A couple weeks ago, I came across a vintage and extremely well priced world map in this etsy shop. I put it in my cart and muddled over the possibilities for a couple days and then thought, “It’s $10! Just get it!”
So I did. And when it arrived the colors were so rich and spot on with the color scheme in our family room. Could the size be perfect to hang above our couch in the family room? Maybe. The only problem was, it desperately needed protected and getting this huge map custom framed would be mega bucks. Then, I found this great tutorial on Little Green Notebook about using clear plexiglass to protect and frame art and I got on the phone with a plastics company, Delvie’s Plastics, about an hour away from our home who gave me a great deal. $40 for a clear sheet that would cover and protect the map.
Last night, we decided to hang the whole shebang. First, we marked off how high our couch will be and then taped off where the map will hang in relation:
Following Jenny’s recommendation, we used Poster strips to hang up our map first.
There were 12 in the pack and I just went nuts with them and used the whole package.
Once the map was hung, we started prepping the acrylic frame. I measured and marked the exact location of each hole. Twice. :)
Then, we held our breaths and started drilling pilot holes in our 1/8″ clear plexi-glass. We kept the paper covering over the plexi-glass while drilling and started out with the smallest bit and gradually got larger to prevent any chance of our acrylic cracking. If you look closely, you can see the importance of measuring twice–my first line was off. Whew!
We used simple white screws that double as anchors–which we just discovered and love!
It took 8 screws in all, 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom. The jury is still out if we need one more on each side:
Honestly, the jury is still out on the whole thing. We love the map, but it is hard to tell if it is going to work here without the couch in place and lamps. We are even toying with the idea of DIYing a large frame if it still looks like it needs some bulking up once we get the rest of the furniture in place. So now, we are living with it and practicing our geography.
The color is less blue and more turquoise than shown above–and as cliche as it sounds, it really does look better in person. But I am still not 100% sold. What do you think?
Maps=awesome. Wait until you have the furniture in place…that will change the entire dynamic of the wall. But until then, looks great. love the colors of this one, it definitely pulls your space together.
At first, I thought the same thing… a chunky frame, but I don’t know… Maybe you should wait and see what it looks like once your furniture is in place.
Frame it! I’m totally getting on board with vintage maps… I plan to use them in a gallery wall eventually.
I second getting a frame for the map (I really like it!). It feels like it’s missing something right now… I think you should wait until you get the furniture and see how everything gets laid out (it may be too small to be the only thing on that wall).
Ahahahah Patty’s comment. I think the plexiglass is keeping it look like it belongs in an office. Team Frame!