A cool and easy way to make personalized placemats is to decoupage them with maps of your favorite cities.
Whenever I go on a city break I always come home with a handbag full of free maps. I can’t resist them. Even on a day trip to Brighton, which I know really well I still put one of the free maps at the station in my handbag.
I don’t even need the maps to find my way around a city as there’s an app on my phone for that, but I love the paper maps.
I love looking at them working out where everything is in relation to each other. Maps are my favorite free souvenir.
Simple Upcycled City Map Placemats
The maps I’ve collected over the years tend to just sit around in a drawer, well I actually keep them in the Map Suitcase I made last year.
I have used some of them in crafts before like with my map chairs. This time I decided that I would use them to upcycle some rather grubby old table mats.
I picked city maps from some of my favorite European cities to upcycle and personalize my table mats with.
The results were a fantastic improvement on the old placemats and made for a great discussion point at the table. As not only do these map personalized placemats look great they spark conversation as we reminisce about our favorite city trips.
(The gorgeous plates by the way are from Anthropologie Nature table range)


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What you need to make personalized placemats
- Old cork table Mats/Placemats – you may have some already that need revamping, or you could pick some up really cheap from a thrift store. You could even make your own from cork tiles.
- Maps – If you don’t have a map habit like mine, no fear there are lots of other ways you can get maps of your favorite cities. You can download royalty-free maps from sites like Pictureboxblue, or buy map wrapping paper online. I have a collection of wonderful free vintage maps on Pillarboxblue you can use too!
- Decoupage glue such as Mod Podge
- Heat resistant and waterproof lacquer or varnish.
- Rotary cutter, cutting mat or scissors, rolling pin or wallpaper roller, & ruler.


How to Make decoupaged Personalized placemats
- Clean your table mats/placemats and prime them by coating them in a diluted 50/50 glue to water mixture. This will help the maps adhere better.
- While waiting for the priming mixture to dry, cut out your maps to size. I did this by simply placing my table mat on top of the map and cutting round with a rotary cutter.

3. Next, when the primer coat is dry apply a coat of glue to the table mat, and another one to the wrong side of the map.
Carefully place your map on top of the mat. To eliminate air bubbles, roll over the top of the map whilst sticking it down with a rolling pin or wallpaper roller. You could also use a ruler to squeeze out any air bubbles.

4. Whilst I’m waiting for the maps to adhere to the table mats I usually place them under a weighted object such as a heavy book.
5. Finally, when fully adhered all you need to do is to varnish your placemats. I applied 3 coats of varnish, letting each one dry thoroughly in between.
That’s it, I told you it was really easy!
The City Maps I used for my Personalized placemats
The maps I used were from some of my favourite European cities, but I have loads more favourites I just need more maps.
- LONDON Map: I used to live and work in London and still visit regularly. There is so much to see and do in the city I never tire of it.
- PARIS Map: A beautiful city. I first visited relatives there as a child and more recently went with friends.
- STOCKHOLM: It’s a fabulous city surrounded by water and has a lovely chilled out Scandi vibe.
- BARCELONA: A city and beach all in one with great tapas and all that inspiring Gaudi architecture!
- BUDAPEST: I visited for the first time last year, and not only was it a beautiful city full of history but it also had a unique party atmosphere and is very cheap.



Which are your favorite cities?
Recently, I made some gorgeous paper angel wings decor for bedroom out of old road maps. I think a map of Los Angeles would be perfect for this project.
There is a fabulous collection of vintage New York maps here that are free to download. I think these would make gorgeous city table mats.
Maps aren’t the only things I use to upcycle old placemats. I’ve also made a set of kitchen patent placemats.
If you liked this post you might want to check out some of my other popular map crafts using city and road maps.
- Repurposed Wood Map Ornaments
- Personalised Map Chairs
- Map Luminary Bags
- Map Christmas Crackers
- Beautiful Map Roses
Map Personalized Placemats

