Some wall art whispers. Some wall art shouts. And then there is the American Flags Map by These Are Things, a print that cheerfully plants a tiny flag in every state and somehow manages to feel patriotic, graphic, nostalgic, modern, and just a little bit like summer vacation packed into a frame.
Originally featured by Remodelista under the “Walls, Windows & Floors” banner, the piece belongs to that special category of home decor that does more than fill an empty wall. It starts conversations. It reminds guests of road trips, hometowns, state fairs, baseball games, family moves, and the strange but real emotional power of a well-designed map. Designed by Jen Adrion and Omar Noory of These Are Things, the American Flags Map is a limited-edition, hand-silkscreened print made in the USA, using five colors plus overprints. In plain English: it is not just a map. It is a map that got dressed up for the Fourth of July and still had the good taste to hire a designer.
For anyone decorating a living room, office, hallway, guest room, cabin, classroom, or entryway, this print offers a rare combination: it is patriotic without being loud, educational without feeling like homework, and colorful without acting like it swallowed a box of crayons. That balance is exactly why it deserves a closer look.
What Is the American Flags Map by These Are Things?
The American Flags Map is a decorative map print of the United States, created by the design duo behind These Are Things. Each state is defined with delicate woven-looking patterns, while small American flags appear planted across the map. The result is a playful, stylized vision of the country “from sea to shining sea,” with a visual mood that calls up blue skies, green lawns, citrusy summer afternoons, parades, picnics, and the universal American urge to put something on a grill.
According to the original product details, the print was silkscreened by hand in the USA, produced in five colors plus overprints, and released as a limited edition of 100. At the time of publication, it was listed at $99. Those details matter because they separate the piece from mass-produced poster decor. A limited-edition screen print carries texture, process, and scarcity. It has the charm of something touched by human hands, not merely pushed through a digital print queue while a warehouse robot hums the national anthem.
Meet These Are Things: A Small Studio With a Big Love of Maps
These Are Things was founded by Jen Adrion and Omar Noory, two designers known for modern, place-focused illustrations, especially maps. Their work has been recognized in design circles for combining simplified geography, bright color, and a vintage-modern sensibility. Their maps are not trying to be GPS tools. Nobody is using one to find the nearest gas station in Nebraska. Instead, they transform geography into art.
That distinction is important. A standard map is about navigation. A decorative map is about memory, identity, and mood. The American Flags Map sits comfortably in that second camp. It makes the United States feel familiar but refreshed, like seeing an old family photo after someone finally cleaned the glass. The shapes are recognizable, the symbolism is immediate, and the design language is crisp enough for modern interiors.
Why This Map Works as Wall Art
1. It Has Instant Recognition
Great wall art often succeeds because it gives the eye something to understand quickly and something else to explore slowly. The American Flags Map does both. From across the room, viewers instantly recognize the United States. Move closer, and the smaller details begin to appear: patterns, flags, color overlaps, state shapes, and the satisfying rhythm of repeated forms.
This is one reason map prints remain popular in interior design. A map is both image and information. It can be graphic, emotional, and personal all at once. For a family that has moved across states, a couple who loves road trips, or someone who keeps a mental list of national parks they plan to visit “someday,” a map becomes more than decoration. It becomes a friendly record of possibility.
2. It Balances Patriotism With Taste
American flag decor can be tricky. Go too minimal, and it loses warmth. Go too bold, and suddenly the room looks like it is running for office. The American Flags Map avoids both extremes. Instead of using one giant flag as the whole composition, it repeats small flags across the country. That repetition softens the symbolism and makes the piece feel playful rather than heavy-handed.
The flag itself has a long design history. The familiar combination of stars, stripes, red, white, and blue has evolved through laws, executive orders, and changing state counts. The Smithsonian notes that the 1777 Flag Resolution established thirteen stripes and thirteen stars, while later acts and orders adjusted the number of stars and standardized arrangements. That history gives any American flag-inspired artwork an extra layer of meaning. This map taps into that symbolism, but it does so with a wink rather than a lecture.
3. It Uses Color Like a Design Professional
The print’s palette is one of its strongest features. The overprinted colors suggest summer staples: citrus, fresh-cut grass, clear skies, and bright daylight. This matters because color determines whether a piece of wall art feels easy to live with. Too much red, white, and blue can become visually bossy. Here, the tones feel cheerful but controlled.
In vexillology, the study and design of flags, experts often praise simplicity, meaningful symbolism, limited colors, and distinctiveness. The North American Vexillological Association’s well-known “Good Flag, Bad Flag” principles recommend simple shapes, meaningful symbols, and a limited color palette. Although the American Flags Map is not a flag design in the strict sense, it benefits from similar principles. The composition is simple enough to understand, symbolic enough to matter, and distinctive enough to earn its wall space.
