Almost every summer holiday began with buying the paper map of the destination, before the appearance of GPS and navigation apps. They became a bit worn during the trip, especially if they were used on more trips. Then they ended at the bottom of a drawer and were forgotten. However, they shouldn’t be necessarily thrown to the recycling bin. Let’s see some examples for using them.
Let’s wallpaper the room with them! They can be pasted up, just like the common wallpapers. A perfect focal point can be created with covering a center wall with maps. More colorful pieces can be used in children’s room, but choose the yellowed, few-color printed versions for a more subdued effect. Putting them behind a backsplash glass in the kitchen gives a really unique effect. The wall of the staircase or the mantel can be highlighted this way also.
Furniture made of wood or MDF can be popped up with them. Just stick the maps on the back of a chair, on the drawers of a commode or even on top of a table, for example. The surface will be more durable with several coats of lacquer. If a few umber is added to the lacquer, the surface will have antique effect.
Smaller household objects can be also decorated with maps by decoupage technique. The boring cork coasters can be popped up with the colorful lines of a town’s transport network. The simple cardboard lampshade will not only be more spectacular, but it will color the light a bit. The terracotta pots of herbs lining on the kitchen windowsill will look much better this way also.
Putting the maps in frames and hanging them on the wall is a cheap decoration. They can be grouped not only by colors but by geography also. More classic and more united effect can be reached with similar frames.
Ask for help of an interior designer for re-using your thought-to-be unwanted objects.