NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

A world map and nursery progress

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Well, I know many of you love old maps as much as we do, so I wanted to share our pull-down map we Ryan mounted in the nursery over the weekend.

Ryan spotted the map on Craigslist before we were pregnant. I’ve always been drawn to the old pull-down maps, so he alerted me. Within 30 minutes, it was ours for $50 – which, if you’ve looked at any of these maps online, you know is a steal. (It’s so fabulous to have a hubby who regularly hunts Craigslist. And who’s willing to hop in the car and grab it before anyone else can steal it away.) It’s a Rand McNally. I’m not sure how old it is, but it’s definitely not new. It has that old-map smell. 😉

It is also Made in the USA, which made my baby-daddy giddy. We spent some time on Sunday checking out all the different countries and trying to figure out when it was made. Short answer – we have no clue. But, Detroit still had more than one million people and there was still a Soviet Union. We’re regular sleuths over here. Call us Inspector Gadget.

The bottom of the map is a little rough. It’s pulling away from the pull-down bar and there is a good deal of green that must have pulled out of the bar at some point. But, I just rolled it up and paper-clipped it for now and I think it looks pretty swell. The pull-down mechanism still works really well. I hope that it will straighten out a little now that it’s hung.

In other news, the nursery curtain fabric arrived and it’s quite lovely.

As a reminder, it’s the Dwell Studio Bella Porta fabric in Twilight. I purchased it from fabric.com with a coupon. With that said, it’s not a cheap fabric and I had to buy a lot of it for four panels. But, I think it will be worth it and it looks like it may be my main splurge in the room.

I think I’ve justified it because the fabric can easily transition into a big boy room or even another room in the house.

And, this fabric is gorgeous. The texture is almost like a nubby linen and I may or may not just want to roll myself up in it like an eggroll (mmmmm… eggrolls) because it’s just so darn nice. That was too much information. I know. It happens to me a lot.

I also picked up solid Kona fabrics in indigo and white for the houndstooth quilt. I think I’m going to back it with a mini navy dot. But, I will not allow myself to begin this project until the curtains lined, sewn and up. Hold me to it, okay?

What do you think?

Comments

  1. Cute! I found some robert kaufman fabrics that look similar to this that I am using in my nursery. How hard was it to sew the door hanging?

  3. Love.

    I have a pull down map to hang and I can’t figure out how to get it attached to the wall. Did yours come with a logical way to hang it or did you jimmy rig it?

  4. Also.. (this is totally random) that map reminds me of my first year of teaching and my Assistant Principal (who just happened to have been my 5th grade teacher) was coming to observe me during a geography lesson. Needless to say I was sweating bullets and was super nervous. So I proceeded on with my lesson and definitely told my 2nd graders that Europe wasn’t a continent… umm.. yeah.. They were trying to correct me but I just kept on. Thank god she didn’t count it against me. I of course realized that I was an idiot and apologized to my students the next day.

  6. I love, love, love the map! And I’m sure I’m way behind in saying this but the blog header looks great! Congrats on the new little one on the way 🙂

  8. Clearly the room of a future scholar. Or a kid with good taste in fabrics but a little slow in geography since he’ll be asking to visit the Soviet Union. What am I saying? This boy will obvs. be a genius. With a closet that I’m jealous of.

    Have I mentioned that I love this nursh already? I spy that little desk in the corner and it makes me so happy!

  9. Between the old school desk and the map, I am swooning over here! Unfortunately, Joseph is too small to catch me… 😉 The navy/white fabric is looking fabulous! It’s so graphic and pretty and I agree that it has a future beyond the nursery! I can’t wait to see the finished panels! Also, am very excited to see how the houndstooth quilt turns out! I think it’s going to be adorable!

    As for the age of your map… the history teacher in me is dying to know its age. Here’s a handy chart that can help you determine the approximate age of the map:

    http://kottke.org/11/09/how-old-is-your-globe

    The link is for globes, but the principle is the same.

  10. That fabric is AMAZING! Love it. And I LOOOVE the map! Jen and I regularly blog about maps and globes and such things because we love them so much – glad to see we’re in good company.
    -Katie

  11. Oh, I love the map! And the fabric! Baby Dub is destined to be a world traveler.

  12. I think it looks awesome! I love all colors in the map. I feel like most old maps are faded colors (which is nice too) but I love the brighter colors for a kid’s room. The fabric is great. I’m thinking of using it in yellow for our guest room.

  13. I love this so much! Your kid is going to have the most styling room in the QC.

    I also like that Ryan found this. It’s always so much easier when it was “their idea.” 😉

  14. I love the map and the progress you’ve made on the room. FYI, on the map the Democratic Republic of Congo is still the “Belgian Congo” which was the name of the colony until 1960 when it became Zaire. So perhaps the map is pre-1960? I’m not sure how quickly map makers update country names :0

    Love your blog!

  15. Oh oh oh!! I love this. I’ve been trolling the Interwebs for a map like that for Little Dude’s big boy room. Nothing purchased yet. This. Is. Faboo!

  18. That map is beyond cool! It’s timeless too, you can use it for years and teach your kid all about the USSR 😉 (I’m only kidding, I really DO love it, please don’t think that’s a negative comment, I’m just feeling silly– maps are my favorite).

  23. I love that old map! There is something that I love so much about the old map/book smell. It looks great there!

    And that fabric is to die for. Great choice!

  24. i love love love the map!! that boy will be a geographer before he’s one! 🙂

    that fabric is so modern and lively – so perfect. i can’t wait to see all this come together!

    um, i have hallucinations that i’m going to try to “sew” curtains for our nursery. hopefully your finished pics will inspire me. or deter me. because i will be using iron-on hem tap the whole way… 🙂

  26. Super jealous of your sweet Craiglist map find!

    Love the fabric you picked out for the curtains, it will look great when they’re done. 🙂

  30. The nursery it looking good! I love the Dwell fabric. It’s well worth the investment because it will make some great transition pieces in the future. That map is an awesome find too. Love the vintage feel and the large size!

  31. I love the map, and I adore that gorgeous fabric. Baby W is going to have a very nice room. I like that the map is on a “roller” so you can roll it up when he gets big enough to stand and pull on it!

  32. Even though the population is below one million….hooray for a mention of Detroit! We live four miles from The D and my son’s all boy high school is in the city! Go Lions and Tigers and Wings!!!!

  33. Even though the population is below one million….hooray for a mention of Detroit! We live four miles from The D and my son’s all boy high school is in the city! Go Lions and Tigers and Wings!!!!

  34. I LOVE the map! So, so cute. We have a big old map in Forrest’s room, too . . . but yours is cuter 😉 I’m so excited to see the room all decked out. And excited to see the quilt, too . . . more excited about the quilt than the curtains, actually, so this is me being the bad influence . . . SKIP THE CURTAINS! QUILT, QUILT, QUILT!

  37. What a great find with the map! And I love that fabric you’ve picked- can’t wait to see how you pull everything together!!

  43. That map is an awesome score. It really is a great focal point to the room. And just think how smart your little guy will be growing up with that to study!! ;o) I love the fabric as well. I feel that a good fabric is worth the investment. You will be able to use it for years to come. It really is a classic.

  44. I love it, I’m excited to see the finished room the fabric is beautiful. I’m working on a ‘treasure’ map for our nursery its crazy how similar yet different our rooms will be :o)

  45. Each glorious day is one day closer to my precious grandson joining our world and learning to read that map. I thank God every single day and can’t wait. We love you Kim & Ryan…..and counting down for your presence Baby W!