Where to Display the American Flags Map
Living Room
In a living room, this map works beautifully above a sofa, console table, or credenza. Its horizontal shape naturally pairs with long furniture. For a clean look, choose a simple wood, black, or white frame. A white mat can make the colors breathe, while a narrow frame keeps the focus on the artwork rather than making the wall look like it is wearing a belt.
If the room already has patterned rugs, striped pillows, or colorful books, the map can pull those elements together. If the room is mostly neutral, it becomes the accent. Either way, it gives the space personality without turning the living room into a souvenir shop.
Home Office
The American Flags Map is also a smart choice for a home office. Maps are naturally associated with planning, strategy, travel, and big-picture thinking. Hang it behind a desk, beside bookshelves, or above a reading chair. It gives the room energy and structure, which is helpful when your workday has reached the stage where you are negotiating with your coffee mug.
For remote workers, it can also make a video-call background more interesting. It says, “I am organized, design-aware, and possibly available for a cross-country road trip after this meeting.” That is not a bad message.
Entryway or Hallway
An entryway is a perfect place for art that introduces the mood of the home. The American Flags Map welcomes people with color and familiarity. In a hallway, it rewards passersby with detail. Since hallways often lack strong natural light or architectural drama, a bold graphic print can do a lot of heavy lifting.
Pair it with a narrow bench, a woven basket, or a row of hooks for jackets and tote bags. The map adds visual depth without taking up physical space, which is the kind of decorating magic small homes appreciate.
Kids’ Room or Classroom
Because this is a map of the United States, it has educational value. But unlike many educational posters, it does not look like it came laminated from a school supply catalog. In a child’s room, playroom, homeschool corner, or classroom, it can introduce geography in a friendly way. Children can point out states, ask questions, or make up stories about tiny flags marching across the country.
The trick is to let the map be decorative first and educational second. Nobody wants their bedroom to feel like a pop quiz with curtains.
How to Style It With Walls, Windows, and Floors
Walls: Give It Breathing Room
This print has enough detail to stand on its own, so avoid crowding it with too many competing pieces. If you are creating a gallery wall, place the map as the anchor and surround it with simpler items: black-and-white photos, small typographic prints, vintage postcards, or travel snapshots. Keep spacing consistent so the arrangement feels intentional rather than “I found a hammer and got ambitious.”
Design experts often recommend hanging artwork around eye level, with many guides using approximately 57 to 60 inches from the floor to the center of the piece as a starting point. Above furniture, the bottom of the frame should usually sit close enough to feel connected to the sofa, console, or headboard below it. The goal is simple: art should belong to the furniture grouping, not float near the ceiling like it is trying to escape.
Windows: Watch the Light
Because the American Flags Map is a screen print, placement near windows should be thoughtful. Direct sunlight can fade artwork over time, especially prints with bright color. A nearby window is fine, but avoid hours of harsh sun hitting the paper directly. If the best wall is sunny, consider UV-protective glass or acrylic when framing.
Natural light can make the colors glow, but too much direct sun is the decor equivalent of leaving a popsicle on the porch. Lovely at first, tragic later.
Floors: Let Rugs and Wood Tones Support the Print
Flooring influences how wall art feels. On warm hardwood floors, the American Flags Map looks relaxed and classic. With a natural fiber rug, it leans casual and coastal. With a geometric rug, it becomes more mid-century and graphic. With a vintage Persian-style rug, the print can add a fresh modern counterpoint.
If your floors are dark, a light frame can lift the artwork visually. If your floors are pale, a black or walnut frame can add definition. The map is flexible enough to adapt, which is one of the reasons it works in apartments, family homes, cabins, studios, and creative workspaces.
Design Analysis: Why the Piece Still Feels Fresh
The American Flags Map first gained attention years ago, but it still feels relevant because it sits at the intersection of several lasting design interests: handmade prints, limited-edition artwork, Americana, graphic maps, and colorful modern interiors. Trends come and go, but people continue to love art that connects them to place.
The piece also avoids the common weakness of novelty decor. It is clever, but not gimmicky. The flags are cute, but not childish. The colors are cheerful, but not chaotic. The map is familiar, but not generic. This is a difficult balance to achieve. Many decorative maps either become too technical or too sentimental. These Are Things lands in the middle, where design people and non-design people can both enjoy it.
Another reason it works is scale of detail. The print can be appreciated at multiple distances. In a room, it reads as a colorful U.S. map. Up close, it becomes a pattern study. That layered experience keeps it from becoming visual wallpaper. You do not stop seeing it after a week; you keep finding small moments to enjoy.
