collecting them because they'll be everywhere. I'd rather collect travel-centric things from the places I've been.
I like the globe, but where can I find those flower rugs on the floor? Love them!
anyone know the source of the wall mural map in the bottom row?
RtU - I'm pretty sure it's from Future Maps in the UK.
http://www.futuremaps.co.uk/
I LOVE maps & recently bought a few large maps that I ended up not being able to afford framing... so I constructed a vintage hang frame like this:
http://moseyblog.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/how-to-hang-a-map-vintage-style/)
Love this. I've found that it adds a little something to a display of travel momentos too!
@mosey. nice tutorial, thanx for sharing!
My dad collected maps and after he passed we got rid of some of them. He never got into globes but after my 4th purchase I realized I was now a collector. I'd love to have a lighted one, though! He also collected charts which no one seems to want so I'm think of using it as a paper floor in the bathroom, or the back hallway. May maps and globes never go out of style. No matter how much I travel I'll continue to collect memories and momentos of the places I've been, as well as the globes and maps that let me marvel at the distances we travel to satisfy that itch.
I wasn't aware that globes and maps were particularly big at the moment (this years Keep Calm poster as someone said). I have always decorated with maps and globes because I am a bit of a geography dork (exhibit A - my nickname here)
I have been collecting globes for years. I have the 1895 globe that my grandmother took home from her classroom when they got a new globe after WWI. I have a 1950s Replogle starlight globe (the black sea) that my father made when working in the factory to pay his way through college.
I also have several globes and maps I bought while I managed a Rand McNally store (remember those?) in the 1990s.
Perhaps maps and globes are sort of 'trendy' now... but it is a trend that has stood the test of time. Just go to Italy and check out the map rooms in the Vatican museums to see that it is a decorating motif that has lasted.
where are the foxglove wall art and flower rugs from in image five? the link doesn't provide a source. thanks!
Great stuff! I love the map lampshade, and the nautical chart table with the shells on top of it. Love nautical charts!
I grabbed a map of my city at a local gas station, and then cut it into three pieces with an exacto knife to fit one of those triple frames. Cheap and fun!
love the yellow globe!
I stuck my globe bank under a dome: http://livinglifebyexperiment.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/a-globe-under-glass/