Use city maps from your travels to make unique upcycled personalized placemats for your table.
Materials
- Old placemats / tablemats or cork tiles
- City Maps
- Mod Podge
Instructions
- clean mats
- Cut Maps to size
- Decoupage maps to mat
- Seal mats
Notes
For a collection of free vintage maps for this product visit here.
Recommended Products
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Linda at Mixed Kreations
What a fun project and great way to preserve memories of places visited in the past. The placemats turned out lovely! My dad use to have a ton of maps, I wish that I had thought to save them.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, they are fun to look at. I make a new one every time we visit a new city.
Ellen
I was just talking about how maps have become obsolete now that most people have map
Apps on their phone. Love adding new life to something old. Great idea!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much. Yes, there is something lovely and nostalgic about old maps.
Mother of 3
Those are such cute placemats and I love the chameleon plates too. Pinned.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you,the plates are a favourite of mine they are from Anthropologie.
Chas
I absolutely love these! Thanks for sharing on To Grandma’s House We Go!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, Chas.
ΙΟΑΝΝΑ
I love maps!!!Lovely plates with frog also!!!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, the plates are my favourite too they are from Anthropologie.
Cucicucicoo: Eco Sewing and Crafting
I LOVE this idea so much! Now I just need to find some old placemats to cover! 🙂 Lisa
Claire Armstrong
Thanks, you can always use cork tiles.
Neill Johnstone
Beautiful job! Did you just glue on top of the old mat without sanding first? And you did the priming with the Mod Podge/PVA glue? Do you think yacht varnish gives a better finish than spray lacquer? Apologies for so many questions – I’ve just acquired a massive collection of maps and there’s so much I want to do with them! My first picture frame didn’t work as well as I hoped 🙁
Thanks!!
Claire Armstrong
I just glued over the old mat but primed first with glue. I don’t think there is much difference between yacht varnish and spray lacquer, just make sure it’s a crystal clear varnish. I do love my mat table maps they are great to look at whilst at the table.
Neill Johnstone
Thanks! I was a bit worried about leaving brush strokes with the yacht varnish, so that’s why i was wondering about a spray finish. I think I saw someone use a some kind of transparent adhesive sheet but i fear that wouldn’t be as strong as varnish. More susceptible to scratches and subsequent water damage to the paper. I hadn’t thought to use glue as primer so that’s a great tip!
Rachel C.
Have to say that I absolutely LOVE the dishes pictured! Where might I find them to purchase?
Julie Nichols
You are my feature for Tonight’s Talk of the Town Link Party #20 Thank you for linking up with us! We are live at 8pm EST.
Julie @ Love My Simple Home
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much look forward to seeing it !
Deb
Love this blog. Thanks for sharing. And where did you get those plates. Absolutely cool.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! The plates are from anthropologie.
Julie
I have loads of old maps waiting to be used for something, this is a lovely idea.
Can you remember what varnish you used? I’d hate to stick my plates to my lovely new map table mats!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! I used some old yaught varnish, I had left over from another project but I can’t remember the brand, sorry ! If you go yo the DIY, just pick a waterproof clear varnish and it should work fine.
Chloe
What a great project! Thank you so much for sharing over at Celebrate Your Story! This will be one of our featured posts from Celebrate and Decorate this coming Monday! I hope it sends some more traffic your way. I hope you stop by a the party again this Monday evening at 8:00 EST.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! Look forward to seeing it.
Leslie
These are so much fun! I definitely need to give this a try sometime!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! They are really easy to do for great results.
Heather @ New House New Home
What a great way to upcycle old placemats! And using maps from your favourite cities makes them even more special! Thanks for sharing it on Dishing It & Digging It. And you know what? We loved them so much, you’re being featured on Sunday’s party!
Claire Armstrong
That’s great thank you, looking forward to seeing the feature.
julie nichols
I love projects using maps and yours is awesome! Great idea to turn your maps into table mats. You inspired me to get my maps out and create. Thank you for linking to Talk of the Town!
Julie @ Love My Simple Home
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! All ways really happy to have inspired!
Ginnie | Hello Little Home
These are so gorgeous! I definitely need to try this project myself. Thank you so much for sharing at Best of the Weekend. Pinned 🙂
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! You should give it ago. It’s definately one of those crafts that are a little effort for great results.
Pili
Claire, your place mats are so cool!! I love maps, in fact, I found a bunch of them this week when packing for our move and I was about to trash them. Thankfully I didn’t!!
Thank you so much for sharing at Sweet Inspiration party!
Claire Armstrong
Thanks ! Never throw out old maps they are great for crafting and also make for unique wrapping paper.
Rebeca
I love this idea and you’ve inspired me to try this application on a table scape I’m currently pulling together! Thanks so much!! 😉
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! It’s always really nice to hear when you have helped inspire.
Carol
Cute idea, and I truly love your plates.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! I really love the plates too !
Stacey
Good morning Claire! Featuring you today at Thoughts of Home on Thursday. 🙂
Claire Armstrong
That’s wonderful. Thank you !
Tuula @ Thrifty Rebel Vintage
