apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Fantastic idea.

That's Brilliant!

I think it's a great idea if it doesn't look too dorm-roomy (Is that even a term? Well, it should be).

the maps for blinds are cool, but i love the letters hanging on the wall even more. Are they old light up sign letters? I would love to have a set of those.

DON'T DO THIS!

I hate to be a downer but this is not a new idea (maps as blinds) -- the problem is that most old maps were made from polyvinyl chloride with plastizer additives called phthalates which were used to make the blinds more flexible.

Phthalates are known to cause major health problems (especially damage to the liver and endocrine systems) and are known to cause birth defects.

Many countries have banned their use in new products, but older products like vintage maps are full of these chemicals.

What's worse is that UV exposure greatly increases the volatility of phthalates and thereby increases airborn exposure via the lungs.
The worst thing you could do is expose these old maps to sunlight!

Oh, I was about to join in and say how clever this was, but what lightspeed said makes it scary now.

I suppose we are all surrounded by chemicals, and maybe the ions from my air cleaner are actually poisoning the air I'm breathing as I type, so then one wonders whether the question should be what the tolerable levels are, as may be measured in parts per million and such, or is it the kind of danger that's like having lead in the peeling paint of your windows.

I'm just your typical consumer that hears stuff in the news all the time.

Thanks for the info lightspeed! Perhaps we can find some new maps made without these chemicals? Do you know anything about that?

i'm interested in the wall with the letters. i'm renovating my house (post katrina) and would like to incorporate as much functionality as possible. i'm trying to figure out how to incorporate a bulletin board and magnetic area (NOT magnetic paint, thank you, but metal strips) into the kitchen design. ideally, i'd like to have some grooves cut into the sheetrock with whatever kind of appropriate backing behind the grooves to allow for hanging items, but that would be somewhat flexible so items could be changed out & moved around. (the closest thing i've ever seen is store displays, but those are a little too industrial/tacky.) having the whatever kind of hanging strips those are might be a feasible workaround.

does any of that make sense?

If you follow the link to flickr there's a closeup of the letters - they're just cable suspended from one end of the wall to the other with binder clips holding up the letters (kind of like a clothes line).

thanks, tommymiller50. i'll definitely check it out later from home--my work site blocks flicker : (

We have these. Ours are definitely just paper (tear easily) so I'm sure they're safe. They look fantastic in the morning--and I've learned so much about Ancient Mesopotamia! The trick is to get very old ones (ours look much older than the ebay ones linked here). They come up at flea markets. We also have medical ones and a typewriter chart.

hello -
this is my office. you can check out more pictures on my site: http://www.mattsoncreative.com

i got the letters on ebay. they are vintage movie marquee letters. i actually have a bunch left over if anyone wants them.

thanks for the heads up on the phthalates, lightspeed...i guess i will stop licking my blinds now.