Friday, February 17, 2012

The Ugliest Wall in My House

This is the first wall you see when you walk in my house.  I'm standing near the front doorway taking this pic

You probably recognize it from from last year's slipcovered sectional post.

This is what the wall looks like with nothing on it

Seriously?!  Who designed this?  I'd like to have a little talk with him.  We spend a lot of time in this room... it serves as a foyer, mud room, living room, family room, play room and sometimes craft room.  I would like it to be inviting, but what do you do with a wall like this?  We left the wall blank for a long time because nothing of substance fit there.

Then one day the hubs was cleaning out the car and asked, "What do you want to do with this old atlas?  Can I just throw it away?"  I understand we live in the age of GPSs now, but I couldn't part with my atlas.  It had been on many a road trip with me and had such a special place in my heart.  I love maps, so how was I expected to throw away an entire book of maps?

That's when the idea hit.  My husband and I have lived in a lot of different cities, so I decided to frame all of the cities each of us has lived in since we were born.  The arrangement seems to hide some of the ugly features of the wall.  Who knew a repurposed atlas and some dollar store frames could make such a big difference?

So now these are much less of a nuisance

And I love this wall, because it is ours.



Do you have anything built into your house that is super annoying?  Did it force you to come up with a creative solution?  I'd love to hear your story in the comments!

Blessings,
Jamie

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39 comments:

  1. it looks awesome- i love the color the maps add, too! you saw my gallery wall in the living room where i also tried to blend our vents... ugh!

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  2. Love it!! Maps are so in right now, plus it's cool that it means something to you guys!

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  3. It looks great Jamie! I have another idea...why not cover your light switch plate with a map? Just decoupage it!

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  4. Yikes! We must have had the same builder! (lol). Here's what I did and hope it helps: Vent; reshaped to a long skinny rectangle and postioned it centered to the very top of the wall as close to the ceiling as it'd go. The thermostadt; just popped it out the other side of the wall. I could deal with looking at it better from the kitchen. The light switch; moved it lower just below my hip height, and because it wasn't the only source of turning that line on, hid it behind my sofa and as of late, realizing that we're past electrical inspection (like when you're not sure to take the mattress labels off), I just capped it and painted it the wall color.
    Btw, love the maps and enjoy your blog! :)

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  5. That return vent is very important for your house air flow, but why they didn't put it close to the baseboard is beyond me. I think you have done the best with a situation like what you have the the maps really look great.

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  6. This is adorable! I hope you'll link this up to my new linky party! I'm a new follower! Hope you'll stop by and follow along if you'd like!

    Mallory @ Classy Clutter

    http://classyclutter.blogspot.com/2012/02/saturday-spotlight-2.html

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  7. It looks great! We struggled with a similar situation at our old house, but luckily we moved! :) I love the idea of using the maps!

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  8. This is very cute! I love the map idea!

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  9. Awesome! I didn't even notice the "uglier" aspects of the wall. And the black frames really kick it up a notch!

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  10. I saw this on Craft-O-Maniac and now I'm your newest follower! Love the framed maps and they do make the "uglier" aspects much less noticeable! If your using Pinterest I remember seeing a pin for a hinged painting to cover the thermostat, maybe you could do something like that to hide one of the "uglies".
    Amy @ http://yellowhouseon3rd.blogspot.com

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  11. I love maps as art. You did a great job hiding those "uglies". (visiting via Under the Table)

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  12. Love this idea! I love maps too, and I love that you used locations that mean something to you. Looks great :)

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  13. It looks great! I love that you used an old Atlas too- it gives the same style for each city. You definitely spruced that wall up. I can't get over the fact the the designer put that air vent where they did, but way to make the best of it! Thanks for sharing!

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  14. This is fund and great use of the random "weird wall." I want to do somthing like this with the various places we have lived. Thanks for blogging your idea!

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  15. This is a genius idea. I stash maps like they're going to stop making. Uhoh. Do you think they're going to stop making them?!?!? In any case, you definitely put the focus on your cute maps. Now the less attractive house parts fade into the background. Thanks for sharing!

