Design Motifs: Nautical Charts

Frame of Reference

Nautical charts are appealing as decor because their functional use as genuine navigation aids makes them affordable and easily acquired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Although most boats are outfitted with electronic GPS nowadays, displaying charts in the home keeps recreational sailors in touch with the history of their sport and harks back to a time when manual navigation brought us deeply in tune with the geography of the places we visited.

Custom framing isn’t cheap. My first year out of school, I spent my entire tax refund framing two large nautical charts of the Straits of Florida and Long Island Sound. But guess what? It’s one of those purchases I’ve never regretted and probably never will. Now that I live a thousand miles from my family and friends on those waterways, the charts that hang proudly as my main living room decor always remind me of where I come from and put a smile on my face.

Framing isn’t always necessary, though, if you’re going for that no-frills, rustic look in which authenticity and simple, straightforward materials are prized. Here, the wall studs themselves provide the framing needed to pull this map taut and tack it into place. The result is a room that seems very much at home in its coastal cottage. In fact, it almost feels like a little boat shed.

Walls of Wonder

My, what a wonderful time it is to be decorating! With so many innovative companies and products waiting to transform your dream into reality, virtually anything is possible these days. We’ve seen family photos turned into wallpaper, and now nautical charts too. Some companies will take a nautical chart and blow it up 400 percent or more to cover a large expanse of wall or ceiling. For example, Nautical Chart Wallpaper will fashion a wallcovering out of anything from scenic photos to road maps to topographic maps.

Notice here how the designer decided to forgo kitsch in the Roman shade fabric. Instead, the theme is communicated via a simple porthole-style mirror that oozes authenticity and Ralph Lauren’s signature Chesapeake Novelty wallpaper, featuring a boat schematic.

Note: This wallpaper is also available as a fabric and would look equally fantastic as a shade against a grass cloth or shiplap wallcovering.

Nautical charts work well anywhere you’d normally consider putting wallpaper, especially in small spaces like a powder room or entry vestibule, where it can really make a statement.

Indeed, nautical charts can be adhered to any surface that will accept wallpaper, but many of us forget that this includes the ceiling. If you’re feeling as if your room could use a bit more drama, look up and see whether an ancient chart like the one here might solve the problem.

Charts also work especially well in rustic spaces since the salty, roughed-up boat interior is their domain. The charts used to create the wallpaper in this powder room were actually used on the homeowner’s sailboat, which gives them a patina that simply can’t be duplicated by a crisp new chart. Using old charts in this manner is a heartfelt alternative to trashing the implements that have kept the sailor company on so many seaborne journeys.

Land Ahoy!

One of the more fascinating, and adventurous, ways that people are using nautical maps in their decor is as a floor treatment. Here, we see a wood floor painted with the location of the property. This approach works well for refreshing worn wood floors whose replacement is financially out of reach, or for keeping building costs down by specifying cheaper paint-grade wood floors and then styling them with references to your favorite coast.

Note: This effect could also be achieved more abstractly through stained concrete.