That's a Map!

Get it? Like "That's a Wrap!" (Not like someone exclaiming "That's a map!" in one of those "Duh, dude, I can see that" moments.)

I use this punny title not only because I bought an awesome giant map for $15 (see below), but also because said map has essentially completed our living room decor (minus the inevitable tiny tweaks like rearranged tchotchkes, holiday decor, etc.). So that's a wrap on that area in our apartment, all thanks to this guy:

I spotted this big framed beauty at a local thrift store last week and snatched it up. I've been keeping an eye out for a large map for a while, and I did some quick phone research to find that the very same map was retailing for $49.95 unframed! So I knew I had to buy it. To give you a big idea of how large the map is, I set it on our large futon:



After lusting after this living room from Restored Style, I knew I wanted to hang the map on our large living room wall:

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I had previously hung three travel-themed prints on the same wall, but they looked a little dwarfed because the wall itself is so large.

So I just popped the map onto the existing middle nail, and voila! 

The map is actually a special edition in honor of the 100 year anniversary of National Geographic!

I had to take a few close-ups of my favorite states:

I just love how the Missouri River's headwaters are in Montana--it connects me to home!

You might notice that we already sort of had a travel theme in the room. My generous mother bought us these wonderful Missouri and Montana pillows from Uncommon Goods as well as a custom puzzle of our hometown--you can see one of the pillows on our ottoman below, and the puzzle to the left of the map.

I relocated the prints to our dining room, above our sideboard:

And then I moved the scrapbook papers that used to be our sideboard to above our entry bookshelf. One of the frames for the papers was actually glass-less, so I just didn't hang it. (Please ignore the bag of trash by our door, ha!)

I love the look of our new map, and I have a feeling that I'll be adding more map/travel-related decor once we get a larger place. We have a sort of tradition of buying prints when we're on trips (like this one from a February trip to Seattle, and the Missoula print below it), so it would be fun to display them in a gallery wall like so:

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I also love the look of these map coasters--they'd be an easy DIY!

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This Missouri art from Curiously Wrought is officially on my wishlist. I love it!

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And this map art is a classic--I've seen it floating around on Pinterest a billion times. I might have to make one--a Missouri heart, a Montana heart, and maybe a Banff heart since we're honeymooning there?

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Tonia from The Gunny Sack created a rolled map wreath, and it turned out lovely!

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My bloggy friend Kristin from Our Washington Life has a self-professed map fetish, and I love her map gallery wall!

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I also love the colors and mix of prints in this map gallery wall. I love this color scheme for a nursery (waaaay in the future!)

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And Sherry and John from Young House Love have a wonderful map cork board to commemorate their trips together. Although, I must suggest that they visit Montana and Missouri, the two best states in the USA (ha!):

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Any other map-lovers out there?