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  16. Great idea!!! I LOVE traveling, road trips..and will soon be displaying some maps of my favorite places in my home office! Thanks so much for sharing this tip!

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  17. What a cool project! Love the maps. You have to show this off at "Cowgirl Up!" - it's the only link party where you post once, and your project shows up on 4 amazing blogs. I know everyone will love this! Party goes live at 9pm tonight. Hope to see you there!
    :) Samantha @ Crafty Texas Girls
    craftytexasgirls.com

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  18. What a crack up! ... Those framed maps are fab!

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  19. SO COOL! LOVE this! Maps have great color in them too.

    http://fitcraftystylishandhappy.blogspot.com/

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  20. love your map wall art display!!! I have a lonely wall that leads to the basement - maps of my family's vacations would be a really fun addition. thanks for the inspiration!!! ~patti

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  21. Way to make it work - we love looking at old maps and yours looks terrific!!

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  22. This is such a great solution. I would love for you to visit and link up at my Linky Party via: ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com

    Mrs. Delightful
    Ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com

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  23. I love it, that is such a creative way to reuse old maps!

    Jessi @ http://practicallyfunctional.blogspot.com/

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  24. I love the map idea! I hope you'll stop by and add this and any other posts you're proud of to my Wednesday What We Wore and Made Link party

    marissa
    http://raegunwear.blogspot.com

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  25. How neat! I've been dying to do something with maps lately! What an inspiration!
    Holly @ Lifeasathrifter.com

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  26. what a great idea, my house has some of those annoying areas that are hard to make look good.
    www.newlifeovernight.blogspot.com

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  27. Great looking art!! Love the look of the atlas pages! Would love for you to link up to the Tuesday To Do Party if you haven't already! http://blackberryvine.blogspot.com/2012/02/tuesday-to-do-party-50-and-49-list.html
    Smiles~
    Jami
    www.blackberryvine.blogspot.com

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  28. Super cute! would you be interested in guest posting on my blog? i'm sure my readers would love to see some of your lovely crafts!!! :) you can email me if interested... teardrop@kc.rr.com :) Thanks!!

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  29. I'm sorry, but is your husband an alien that he would even consider throwing out an old atlas?? ;-) I'm definitely a map collector and couldn't part with the hundreds of them I've accumulated over the years. Putting them on your wall was a brilliant idea! I know just which atlas I'm going to use. Thanks for the great idea. (I WAS just kidding about your husband, but truly, maps, slate boards, old sheet music, old books...All that stuff is my favorite!) :-)

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  30. Looks great! I love all things map related.
    I'd love for you to come link this up to my *Get Creative* party this week
    http://www.justalittlecreativity.blogspot.com/2012/02/get-creative-linky-party-and-features.html
    Hope to see you there!
    -Molly

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  31. Big sucker for maps here. Pinned this!

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  32. You may have just solved a problem I have with ideas for art on my deck redo. Following you now. Lovely!!!!!

    Carolyn from the coast in Australia

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  33. I love your gallery wall! You took a wall that was an eye sore and made it a beautiful focal point! (btw, I totally remember your slipcover tutorial from last year...I'm still in awe.)
    I'm having a giveaway of some map art that I made- it ends tomorrow but maybe if you get a chance you can come enter!
    http://inside-outdesign.blogspot.com/2012/02/octopus-map-art.html

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  34. Fantastic idea! I think I will have to try this myself as I have a few ugly walls too. I'm your newest follower.
    Cas x

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  35. The maps are a great idea! I didn't even notice the light switch or thermostat. I know what you mean, though--why do they put those all on the same wall?? Great job!

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  36. Great use of your maps! Your wall looks really good!

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  37. This is adorable!
    I’d love if you would come link this up at From Scratch Friday!

    ~Christina
    www.marriagefromscratch.blogspot.com

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  38. A beautiful solution for a problem wall! I love using maps in fun ways!

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