Who Should Buy or Collect This Kind of Print?
The American Flags Map is ideal for people who enjoy American map wall art, limited-edition screen prints, modern patriotic decor, and graphic home accessories. It is especially suited for homeowners or renters who want a patriotic note without turning their home into a parade float.
It is also a good fit for collectors of independent design. Jen Adrion and Omar Noory built These Are Things around a clear visual identity, and their work reflects the early-2010s rise of small creative studios selling directly to design-conscious customers online. That era produced many memorable prints, posters, and illustrated goods that now feel like snapshots of a particular moment in independent design culture.
For travelers, the map can become personal. You might mark where you have lived, where you got married, where you went to college, or where you once ate the best roadside pie of your life. Do not underestimate pie-based geography. It is a powerful emotional system.
Practical Framing and Care Tips
To preserve a print like this, frame it properly. Acid-free matting, UV-protective glazing, and a sturdy frame can help protect the paper and ink. Avoid damp rooms, extreme heat, and direct sunlight. If you are hanging it in a busy family area, acrylic glazing may be safer than glass because it is lighter and less prone to shattering.
Keep the frame style simple. A busy frame may fight with the map’s patterns and flags. White, natural maple, walnut, or matte black are strong choices. For a breezy summer look, use light wood. For a more polished office or gallery feel, choose black. For a vintage-modern mood, walnut is hard to beat.
Experience Notes: Living With an American Flags Map at Home
Living with a piece like the American Flags Map is different from living with abstract art. Abstract art may set a mood, but a map invites participation. People stop in front of it. They point. They search for their state. They tell stories. Someone will inevitably say, “Wait, is that where Delaware is?” and then everyone pretends they absolutely knew that already.
In a real home, the print works best when it has a little space around it. I would place it where people naturally pause: above a console in an entryway, near a dining nook, or on the wall beside a reading chair. In those locations, the map becomes part of daily life. You see it while dropping your keys, drinking coffee, packing for a trip, or trying to remember whether you have ever actually been to Idaho.
The experience is especially charming in a family setting. Children tend to approach maps with curiosity rather than design criticism, which is refreshing. They may ask why states are shaped the way they are, why some are tiny and some are enormous, and why Texas appears to have eaten a very large breakfast. A decorative map can become a casual geography lesson without anyone needing flashcards. Parents can point out where relatives live, where vacations happened, or where future trips might lead.
For adults, the emotional pull is quieter but still real. A U.S. map can hold many versions of personal history. One state may represent childhood, another college, another a first job, another a long drive with bad snacks and excellent music. The flags add a celebratory rhythm, making the map feel less like a diagram and more like a collection of small arrivals.
There is also a seasonal quality to the print. In summer, it feels obvious and festive, especially near Independence Day, Memorial Day, road-trip season, and backyard gatherings. In fall, it pairs nicely with warm woods, wool throws, and deeper colors. In winter, it brings brightness to rooms that need a lift. In spring, it feels optimistic, like the country is stretching its legs and checking tire pressure.
One of the best uses for this print is in a guest room. Guests enjoy art that gives them something to look at without feeling too personal. A family portrait wall can be lovely, but it may also make visitors feel like they are sleeping inside someone else’s ancestry project. A map, by contrast, is welcoming and neutral while still full of character. It gives the room a sense of place and thoughtfulness.
In a home office, the map can support focus in an unexpected way. Its structure, repetition, and color make the wall feel intentional. During long work sessions, looking up at a map can offer a tiny mental vacation. You may not be able to leave your desk, but your eyes can wander from Maine to California in three seconds, which is cheaper than airfare and does not involve airport security.
The key experience is this: the American Flags Map makes a room feel more alive. It does not demand attention every minute, but when noticed, it gives something back. It is cheerful, smart, and rooted in place. That is the kind of wall art that earns its square footage.
Conclusion
The American Flags Map by These Are Things is more than a patriotic print. It is a smart piece of graphic design that blends map art, Americana, screen printing, and modern home decor. With hand-silkscreened production, a limited-edition release, and a playful visual concept, it offers personality without clutter and symbolism without heaviness.
For walls, windows, and floors, it brings a flexible decorating solution. It can brighten a hallway, sharpen a home office, charm a child’s room, or anchor a living room. It pairs with wood floors, neutral walls, simple frames, natural light, and modern furnishings. Most importantly, it gives people something to connect with. A good map does not just show where places are. It reminds us where we have been, where we are from, and where we still hope to go.
And if it also helps someone finally locate Vermont without squinting, that is simply a bonus.
