I’m on a mission to get our apartment decorated so it serves us better, instead of us serving it. Think about this with me: how many times do we tell ourselves we’ll work on X or we’ll fix X or we’ll paint/organize/move X? And then months pass by and we still haven’t done X? I have finished reading Nesting Place and it’s still challenging me to make our current home our dream home (instead of waiting on our next), because according to Myquillyn, our current home is our dream home according to our last. I love her perspective.
So, I’m on a mission to get the bedroom fully decorated as the nursery :) In just a handful of months we’ll have two babes in there (whaaaaaaaaat?! This pregnancy is going by so quickly!) and we don’t plan on moving. We have two large stretches of empty wall space that need to be decorated. For one stretch I’d like to fill it with a large world map. For the other, adjustable wooden wall shelving.
via Kristin Louise
We have a lot of room in the bedroom for play, which is amazing. I love going in there with Maxwell throughout the day and letting him make a huge mess. He’s learning so much and it’s a real treat to join him on the floor. There’s even plenty of space for Bauer to chew his bone without Maxwell constantly crawling over to say “hello”. Snort.
via MadeByGirl
For a long time I’ve thought it’d be fun to have a world map in our home. So, I’ve been gathering some inspiring nursery/playroom photos with alarge world map on the wall.
We have charcoal-colored carpet in the bedroom (there’s hardwood or stone tile in the rest of the apartment) with white walls. All of the furniture in the bedroom is white, although I’m considering painting the nightstand a fun color — maybe bright red? I love so much the pop of color a large world map would add to the nursery. Maxwell’s toys are pretty colorful/unisex, and those items are further inspiration for me.
Below are a couple photos of our furniture and wall art, but we’ve rearranged the room a couple times since taking these photos:
I would love to find a really large, like really super large, map for one of the walls. One of these would be fun:
Have you bought any world maps online for your home? I may end up touring Los Angeles in search of a map. I mean, there are just a couple of thrift, consignment and vintage resale stores to choose from :)
Finger’s crossed I’ll be back soon with more updates!
I’ve always wanted the same thing. Ikea actually sells big beautiful wall maps. They were on sale. Few weeks back.
Ohhhhhh I’ll have to check out Ikea! Thanks!
This is what I found — is this what you have? http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70119430/
I’ve always wanted a giant map too! I love the colors in the second picture.
We’re in the same boat as you guys (two adults, baby, and dog in 1 bedroom apt). Do you have any tips for people in this same situation? How do you arrange your furniture? Is it weird having your bedroom in your living room? We’re planning on moving in the next 6 months or so, but I always love reading and learning from people in the same situation.
Well, looking for an apartment in Los Angeles is like looking for a lost piece of jewelry on the beach. It takes forever and there are so many people looking that it’s hard to find what you really want/need in a timely manner. Not my favorite thing to do here ;) My advice is to search for an apartment that has a unique layout. For us this means limited walls. Our first apartment in LA had so many walls and it made the apartment feel even smaller than it was. Our current apartment is a much more open floor plan so it feels even larger, which is awesome. We also have an L-shaped living room. We have our bed tucked to one corner and then our living room takes up the rest of the space, which then flows into the dining room and kitchen. It probably looks weird for people that don’t live in LA, they’re likely used to having more space so a bedroom in the living room? Weird. But for most people in southern CA I think it makes sense :) Gotta be smart with your living space! One thing that’s encouraged me a lot is to keep trying new things. We’ve moved our furniture around many times and this is what works best for us, in this apartment, with this current life situation. Who knows where we’ll be come October or even in 6 months from then (April) when we have a 6 month old. xoxo
In love with maps!!! I decorated our dining/school room with a map wall. I LOVE it! The details are in this post.
http://www.thequickjourney.com/search/label/Eclectic%20School%20Room
I love that you used multiple maps on your wall. And once I read through your post I noticed it’s wallpaper… genius! I have visions of using a large map to show different cities & states we’ve lived in, plus other travels Zack and I have adventured on together. So glad you commented and shared your decorating tips! ♥
I found a large map at Costco. It’s in my 8 year old son’s room.
Yes! I ran across a world map from Rand McNally in Target for $6.99. It’s 5 feet wide and I laminated it for the wall. (My kids tend to write on things)
What a steal!
I bought a world map from Amazon for my kids’ bedroom… they love it. :)
I love, love, love maps! They are hard to find in thrift stores out here in the suburbs of Los Angeles. I ended up getting mine through National Geographic’s website, they are very pretty, nicely inexpensive, and come in all different sizes and colors!
Good Luck!
Do you have a link handy? I took a peek but they were $80+
Their website is tricky, here is the one I have, I took it to a local framer in Burbank, had him frame it and mount it to foam board and I stick little pins where the places that I have been :)
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=1020374&green=3E7D80AC-DE77-5691-B6F1-F5F5B7DCAF46
They come in different color tones.
Hope this helps!
Krista
If you live near a college campus and they happen to have a surplus store, that might be a good place to look! Our university has a HUGE surplus store with a bunch of maps! I’m not sure if any are as big as you’re thinking, but it’s worth a shot to check in your area!
Ohhhhhh yes thank you!!!
I love maps and want one in our living room! Make sure to let us know what you end up doing.
Also I love all the reader comments! I’ve clicked through on several of the links. Very helpful!