Even as GPS makes it easier to get from one point to another, maps appeal to many people as a way to explore new places. You can peruse a city's streets and buildings on a detailed map or trace your way over mountains and rivers on a larger scale rendering.

For this reason, maps can be an ideal decorative element in the home. Whether you create a wall display or spruce up another building element, there are plenty of options to add a cartographical touch to your rooms.

There are plenty of choices when it comes to the kind of maps to use. There are the simple displays of continents or the entire globe, three-dimensional portrayals of your community as it appeared many years ago, and topographical maps showing mountainous terrain. You may even prefer maps of more exotic locales, such as the Moon, Mars, or maps of fictional worlds.

After you pick up a map from an antique store or tear one out of an atlas, it's easy to frame it and hang it on the wall. The magazine Midwest Living suggests framing pages separately and displaying them together to conceal any seam between them. You can also get a shadow box to frame the map alongside keepsakes from your travels.

If you have enough pages, you can use the maps to cover the wall entirely. Use an adhesive to paste overlapping maps to the wall, or affix them to a sheet of plywood or foam board that can be secured to the wall for a more temporary effect. Better Homes & Gardens suggests focusing on one area to create an accent wall in a room.

Maps can also be secured in this way to highlight certain pieces of furniture. A single map can highlight a cabinet or side table, while a series of them can add interest to a headboard. Maps can also be used to accentuate the kitchen drawers, cover the panels in an ordinary door, or add interest to a blank window shade.

Some displays require a little more effort. A large map display can serve as a beautiful backsplash in the kitchen, though you'll want to make sure that it will not be vulnerable to food splashes. Fix it to the wall with adhesive, then cover it with polyurethane for a protective layer.

If you aren't too keen on making maps a more permanent part of the room, consider using them on more portable elements. Diana Trotter, writing for the home design site Porch.com, suggests using maps on coasters or as a new top for a worn-out coffee table. As with the backsplash, you'll want to make sure there is a protective layer to prevent damage to the map.

For frequent travelers, maps can be a happy reminder of the places you've been. A simple map of the country or world, mounted on corkboard, will let you mark each place you've visited.