How To Use Your Travels To Inspire Your Interiors

If you’re the kind of person who loves to explore the world, you no doubt end up with mementos, souvenirs, photos and other items from your travels that you’d like to incorporate into your home decor.

But where do you start with this? Often times the things we pick up while we’re travelling are varied, quirky and unique - after all, that’s probably what attracted us to them in the first place. That often means your travelling mementos are varied and not necessarily all in the same style.

Fear not though, a number of interior design experts recently offered their advice on how to decorate a room inspired by your travels in Mansion Global.

Ross Hamilton Englisbe, director general and president of Hamilton Conte, told the news provider that interior design is about expressing yourself and “bringing your personal joy into a space”.

“Travelling brings us important memories and integrating these memories into your decor will make you happy and add interesting layers to your interior,” he asserted.

There are a number of ways in which you can do this without ending up with an interior that’s just a jumble of styles, colours and textures that don’t seem to go together.

Shannon Wilkins, of PRAIRIE Home Styling in Beverly Hills, California, told the news provider that you should also take cues from where your home is located. For instance, if you have a property on the coast, take your inspiration from a beach destination you’ve visited to help everything tie in with the location you’re in.

Her top tip is to create depth in your decor. You can do this by displaying items from your travels, such as beads, hats and woven fabrics. Creating a gallery wall in your room can be a good way to tie everything together.

“The idea behind a gallery wall is to display all your favourite things in one spot, so make sure these pieces are true to you. If there is no genuine connection, the gallery wall can look sterile,” she explained.

It’s also important to keep the background neutral if you’re taking this approach. You don’t want everything you’re showcasing to be overwhelmed by patterned wallpaper or too much vibrant colour.

Nicolas Adnet, co-founder of Studio MHNA in Paris, told the news provider that he prefers to mix photos and items collected on his travels with other pieces of art.

“We prefer artworks and items to overrun the entire apartment, not simply contained to one wall,” he said. Mr Adnet added that you should create a mixed style “in a playful way” by “using the origins and stories of each object as well as the choice of background and placement”.

If this approach of mixing and matching appeals to you then take a look at some designer wall art to see if there’s anything that appeals to you and that could fit in with some of the items you’ve collected on your travels over the years.

Mr Hamilton Englisbe, meanwhile, noted that his approach involves using art to introduce colour to an otherwise neutrally decorated space.

“Things do not need to coordinate but should go together. This is, of course, very subjective, but I think there is always a balance between art and accessories,” he asserted.

The Irish Independent recently highlighted some of the favourite interior trends cited by people who attended the House Interior Design event in the RDS over the bank holiday weekend. Among the top trends among visitors were minimalism, art deco and bright colours.

Many of the attendees at the event were looking for inspiration for their own homes. Rita, from Dublin, told the newspaper that although she’s done the basic decorating in her home, she needs to add the finishing touches.

“It’s just a little pop of colour… it’s more decoration than actual structure. I like art deco. My house was built in the ‘30s so I’m kind of filling bits in, so that’s my preference,” she said.

Wood and natural materials featured in many of the displays at the event and were among the things that people took note of, the newspaper added.

One thing that never changes is the fact that interior design is deeply personal. What one person loves another is bound to hate. While you can follow trends and take inspiration from the latest design thinking, you should always make sure that first and foremost the way you decorate your home appeals to you.

That’s why it can be so nice to incorporate travelling mementos into your decor to help personalise a space and make you feel truly at home. 

Image Credit: Catherine Ashton - bo__decor