As long as the painting isn’t done on black velvet I think it would look very nice.
I’m sorry, this just completely stunned me. You must be incredibly insecure to worry about how other people think your house is decorated, as evidenced by your own “mental sneering” at what you think is tacky decorating in other people’s homes. Who the hell cares what color a wall is painted, as long as the house is fairly clean? 
If you don’t have enough confidence in yourself to decorate your own damn home how you feel like it because you’re afraid of what the neighbors might think, then I feel sorry for you. You are stressing over whether to put a globe in your own family room, for fear someone else might think it’s tacky.
You have a lot more going on than asking for a few decorating tips. Yeesh.
Considering the snarky comments I’ve heard others make about other people’s houses, I don’t blame the OP one bit. I don’t live anywhere near where the wealthy hang out, but some people think they have the rulebook on what one is and is not allowed to do decorating-wise.
A few pieces of advice we’ve had…the beautiful bookshelves my DH built for my books were bad because “they make Endiqua look like a snob,” the commercial propane range was “too huge and ugly,” and we should get rid of DH’s grandmother’s paintings because they “don’t go with anything.”
Of course, we didn’t change any of it…we just don’t have people over very often. 
You seem to be easily stunned.
But that’s OK, consider me to be a self confessed incredibly insecure loser. Nonetheless I still would like an answer to my OP. You wouldn’t happen have that handy would you? Hmm, now that I think about it you’re probably too stunned. Right?
Old fashioned globe? Sailboat? What’s next, motivational posters and “Who Moved My Cheese” management books? How about you stock The Library with fake books, grow a mustache (for twirling) and start sipping gin on your porch. Actually, that doesn’t sound half bad.
Me, I think tacky, UNLESS the globe is also a mini-bar, which is really cool and I will give you twenty dollars for it.
Dang, I forgot to add my opinion. I don’t KNOW of any rule that says “thou shalt not have a globe in thy family room” or “thou shalt not pair a globe with a painting of a ship.” Considering it’s an expensive globe, I vote you develop a bit of snobbery about it yourself…after all, very few people HAVE a nice globe, so rules are probably fairly sparse on it.
I’d avoid decoupaged objects, crocheted toilet paper covers, and those big-eyed Love Is kids from the 70s…but then again, I’m no Martha. 
Someone should create a thread with standard interior decorating no nos–sort of like what we’ve done with clothing dos and don’ts. Because while I don’t care what snobs think, I’d like to know how off the beaten path my own tastes are.
Fine. Here’s my advice. Put your globe in your house wherever and however you want it. Drape it in purple sateen for all I care.
It’s your property, it’s in your house, and I’m sorry that you feel the need to worry about what other people think is “right” in your house. I mean, do you really care what a snooty person who would have the incredible bad manners to criticize your decorating choices to your face would think?
I’m sorry… given that most ads for interior decorator firms do things like show a bedroom where the exact same print has been used on the bedspread, the curtains and the carpet - who the hell cares about what “pros” think?
And let’s not get started on Trading Spaces, with the “pro” Hildi Santo-Thomas, and the infamous “hay on the wall” episode. :eek:
In response to the OP’s actual question, I’d say that yes, it’s possible some of your upper-class neighbors might find this tacky. I’ve spent a bit of time among those crowds, and the ratio of “actual, genuine human beings” to “stereotypical snobs straight out of a New Yorker cartoon” seemed to run about 2-to-1. An admission that the globe “can’t fit in the study” may translate, in certain minds, into an admission that you don’t have unlimited money with which to fix up your home just how you want it. And among the snobs, the worst social faux pas is to admit that you don’t have unlimited money. (Actually not having money isn’t a faux pas. It’s a Mortal Sin.)
My personal opinion is that, as others have said, you should put it where you like it or want it.
Incidentally, when the globe and sailboat are in, you could keep decorating until the whole place looks like this. That’s what I’d do.
Hey, Ring. If I came into your house and saw that globe, I would laugh and laugh.
– signed,
Ukulele Ike, Millionaire.
I own a mansion and a yacht.
Yeah? Well big deal pal. I own two mansions and three yachts. So eat your heart out buddy.
Yeah, but his are bigger.
…and a schmancy globe. Sounds like, with all that, your neighbors are looking to you to set the tone for the neighborhood.
And just in case you think I’m shitting you here’s a picture of one of yachts.
It’s built by South Carolina Yachts for Southern Gentlemen
Given how much the globe is worth, I imagine that it could fit in quite nicely.
Want to share a picture?
GT
Just in case you’re still looking for even halfway serious answers, I’d say go for it. Given the value of the globe, it sounds more like an art object than just an educational tool to me. I mean, we’re not talking about the paper-covered thing from the teacher store here. As long as it doesn’t completely clash with the theme or color scheme of the rest of the room I think it would be okay. Maybe you should consider doing the walls in a color that picks up from the ship picture or from the background color of the globe. Then you’ve done what designers always seem to be telling people to do: find a focal point and work from there.
I like the idea a lot.
Of course, I’m not a designer type, so take it for what it’s worth.
My friend lives in a very exclusive neighborhood like that. Keeping up with the latest trends in interior design is all some of the women there have to do. Before they moved into their house, which was furnished and decorated to within an inch of its life by the embezzler who lived there before them, the neighbors were coming over and peeking in the windows, and then leaving them notes telling them what pieces of furniture they would like to buy from them if they decided to sell anything.
Do YOU like the globe? Does it have that antiqued look or is it a modern globe? If it fits in the niche and looks nice to you-go for it.
Not that there aren’t interior decorating no-no’s, but I think you’re on safe ground. I would NOT hang the pictures of clowns on black velvet, though–not even in the garage.