Map Toilet

In the Christmas holidays...I wallpapered the back toilet with old maps.

In hindsight I  was procrastinating about making the fitted, removable covers for the couches. Something that actually needed doing but I lacked enthusiasm for (I did get the covers done in the end). Had great fun doing this, however.

The Australian maps are pretty accurate but city maps have changed, of course. There is a Melbourne map that has Tullamarine Airport "under construction". The world maps are just plain old. There's the USSR, for example. Palestine hasn't had Israel created within it. Sri Lanka is Ceylon. Pakistan and Bangladesh aren't on the old maps etc, etc. So much shrinking, expanding and renaming. So much conflict as a result.

The maps are more decorative than educational. It was like doing a giant jigsaw. I wanted some sort of meaning to the jigsaw, though. The Australian portions of maps include places I've lived, places my husband has lived and places where we've both lived. So NT, Qld, WA, NSW and Vic. are there. Places we've enjoyed travelling through, and to, are included (SA comes in here). Tasmania is included because Linsey went to Falls Festival there at the beginning of this year and she loves Tassie - thinking of doing further study at UTAS when she finishes her diploma. I really want to visit Tassie too, but at the moment our holidays mean a trip to Sunshine Coast Qld to catch up with my parents (in a retirement village in Buderim). A Sunshine Coast holiday is no hardship, however!

As for the world maps...big ones of UK and one of Ireland on it's own. Germany as well. These are for Linsey. The countries she stayed in last year (she loved Ireland). Spain and Portugal feature, I'd love to go to the UK, but also these Mediterranean countries. I want to visit Turkey too, and maybe Greece, for the ruins of ancient civilisations. All this travel is but a pipe dream: my money is spoken for and I'm not sure about alone travel. My husband isn't interested and, frankly, I'd rather go without him.

We put the grab rail in about nine years ago now, for a visit from my parents. There's another on the opposite wall. See how neatly I cut the maps around the rail attachments. That was the last time my oldies were able to travel. I do think the grab rails will be very handy when I become rickety and decrepit. It was easier to leave the rails there than remove them.

I used old maps and pages from old atlases collected from op-shops over maybe ten years. Initially, I wanted to make art work from the maps, and I may still do so. I used an adhesive for glueing on wallpaper borders. It was very easy to use, no mixing and didn't make the maps "soggy", but not cheap. I reckon I used four containers of this adhesive, cost about $60. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned.

Comments

[librarygirl]

This looks absolutely SENSATIONAL. If the walls weren't panelled in our downstairs loo I'd do it too.

[Laura]

FABULOUS!!!!!

[Wendy]

Hi - I'm new to your blog and love seeing what's happening! Great idea for the loo I wish we didn't have internal brick walls or I'd go for something like that too. You're certainly creative.
I'm halfway between Brisbane and Sunshine Coast! Cheers Wendy

[victoria]

You're killing me, I love it so much!!!! I need to do this somewhere. NEED. It would make for a lot of entertainment when using the toilet too, I imagine.

[Paisley]

This looks fabulous. It reminds me of the Guiness Book of World Records wallpaper that my uncle&aunt had in the loo of their old house - only better because it's maps... and I love maps.

[nan]

I bloody love this!

[Frogdancer]

David2 wants to put music on his walls... we just haven't gotten around to it yet. This looks fantastic. Excellent job. (Almost as good as pinstriped trousers....)