I love nothing more than plastering vintage maps all over a wall for an inexpensive, dramatic effect but sometimes a less permanent option is far more useful, especially when staging a home or decorating a flip-floppy teenagers bedroom. And guess which one I had this week? Well, both..a staging job and the lovely task of dressing up a not-so-lovely teenagers bedroom (referring to the condition of the bedroom, not the teenager,
of course). Typically I'd browse the aisles of an antique store for old National Geographic magazines and use the map inserts as wallpaper (see below for details) but this time I entered "reusable map wallpaper" in my browser. I discovered the option above at Pottery Barn for $129 for a 8 foot wide by 5 foot high piece, which was enough to cover my entire project wall with a bit left over for framed surprises in the adjacent bathroom. What I love about this version is when the sweet teenager changes his mind in a few years and prefers images of skinny women with big breasts on his wall, we can peel this off with no damage whatsoever. For the staging job this was equally as effective in a small half bath where the roll covered one all behind a sink for that POW look we were going for. Once the house sells..and it will...we can peel this right off and move on to the next job on our map!
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS..AND DOLLARS:
While I love wallpapering an entire wall with vintage maps, sometimes it's an equally dramatic outcome to place just one on a wall and frame it. For a,
how'd they do that, effect do this: Pick a great map from a magazine (again I find my favorites in old National Geographic magazines, usually included in every issue in the middle of the magazine as a folded insert). Use wallpaper glue to attach to wall. Purchase old frame at antique store (only frame, no glass or back, usually plentiful at antique stores) or molding from Home Depot or Lowe's. Place frame around wallpapered map. Step back, admire your work and fantasize about your next adventure.
