Vintage Globes

I love vintage globes – there’s something about the blues and other hues of these orbs.

Over the years I’ve collected a bunch and I’m slowly pairing down our collection. I used to have them all in our kids’ playroom but they don’t really use this space anymore and now we’re using it as our office. I have to do more tidying of this space before it will be photo ready…

I got rid of all but two globes. I just couldn’t part with these two. I loved the colors but one was quite old and I just couldn’t let it go. I thought it might be fun to share where they’ve ended up in our home and also give you some ideas for finding and styling vintage globes in your own homes.

The 1960s Globe

The first globe we have is from the mid to late 1960s. I found this globe at a yard sale for probably $1. I was drawn to vibrant blue and I really love how it was scratched up. You know me, I prefer when things aren’t perfect!

I thought it would look great out in our pool house / she shed. I just gave the entire space a fresh coat of white paint last month. The walls are painted in Polar Bear by Behr in Matte.

Luke built the butcher block counter and raw edge shelf and also the built in benches with hidden storage.

This space is mostly white and black with some neutrals thrown in.

To style the shelves I kept things very simple. Outdoor cups in that pretty blue shade, a faux plant from Target, several shells, a bamboo food cover from World Market and fresh cut mock orange blossoms from our garden.

Those flowers have the fragrance of orange blossoms and just look so pretty against the blue.

This globe isn’t attached to the stand so you can take it off and look at every region unencumbered.

Here’s a peek at the rest of the room:

I love throwing the doors open and allowing the sea breeze to filter through the space.

What a joy to spend time out here!

The 1930s Globe

I was surprised to find out just how old our other globe was. It isn’t in the best condition and has some staining but I adore the colors – pretty blues and corals and I LOVE the aged metal.

It was only after looking more closely at the globe with my kids did we realize the age. We were eating dinner and started looking at country names and determined this globe is from the 1930s. I’ll go more in-depth into dating your globe a bit later.

First I want to share how this pretty globe looks in our dining room:

I placed it on my milk painted armoire. You all know I like to change up this little corner each season and I thought the globe had a perfectly summer adventure feel!

Doesn’t the color of the globe compliment the vintage cabinet?

I’m not sure if my photography captures it’s true beauty but it’s a stunner!

I really love the patina on the metal. It adds so much warmth to our room.

The gilded mirror used to hang in our family restaurant when I was growing up and the ironstone bowl was a gift from a friend. The Maiden Hair Fern is faux. I can’t seem to keep them alive.

I also added a few little accents over on our welsh dresser which is also in the same room.

Of course, my cornishware is on display as well as many shells and ironstone but I added this beautiful apple from Limoges, a gift from Alric’s family when we hosted him in April. Doesn’t it look beautiful there?

The bird house from a sweet reader in Canada and some mock orange:

The decor in this space is more traditional than the pool house.

But I thought it’s helpful to see a vintage globe in two different spaces – one beachy and coastal and the other more classic and historic.

Why You’ll Love Vintage Globes

• They add so much character and charm
• The pretty colors and seeing the old names of countries
• Usually you can find them quite affordably
• They work great in pretty much any room or decor style

Favorite Sources

There are so many places to look for antique or vintage globes. Here’s a list:

• Yard Sales – You probably will do the best price wise at a yard sale.
• Thrift Stores or Savers – another great and affordable way to find one
• Antique Stores or Markets – if you go to somewhere like Brimfield or an expensive antique store you’ll probably pay top dollar. These dealers inflate prices and also know if what they’re selling is worth something.
• Family and friends – sometimes family and friends are cleaning out and just want to get rid of items they no longer have a need for.

In any event I hope you find an amazing vintage globe! When you find one be sure to leave me a comment or message me! I’d love to see it and how you end up styling it in your home.

How to Tell the Age of Your Globe When You Find One

This really is so cool! I LOVE the story behind old things. The boys and I had so much fun being detectives dating our old globes. Here’s how to tell the age of your globe.

Our 1930s globe is by Replogle Globes. Replogle Globes were hand crafted by Luther Replogle in his home in the 1930s using maps from England. It was his goal to make globes a fixture in homes rather than in classrooms. I think he’d be please to see his globe in our home all these years later.

Look at these countries and see if they’re on your globe –

• If your globe has Croatia, it is from 1992 or newer
• If your globe has Bangladesh near India and Burma, it is from 1972 or newer
• If your globe has Lesotho instead of Basutoland, it is from 1962 or newer
• If your globe lists Ghana instead of Ashanti and/or Gold Coast it’s from 1957 or newer
• If your globe lists Vietnam and not French – Indo China it dates to 1949 or newer

For a full chart to help date your globe look here.

If You Enjoyed This Post

You might also like these posts about vintage and antique finds:

• Decorating with Vintage Finds
• New and Antique Vintage Finds
• Antiquing in Maine
• Vintage Items I can’t Resist
• 5 Ways to Style a Chippy Basket

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