Your map mats turned out great Claire. Such a wonderful idea! I pretty much love maps on anything. I really need to dig into my collection one of these days and use some of them. Thanks for the inspiration, and thanks so much for sharing at Vintage Charm.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! I love maps on anything too and I’m always looking for new ways to use them.
Laura
Oh my goodness, I love your whole table setting!! The maps are amazing, great idea. Thanks so much for linking up with us at Family Joy Blog Link Up! I love your plates too!!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you very much !
Jennifer
I love these! What a wonderful idea!
Claire Armstrong
Cheers and Thank you !
Lisa B.
Good Morning! I wanted to let you know that your post has been chosen as a Featured Post for the Welcome Home Wednesdays Link Party!! Stop by this morning to see your post linked up and grab a Featured button as well!! ~Lisa~
Claire Armstrong
Thank you and thank you very much for the feature.
Nena
Very cute and easy idea! Love it!
Claire Armstrong
Cheers and thank you!
Anna
This is a genius idea! My husband and my boys are leaflet junkies and I never know what to do with them! They’d make nice Fathers’ Day gifts too, so that’s 2 problems solved!
Claire Armstrong
Thanks very much! Sounds like a great idea getting your boys to make them for Father’s Day.
Christine
What a fun idea. It would really spark some fun conversations with little ones also….learning Geography. Loving this craft. Thanks so much for sharing it at the Dishing it & Digging It Link Party,
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! It also sparks conversation with the big ones reminiscing about previous holidays and trips. With the London map they love to find places on the traditional monopoly board.
Nicki Rochead
What a fab idea. I’m now off to hunt out all my old city maps! I particularly like the one that had pictures of the city’s churches on it!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you very much ! Good luck in your hunt.
creativejewishmom/sara
wow, love this project and the mats look fantastic with your unique china! thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling sunday!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you very much ! I do love my China !
Ellen
Claire,
Please tell me about your incredible china. I love it!
Who makes it?
I’m going to make these place mats for my son’s new apartment.
Thanks,
Ellen
Claire Armstrong
It’s from anthropologie, they do a whole range of them.
Michelle
Claire, these are so beautiful! And your china is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I wish I had lizards in my dining room. Great map craft – I am very excited to try this!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! I love the plates too, I love to eat off them they make the food look special. Good luck with your mats.
Mandy@FromSplinterToSplendid
Very unique! There are town maps everywhere I go. Now I have a reason to pick them up. Thanks for sharing.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! I can’t resist picking up those town maps.
Anna
Your blog is lovely! I hoard maps too, as well as old atlases. I’m not that crafty, though I have good intentions, but I reckon these tablemats are great. My fave city is New York, which is a city with a great subway map. Thanks for the post. I will be revisiting for more inspiration.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you very much glad you like the blog. New York is a fantastic City ! You can get loads of different wrapping paper with maps of New York on it that would work really well with these mats.
One Small Life
This is so cute. I love maps too.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you !
Lori
Your map placemats turned out wonderfully and make the perfect background to those fabulous plates! The colours are coordinated and look so pretty. Would be a great idea to use map placemats for a bon voyage dinner party.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you very much ! Yes they would be good for a farewell or welcome home diner party.
Nikki
Great idea! I love maps and always have and this is such a great way to use them and love them and look at them every day!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! Yes I love to look at them everyday at meal times.
Martie
Super cute idea!! My daughters are traveling over your way from the states this summer, and I think I really need to make these to have a send-off party for them. My aunts are taking them to London, Paris, and a few places in between. I wonder if I could find European maps here for a decent price? Love it, thanks so much for sharing on Thursday Favorite Things!
Claire Armstrong
Thanks ! Make sure they pick up the free tourist maps for you.
Julie Bagamary
Great idea!
Claire Armstrong
Cheers !
Carolyn
These look great!
Claire Armstrong
Cheers and thank you !
Dani @ sand has no home
Wow! What a beautiful map collection you have! It is nice to craft them into something that you can look at every day.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! I just love looking at maps for some reason.
CD Loken
Such a creative way to re-cycle maps-AND keep those wonderful memories of your trip alive! Great tutorial too! Thank you for sharing at The Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop! PINNING!!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! Yes they’re great for memory jogging.
Meg
These are amazing! I adore maps and shall be scavenging for the rest of the supplies to make these as soon as possible! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Claire Armstrong
Thank you glad you liked them.
Gina
This is so cool! I love maps and actually just tossed one that had been sitting in my craft area for years. Now I think that I need to go pick some up. I love this idea! <3
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! I can’t resist picking up a free map, I have loads of them.
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled
What a fun idea! And what a great way to relive trips (day-long or many days long) whenever you sit down to eat. Visiting from Homemade and Handcrafted.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you ! They are fun to look at and do spark conversation about previous trips.