GOING GLOBAL: world decor

Illustration by Sara Barnes

DON’T BE SURPRISED if your friend’s six year old’s passport is as full of exotic stamps as your own. Our children’s generation understands travel like never before.

Whether it’s because of our own globe-trotting preferences (we are the cheap-flights, itchy feet generation), or because our families tend to be divided by thousands of miles and seas where they once were divided by mere tens or hundreds of miles, our children are au fait with, and completely at home with, the scope of the world… for them the globe holds not so much wonder but a firm belief that they will visit the locations they read about in their favourite books, or where the relatives they regularly Skype reside. None of it is out of bounds.

And so, as well as acting as premises for conversations on global ecology, geography, animal conservation and future holiday plans, the globes and world maps in our homes today are practical guides for the reality of modern, global family living.

Here are a few of our favourite global products:

1. L’Affiche Moderne’s Around the World print by Julie Mercier, from 59Euros, in English or French. 70cm x 50cm digital print limited to 300 editions. www.laffichemoderne.com

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2. Conran’s Giant World Map, with 181 stick-on motifs. £299. 240cm wide x 170cm high. Cotton and felt. www.conranshop.co.uk [There is a smaller version in the US and French Conran webshops]

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3. Cox & Cox’s Blow Up Globe, £3. A super cheap way to inspire and educate your little one. Inflatable globe, diameter 22cm. www.coxandcox.co.uk [See also their world map wallpaper - out of stock at the time of writing]

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4. Graham & Green’s Illuminated Globe, £49.50. A 10 inch globe featuring more than 100 animals, monuments, and special features. Also a night light. www.grahamandgreen.co.uk

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5. Utility Design’s World Map Magnetic Memo Board, £35. Comes with six magnetic arrow memo holders, and all countries / seas are named. www.utilitydesign.co.uk