Lately we have been obsessed with vintage globes, constantly looking on eBay for that perfect one. When we came across this picture our idea of a globe in our home suddenly felt very minuscule in comparison to the effect that this map makes in a room.
Maps have been all over the blogs lately and there is something very nostalgic about them. The idea of travel and marking all the places where we have visited and the ones we still want to go to makes them that much more interesting. We are not sure if the entire wall needs to be dedicated to the map of the world, but we have a feeling we would know a lot more countries and their capitals. Do you have any maps in your home? Are they purely decorative or do you use them to plan your next trip?
We came across this image on Tea For Joy. Check it out for more inspiration.
(Image: Tea For Joy)
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Comments (19)
I love love love this! I want to wallpaper my dining room in old topo maps!
Maps and globes are great decorative elements, besides being useful and eduational. Nothing beats the colors of old maps!
At the end of our upstairs hallway we hung a large framed map of India (where we spent 2 yrs). Then we started calling the hallway "a passage to India..."
forget the map, that is the desk that I have been looking for? does anyone have any info on it?
I think I'm in love.
konar, on the link it says it is from Habitat (so available in England, France, etc)
I love this! I was thinking of a map silhouette for the office but now i'm leaning towards a real map like this
I love this. If it is too large and/or expensive to frame, you could just "frame" the map with wood trim and a nail gun.
Konar - according to the link, the table is from Habitat: http://www.habitat.co.uk/pws/Home.ice
This superb, wall-size, antique map was selected, scanned and blown up by the shop owner to enhance a retail space: http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2008/07/where-to-find-custom-wall-graphics/
Another idea I've been toying with (possibly saw it on AT) is using old school pull-down maps as window treatments. I have a small office that double as a changing room and need the option of privacy.
I work for a map company and find it quite disturbing, that someone would have the audacity to physically paste a map on their wall for some silly trend that will probably go away with in six months. Displaying your unique maps in frames on a wall is one thing, but to destroy what is a snapshot of a location during a specific period of time is sad.
Would you disassemble your Eames lounger and paste that on a wall? Your answer is most likely to be no!
I have always loved maps. Don't have any in my home. Even as a little girl. I'd draw maps and loved luggage with maps and dreamt of far away adventures. So trend or not, still love it!
Here's an inexpensive wall decal
http://tiny.cc/2TbsF
@jo4936: you could say that about anything-- including the current trend of super graphic-y wallpaper. And if I had the money and the space that would look cool with a disassembled Eames Lounger... maybe.
@DahliaCactus: aaaanyway, i just bought a map of 1948 Asia that was originally used for schoolrooms. I can't wait to put it up. At the antique store where I purchased it they mentioned someone who had done exactly that! Maybe contact the store for more info?
124 W 24th St
New York, NY 10011-1904
(212) 989-8401
I downloaded a .pdf of the MUNI map (SF transit system), altered the colors in photoshop a bit, and am sending it out to be printed (31x32"). I have a large, simple frame that I'm hanging it in on a large, blank wall. I also have a few postcards of the city (in sepia tones) placed in small (5x7") pic frames from Ikea, which I'm hanging on 2, maybe 3 sides of the larger map. Had the idea for months, but am only just now being able to actually do it!
@jo4936 But this is really wallpaper. http://www.stanfords.co.uk/stock/world-map-wallpaper-8-sheet-pack-110377/
I agree that I would not ruin a real map by pasting it on my wall. (Not that this isn't real, but... Well, I guess you know what I mean.)
A *real* map? As opposed to ... ?
Any way you slice it, it'a a MAP, not the Declaration of Independence! Unless it's an antique, hand-drawn, one-of-a-kind heirloom, how is it any different than, say, wallpaper? Sorry, but I just don't get the indignation.
Maps and globes: the new chalkboard paint.
I've been looking for a way to display a large map on my nephew's bedroom wall. I agree with slowdown that this trend is already fully exploited, but my nephew knows nothing about decor and has an interest in travel, so what the hell. Anyway, I can easily go from one year to the next without stepping foot in his bedroom, so it's not like I'll ever have to look at it.
However, my sister is not about to drop well over $100 on this design element (nor would I). I introduced her to homokaasu.org and she wants to rasterbate a world map.
ive been trying to find some good looking maps of ireland as a gift for my mom... anyone know of any???
i like this, but i would probably just frame a large map, or cut a map and do a series of framed sections for my own home- a little less permanent.
My high school had this- in our International Studies/History room ( a good thing because some kids in our 11th/12th grade class didn't even know where Iraq was).
It was a map they use in the Flight Centre chain of travel agents- it covered one full wall. I think someone at school had a contact with the business. I loved it, and actually used to have a map hanging in my room- smaller of course. I loved to look at it and plan the places I was going to go and imagine when, one day, I could put little pins in all the places I had been and they would cover the map.
I would definitely do this when I get my own place- it's not a "trend" to me.