Sarah's Living Room: Fun With Maps

With so many people traveling last weekend, it seems like a good time to talk about the use of maps in design.  Maps can be a great (and cheaper) alternative to traditional artwork and can be used in a variety of other ways:

Maps can work with almost any style, from traditional to modern, and I (Sarah) decided to give one a go in my living room.  

Awhile ago, Devin and I stumbled into a vintage map store in Boulder and had a full nerd-out session that included buying a two-page 1902 map of Puerto Rico (spelled Porto Rico at the time--I think this was the main reason that I had to have the map).  I had the map framed but then never found anywhere to put it once we moved to Brooklyn. 

This weekend I realized that the only way to combat my huge TV is with huge artwork, so the map came out of the basement and went up on my wall.  It still feels a little strange because one of my major pet peeves is artwork hung too high on walls, but I think the TV grounds the map so that it makes sense. I do like having something else to look at in that corner, so for now the map will stay.

I also love having the map there because Puerto Rico is such an important part of our family.  It's always great to be able to incorporate items into design that aren't just pretty but also have meaning.