Inspiration for Using Souvenirs as Home Decor
Updated: Jun 5, 2022
Don’t stop buying souvenirs if you love them! I’ve started to use my travels to inspire my home decor and spots around my house to connect them back to places I love without filling it with “souvenirs.” Hopefully this post can help inspire you to buy better souvenirs and use them to decorate around your home. I
’m one of those people that takes something home with me from every country I visit. I can’t resist! Those awesome little trinkets that remind you of a spot are just too good to resist. I love to fill my apartment with things that remind me of my favorite trips and moments, but sometimes you see another key chain and think, “Do I really need this?” I’ve been there! So what is there to do when you love souvenirs but don’t want another silly trinket…
Thankfully, this endeavor hasn’t had to be all on my own. I’ve found this awesome website Great Ideas Hub that’s helped me figure out the best ways to decorate with my items and ideas for more! They inspired this post and I’m grateful to feature their cool ideas in it. On their website, they have specific ideas for how travel can inspire your home decor.
They’ve got tons of ideas from decorating inspired by a specific region to using photos in your home from your travels to make a unique space. After looking around their website and over my current home, I came up with the list below. Check them out for tons of inspiration for how to use souvenirs as home decor.
Using Small Items on Bookshelves
One of my favorite ways to feature souvenirs is by featuring them on the large shelves in my living room. I’m at a point where basically all the shelves are covered in travel related content, but I love them because they remind me of all the places I’ve been. From small trinkets to local art, it’s fun to display the small souvenirs on shelves and remember the parts of your trip that you love most.
Design tip: Try putting items with the same colors in them together to create stronger visual appeal.
Photos, Paintings, and Carvings on a Gallery Wall
Yes, it seems a little silly to some, but a gallery wall is a perfect way to display art and interesting finds from different places. I love the gallery wall hanging above my bed full of different items from all over the world. It makes me feel more at home.
Art Work
This one is kind of a given, but I love bringing a piece original art home. Especially in places where you can get pieces for so cheap! I have a painting of Tai Shan in my home. Tia Shan is a mountain I climbed with friends in China and has a special place in my heart. This large piece could have been hard to take home, but because I was able to roll it up and keep it in a box, it really wasn’t too much to get it home!
Design tip: Try and make sure you buy a standard sized painting or print, otherwise you’ll have to pay for custom framing when you get home!
Maps
To me, maps make the best pieces on your wall. I have a map of Boston hanging in my living room next to a piece of art I love from my grandmother. My whole home has a vintage feel so an old map was perfect for my living room and is a centerpiece above my couch. People can definitely use smaller maps around their home as well. Maps are a fun way to bring a place home!
Tapestries
There are so many ways to use tapestries when you get home. You can hang them, make a blanket, pillow, clothes, table cloth and more out of them. I have a few from Zambia that I still haven’t decided what to do with because they are so beautiful. Tapestries are a cheap and fun souvenir that can be so practical back home.
Cook Wear
I am obsessed with coffee! I have started to collect coffee mugs, tea kettles, and related items on my travels. These items get used daily and I love having places from around the world in my hand each day. They also look really cool and unique on a shelf. My favorites might be my tea set from China and my creme/sugar pot from Zambia.
Display Small Collections
I use glass containers in my home to display fun little items from travels. Using a glass container to collect wine corks, rocks, or money from around the world can add an easy and beautiful eclectic piece to your home!
Design Tip: A bunch of small items can work together to make a place fun and interesting without feeling over crowded. Organize your items while still showing them off!
Now that you’ve got some ideas, go ahead and start picking the souvenirs that you can use when you get home! Hope this post has given you some inspiration for using souvenirs as home decor. Are there other ways you use souvenirs in your home? Let me know below!