We have been looking for a large-scale something to hang on the wall behind our sofa.  We are really bad about putting things up around the house. We’ve been here for two years now and have a list of things to be framed and hung, but still have a lot of open white walls.  A version of this Airstream print from Hatch Show Print is on our Want list.  (They had a beautiful red one at the shop when we visited in the spring and said they would print a custom order for us).  Chris found this vintage classroom map of the United States in the back corner of an antique shop.  It was a good price, although we weren’t sure where in our house it would fit at the time.  Perhaps I was inspired yesterday by listening to Martin Luther King Jr.’s beautiful I Have a Dream speech.  Perhaps I was feeling patriotic when I decided to hang the giant map up in the living room.  I copied the hanging technique from some friends and removed the map’s heavy roller case.  I tied strong twine around the two ends of the rollers at the top of the map and hung the string on two nails at the top of our wall.  The map seems much larger on our wall than it had in the cavernous antique shop ,but I think it works.  Ada is excited to point to the states she knows (albeit while standing on the couch).   I am excited by the map’s large scale and vibrant colors – and maybe a little excited about a refresher geography lesson.

To find your own vintage school maps you can check your favorite flea market, antique shop, Ebay or Etsy.  Happy hunting!