Hi AT,
Any ideas on how to use a large world map in my toddler daughter's bedroom? My kids have been sharing a room (above) but I am going to move my daughter to her own room, which currently has a really big world map on the wall [picture after the jump].
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I want to keep the map there as an educational tool. However, my daughter favors girly colors and decorations. She likes the dots but I am not sure how (if) to integrate them with the map.
I also like the idea of magnetic and chalkboard paint on another, smaller wall (a la classroom-theme) but then how to make the room more fun? Maybe with the chalkboard dots?
I am also confused as to what kind of rug to get. I was thinking of this hot pink rug because she likes pink and it won't compete too much with the map, but I prefer a rug that's more lively and which is probably too much if I do the dots on the wall. And a rug that would probably be her favorite would look something like this "Hand-Tufted Polka Dot Flower Rug."
OR...I could move the map to my son's room. He's been angling to replace the dots with dinosaurs when his sister moves out. But... map with dinosaurs?
I would appreciate any advice!
Thanks,
Kim
Anyone?
I don't see why the map can't mingle with the girly. I'd paint the walls--you could do a pale pink or light purple, but I would scratch that solid hot pick rug. It's too much, even solid. I like the dot one, but the white parts would get dirty in a kids room. Which leaves the floral Target rug, which I really like, b/c it's girly enough but not too cloying.
I'd encurage her to decorate the world map to integrate it more, or at least get her to understand; try things like those static-clinging shapes to pinpoint where her friends have been or are from, or cut out scenes and affix them to the map (like the Eiffel tower for Paris, etc.).
Is she into Carmen SanDiego yet? The colors of that cartoon figure would probably work with the dots.
I'd draw inspiration from Alicia Paulson's studio for a color scheme that includes both the blue from the map and the right shade of pink.
She was a finalist in this year's color contest.
Kim, dearest,
Obviously the answer is to lose the wall map and get a carpet for you daughter's room that has a map of the world woven into it in bright colors. that way she can walk and crawl all over the world without leaving her room.
but, if that seems challenging, i still recommend deep sixing the store-bought map and painting a map of the world onto the wall with your daughter. THAT would be educational, and she can choose whatever girly colors she wants.
and then you can let your son paint his dinosaurs.
i'm just saying.
good luck!
You could move the map to your son's room, and use dinosaur stickers to mark where their bones have been found, or where they lived.
Hi Kim
Happy Holidays! My daughter has the exact same dots and she's crazy for them, and oddly enough, I was thinking of getting her a world map too! This is what I would do, it's just an opinion though...
Treat those elements more like accents, and give the room a playful but grown up feel so the map isn't out of place. I'd paint the room a sunny pale yellow and get a rug that is sophisticated but fun.
Flor is a great rug option, this one has flowers, (selected because you show a flower rug option), http://www.florcatalog.com/service/flor/shop_by_model.html?mv_arg=She_Loves_Me_02
It's playful, colorful, but the photo of the flower goes with the technical aspect of the map. And you don't have to do a whole rug like that, you can mix & match tiles to make a rug you like. And when she grows up, she can swap out the tiles she doesn't like for something more to her liking.
I'd also use the colors of the dots again in the room as accents, like paint a frame around the map and the chalkboard using 2 colors of the dots. Or make round throw pillows in dot colors if you can sew. And then just spread the dots around.
Get/paint her furniture white, her eyes will need a rest from all that color and visual interest too. :)
Hope that gives some helpful advice, send photos when your done! Sorry for the long post!
Hi Kim
Since you say that your daughter loves the dots, why not leave her the dots and move your son into the room with the map?
I would punch up the map, if possible. If the room is large enough, I think it would look great if you got one of the map murals -- they run about 8.5' x 12.5'. Here is a link to what I mean: http://www.worldmapsonline.com/worldmapwallmurals.htm
I've seen it done a couple of times in boys' rooms (Julianne Moore papered her son's room with one of these maps in their Manhattan apartment). It adds a great sense of drama and a focal point. To pull the room together as a boy's room, it might be fun to use locker storage (check out the apartmenttherapy post on it: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/shelving-storage/metal-locker-mania-a-roundup-000917), and to counter the industrial/institutional elements with a vintage pine daybed (or some sort of vintage pine bed), and stick to linens in primary red and/or navy blue.
Check out the book "Children's Spaces from Zero to Ten" by Judith Wilson.
By accident, I came across the feature in Elle Decor on Julianne Moore's former apartment in NYC. The map she hung in her son Caleb's room was this one:
http://www.hammacher.com/publish/66554.asp#