Traveling and vacations are full of memories to cherish. Displaying your vacation in your home decor afterward can help enhance the experience, allowing you to continue enjoying the experience long after the trip has ended.
Most commonly, we take photos and videos on our trips, but they are not always effectively managed when we get home. Many remain on a memory card, some are placed into albums or onto a computer, but then, how often might they be looked at?
Traveling and vacation memories placed in our home make us smile each time we walk by, reminding us of those precious moments in time. Rather than tucking your memories away, use these five ideas to help you display your vacation in your home decor. This way, each day will continue to bring the joy of your journeys!
Prepare for Your Home Decor Ideas Before the Vacation
Photos and videos are not the only things that can be collected from traveling trips. There are plenty of items you pick up along the way that are great for using in displays, scrapbooks, and adding lovely touches around your home like:
- transportation tickets
- entertainment/ day trip tickets
- brochures
- maps
- nature: sand, shells, rocks, feathers you find along the trail (provided it’s acceptable to collect one, always be sure to find out what the local policies are)
- wine corks
- poker chips
- postcards
- hotel items (like small soaps)
Think about your souvenirs and how they will fit in with your home decor. One of my favorite things to bring home from each trip are small magnets. I display them on my fridge and freezer and it brings me great joy to see the reminder of all the lovely places I’ve been. Friends and family frequently comment on them and ask questions, too, which allows me to share some of the experience with them, too.
If you have a bar area, shot glasses can be a fun souvenir to bring home and display. Love coffee? Find a few cups to collect that will bring you joy at home. Always consider what works with your lifestyle and your current home decor. If your rugs, blankets or wall hangings need some updating, make a point to remember to seek out these items along your travels.
Display Your Vacation in Shadow Boxes
This is one of the easiest ways to quickly put together a vacation display. Shadow boxes are readily available in home decor outlets and stores. In addition, try looking at antique and thrift stores for boxes that have compartments in them, such as old medicine cases or boxes for tea samples. Or if your artistic, make your own by painting small sturdy boxes or wooden shapes.
After you have chosen your shadow boxes, find a wall in your house, a mantle or a shelf to place the boxes for display. Once the location has been established, decide what items from your vacation or trip should be placed inside for display. Try out different positions of the items to create a pleasurable visual display.
If you want some height in your box, try placing items into a glass or jar. The great thing about shadow boxes is that you can make a permanent display or they can be changed with each vacation taken.
Frame Your Vacation
Obviously, one of the simplest and effective ways to display your vacation is to frame your favorite photos. You can also think outside the frame a little and frame other items to create a one-of-a-kind interesting display such as:
- Ticket Collage: When traveling collect all the tickets from activities you attend. When at home, create a ticket collage and then frame the entire project. You can do this for a single trip or collect them from multiple destinations.
- Map: Grab a fresh map of the area you visited and mark with a thick black pen where you went on your trip, then place into a frame. You can also embellish with small stickers or other craft items. Maybe also add a favorite photo and use the map as the background. This works great for road trips and cruise vacations. You could also open frame a map and continue to add stickers or use a marker to continue to mark all the locations you visit.
- One Special Item: Was there something that was the most precious part of your trip, such as concert tickets? Framing the one item is a very effective look in home decor.
- Cork Board: Use an empty frame to create a cork board from your wine corks. Simply glue them into place (trimming a few if necessary) and viola! You’ll have an interesting, useful cork board for your office or kitchen.
- Nature Frame: Either frame one item collected, such as a feather or a sand dollar or place on the frame shells or other items collected from the spot where the photo was taken.
Use Your Luggage
Is there a small bag in your luggage collection that you can use in your home decor? If not, you can find plenty of small luggage bags, (including make-up cases) at your local thrift shops, retailers and discount stores. Love a vintage look? Check out your local antique stores and flea markets, too.
Once you have a suitable piece of luggage you can use for a display piece on a table top, mantle, shelf, desk or even a corner of the room – let your imagination take over! Open the suitcase or make-up case and decide what to display inside. Put a number of framed photos inside along with a few colorful souvenirs. Pile in a few stuffed animals you collected from theme parks. Tuck a blanket inside for easy access in your family room. The possibilities are endless and when you finish, you’ll have a charming conversation piece in your home.
Create Collection Space
There are many ways to display a vacation collection in your home with a little creativity. Look around your home, and find things that are made of glass. A see through lamp shade, for instance, could hold a special shell or a glass planter could display your wine corks.
Baskets are also great for holding a variety of vacation souvenirs. Place a small basket of soaps in your guest bathroom for a fun touch. Use a larger basket to hold your collection of regional cookbooks in your kitchen.
Place your postcards into decorative albums and use them as your coffee table books. Use a small mason jar to display your sea glass collection on your desk. There’s always a way to display your vacation items that will go with the existing flow of your home decor.
