As an active traveler, you want to pick up souvenirs that go beyond the standard snow globe, coffee mug, or sarcastic and neon t-shirt. Think about why we feel the compulsion to purchase trinkets and knick-knacks on our trips. We want to bring a bit of our journey home — to capture the mood and the memory of our expedition. Why not celebrate these items by incorporating them into our home’s interior design?

With a little thought, these items won’t just become clutter stowed away in a box or trunk. These mementos can brighten your day and remind you of your journey. Meaningful souvenirs from your travels help bring joy into your home and reignite the memory of your adventure. As seasoned travelers, we know to avoid the overpriced gift shops and boring knickknack stands, but you may not know where to go to find unique tokens that can create artwork and add depth to your home decor. 

I hope these fun and elegant decor ideas spark some creativity in you and inspire you to decorate your home with your travels in the forefront.

1.Create a Gallery Wall of Your Favorite Memories

One of my favorite ways to show off where I’ve been is by creating a gallery wall with the eclectic photos, art, and trinkets I’ve gathered along the way. If you have room for one wall piece, you probably have room for several. Make sure you have a large anchor artwork centered on the wall, then position your other pictures around it with about a 4-inch margin of wall between. Use a level to keep everything straight, and place oddly shaped items in shadow boxes.

If you don’t have photos of your favorite hike or beach, you can always find great free stock photosthat capture the mood or location. These can often bring great color and crispness to your gallery wall.

2.Display Your Unique Finds on Shelves

You’ve probably picked up a few shells, antique toys, or even some lace doilies as you trekked through your last location. If so, display these great finds on shelves, your mantel, or as a centerpiece on your coffee table.

Displaying your travel finds encourages guests to pick them up and handle them. This is a great way to let others partake in your memories. Think about pairing items from various trips in one spot. The combination of different countries or cities will give your place a boho-chic aesthetic.

3.Pick Up Artwork on Your Journey

Skip the traditional souvenirs. After you have three snowglobes and sixteen travel t-shirts, it’s likely you’ve considered collecting items that will last a lifetime and bring additional beauty to your home. Try supporting local artists and artisans by buying their handmade wares. This adds value to the local artistic economy, and the art you find will bring a one-of-a-kind touch to your home.

4.Collect Unique Postcards 

While you have probably sent postcards home to your friends and family members, have you considered collecting postcards to use in your home? Postcards are easy to travel with, inexpensive, and make a great collage or hanging feature.

Try a laundry-line style display to hang your favorite postcards over your bed or in your dining room. Once you collect enough, you can add a second line or create a postcard 

chandelier by hanging them outward from tiered strings hanging down from a few concentric hoops.

5.Mark Your Destinations on a Map

Make a bold statement with a large map. If you can find a map on one of your trips, pick it up. It’s always fun to frame a map that encapsulates one of your favorite places with unique legend symbols, a foreign language, or an interesting color scheme. 

You can try the traditional pushpin method to mark the cities, states, or countries you’ve visited. Other interesting options include the thread method: tie a thread around your home city, then add a pin each time you go somewhere new, then tie the thread from your home city to the destination. Over time, this will create a web of memories and a wonderful conversation piece.

Don’t second guess purchasing a globe, either. A small globe on your coffee table or bookcase can be fun to cover in pushpins. Globes also add an old world feel to your home decor.

6.Snap Polaroids Wherever You Go

Isn’t it wonderful that Polaroid is still around? We all held our breaths back in 2017 when it seemed like the vintage photo company was going to sink. Well, if you are a Polaroid junkie or you want to be, pick up a new camera, take snapshots at your favorite locales, and shake, shake, shake. 

As you acquire more and more photos, you can show them off by covering a corkboard or hanging them framed in three by three compositions. Be sure to jot down the date and location of your pictures to help you remember where you were when the bulb flashed.

7.Find Fabrics That Take You Back

If you have a little extra space in your suitcase, there’s room for fabrics. Every place I’ve been has had unique cloth and patterns that excite the imagination and beg to be touched. It’s hard to resist not picking some up along the way. While I may not be a seamstress, I’ve still incorporated my favorite textiles in my interior design to bring color and character to my space.

One way you can do this is by stretching your fabrics over canvas bars or pinning them to needlepoint hoops. These can be hung as part of your gallery wall, in the window, or in your kid’s bedroom. This inexpensive idea is simple, yet elegant. 

While we probably all agree that the journey matter just as much as the destination, we don’t want to forget those memories once we settle back into our homes. Bring the colors, textures, and memories home with you by displaying your foreign finds for friends and family to see, touch, and admire. Let your home decor inspire you to go out, see more, do more, and live more. Get out there and cross some items off your bucket listand collect some beautiful memories along the way.