Saturday

DIYP#17-A View of The World

Isn't this a gorgeous room?  I saw this in a Pottery Barn magazine more than 5 years ago!  

My favorite part of this room is the giant world wall map.

Of course, it has a big price tag on it.

But, this frugal Momma searched the internet and found something very similar.  I think ours turned out just as good!  And it was a lot cheaper. My son's room:


Several of you saw the map in the background of a post last week and asked me how we did it.

I ordered the map off ebay a couple of years ago.  Look, there's one listed on there right now! But there's also several other internet sources (google world map mural) and you can get one for less than $100.

My hubby and I cleaned the wall and knocked off some of the texture for a smooth surface.  The map applies much like wallpaper.  The trickiest part is matching up the large strips accurately, so let's say Texas, doesn't end up in the Middle East.

Here's a great link from This Old House on applying wallpaper.

The map was actually much bigger than the wall, so we chose to 'build' our map with North America as the focal point.

My son's room started off in airplanes about 4 years ago, but I recently redid it in pirates. A map theme is really versatile! 

28 comments:

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

Wow, it turned out great! I had seen that map wall in PB and loved it. So cool. And educational too! :-)

xo

Anonymous said...

the room looks great!

I collaged a bunch of smaller maps onto a wall in my sons room (last house). We had like 50 maps from traveling and roadtrips...was a good way to put them to use. When done I did a light wash with stain to sorta age all of them. Worked great AND my kids learned some geography!

Mamajil said...

very cool room!!! Looks great!!

Natalie said...

wow. what a great idea. i wonder if my sons would be ok with that in their room in the states. since they will be 13 and 11 i should probably ask before just doing it!

Joan said...

That is versatile. I could also see sailboats or hot air balloons or cars. The map could go for just about anything. Would even look good in hubby's study.

Thanks for the idea.

Anonymous said...

That really is a versatile decor that can grow with him through the years.

Speaking of pirates...did you know that yesterday was International Talk Like a Pirate Day? We celebrated it here...I hope to post on it on Monday. If you missed it, you should mark your calendar for next year!

Tammy said...

This is SO cute. My son is fascinated by maps and this would be a great idea for him. "kids". He is obsessed with world flags right now. Which could go well with the map.

Driftwood and Pumpkin said...

LOVE it! I wanted to do that in my son's room as well, but we have SERIOUSLY textured walls. It would be a MESS to sand it down. Great room!

Mom to 5...Daughter of the King said...

So very cute!!

Valarie Lea said...

That is seriously Awesome! I wonder if L.L. would like that. Way cute!

HDMac said...

That is such a fun room! How clever of you!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!

Grateful for Grace said...

Looks GREAT! We did this in our son's room (and 2 dd's) years ago but it was FREE! I started collecting old National Geographic maps and praying for more when an older couple at our church called my dh. They had to move and asked him to help with a few things. He saw this big box of maps and asked if they were taking it. They weren't! We collaged big maps of countries all over the room. It looked super cool! And it was educational at the same time. We just moved and I saved all the maps so we can do it again once we're not renting.

Lorie said...

It turned out great! My son loves maps and that is one of the things I have always wanted to add to his room.

Anonymous said...

Thanks! I was really hoping you'd let us in on how to do it; his room is fantastic. I'm a big fan of Pottery Barn, but who can afford to do whole rooms in it? So I rip the catalog pages I like out and keep them in a binder. If I hold on to my idea long enough, it'll pop up at Wal-Mart, Target, etc. Sometimes you just forget about ideas you liked, but the book is a great reminder. Blessings, Whitney

Lisa said...

I like that too, especially with young children. They are always asking where is this or where is that. It would make it so easy to go with them to look. And large enough to be able to see lots of detail. Very smart. And I agree with it would look good in an office or study too.

Amanda said...

oooo love it! where did you get the awesome rug?

Carrie said...

That is SO COOL!!!! Love it.

Beth Cotell said...

What a great idea! And I really love how versatile it is.

Shell in your Pocket said...

Wow..that looks great! I love his room and I can barely see the rug but it looks super cute!! Love the map!

Have a great weekend!
-Sandy Toes

littletoesandcheerios said...

Cool and educational as well, I absolutely love it! Aw, boys and pirates!
I just did a post on Madi's new playroom. I love finding ways decorate for less too.

Mama Smurf said...

That is one of the coolest ideas I've ever seen!

Kim H. said...

Very cute!!

Anissa Mayhew said...

That's a wonderful idea, thanks for sharing the tips. My son wants to redo, perhaps we'll make use of your ideas!

Muthering Heights said...

You are such a crafty gal! I love your ideas!

Unknown said...

I love that! It looks so neat. I had no idea they had such a thing. We have a large US map in my son's room above his desk, which I like.

Anyway, you did an excellent job - a superb frugal "copy" of the PB room!

Unknown said...

Saving this great idea for my son's room.

He is nearly 4 and is fascinated by all things "mappy".

Thanks for the inspiration.

NotsoDG said...

What a fabulous idea! I wonder if my 8 year old son would be interested? hmmm...

Jennifer said...

love it!! i always love to see when people take rooms that are ridiculously overpriced and replicate them for less!