apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love the map wall! Such an interesting and educational look!

Love it! Also, where'd you get that sideboard? I also love the rug with the floors, too.

I would love to know where I could get a similar (jumbo) map! Please share! :)

As an avid traveller and citizen of the world, I LOVE this idea. Please tell us more!

@ May Day. Jackie just emailed me and said "the map is vintage, circa 1964. It was amazingly here (in pretty pristine condition) when we bought the house."

(score:)

"We're not sure if the map is vintage or wallpaper but we're loving the antique look."

Um - it says in the photo right below this:

"Prepared in 1964 by Army Map Service, Corps of Engineers, US Army, Washington DC"

"I would love to know where I could get a similar (jumbo) map!"

http://www.swiftmaps.com/servlet/the-Wall-Murals-cln-Map-Murals/Categories

http://www.decorplace.com/World-Map-Wallpaper-Map-Mural.cfm

(or Google: "Mural Map of the World")

In the movie, Unstrung Heroes, (directed by Diane Keaton) one of the locations is a house in Pasadena, with a map room, but it's all maps, including the ceiling.

I like the room above, but I think blue would have been a better color than the cream/yellow on the walls.

How is the map attached?

bepsf-- you are obnoxious. i considered being really smart and smug about this, but sometimes one gets a little more mileage out of bluntness.
all you have proven with your "Um - it says in the photo right below this" bs is that you can read.
see, something can APPEAR old that is not necessarily vintage. for instance, many old movie posters are reprinted and then sold (these are called "reprints"). yet they retain that vintage look. sometimes they are even backdated! this also happens with clothing (a la many t-shirts sold at Urban Outfitters). it's actually quite common, bepsf.
so although the map says "Prepared in 1964..." it is well within the realm of possibility that it could've been a reprint. just because someone makes a claim, well that doesn't necessarily make it so. the writer cannot be blamed for being unsure if this is an original or a reprint. but you, bepsf, can be blamed for packin' some serious 'tude. it's very unbecoming. next time, before quoting something to rudely make some inconsequential point... may i suggest a little research first? not even research. a little thought beforehand would probably do the trick.
i guess i did get smug. sorry bepsf. but you had it comin'.

We have a map mural in our guest room, but we totally picked the wrong yellow for the rest of the room - we wound up with a super bright sunflower-y yellow, but I can see now that we should have gone for the more muted tone.

FantasticMrFaux, I feel like blue on the other walls might be a little too much, since the majority of the map is blue. I like the idea of pulling out the smaller yellow highlights and using it for the other walls.

You know, this might be a job for your favorite vintage or current map and the Rasterbator....

I think one thing that makes the map mural work so well is that it appears to be the same size as the wall it's on, so it fills the space. (If there was a lot of wall color showing as a border, it would undermine the effect quite a bit.) So finding a mural is one thing and having the right place for it might be something else.

Another point, the sort of muted colors of the older map are attractive. Some newer ones might have more intense, less soft colors and might have a totally different feel on the wall. So pay attention if you order one, if that 's a factor for you.

For people who like the idea of map wallpaper and don't mind the more patchwork look of multiple maps, there are tons of National Geographic Magazine map inserts out there in the world for cheap... I used to use them for collages, and they are pretty easy to find at flea markets, thrift stores, yard sales, online, etc...

I agree with complicatedshoes -- this wall color works really well with the map.