Traveling to new and exotic places is one of life’s greatest joys. When we travel, we collect souvenirs and mementos to preserve memories and relive those magical experiences long after we’ve left. Souvenirs tap into our nostalgia and provide tangible reminders of meaningful travel moments.

However, the challenge comes when we return home with our suitcases full of souvenirs. Figuring out how to tastefully display travel souvenirs at home and integrate these trinkets into our home decor can be a task we delay. We want to showcase our favorite travel memories without cluttering our space or creating a hodgepodge of disjointed objects. The key is getting creative and thoughtful about how we incorporate travel mementos in a way that sparks joy and memories for both ourselves and our guests.

Photo Collage Wall

One of the most popular ways to display travel souvenirs at home is through a photo collage wall. This involves taking all of your favorite printed travel photos from trips and arranging them artfully within framed collages to create a stunning wall display.

To create cohesion, it helps to pick a consistent color theme or palette for your collage frames and mats. Black and white collages look classic and elegant, while colored mats let you incorporate favorite hues from your travels. You can also collate photos by destination or trip into separate framed collages.

Related Post: How To Make A Stunning Gallery Wall (Plus 15 Unique Themes)

Shadow Box Displays

Shadow boxes are a great way to display small 3D souvenirs in an organized and visually appealing way. You can use shadow boxes to showcase tickets, maps, pins, patches, and other flat items from your travels. Group items in a shadow box by a theme, such as a specific destination, trip, or time period in your life. This helps create a cohesive display. Make sure to label the front of the box or include a legend key identifying each item.

Shadow boxes allow you to protect fragile souvenirs from damage while also putting them on display. Place your shadow box on a shelf, console table, or wall to bring back memories of your travels every time you see it.

Travel-Inspired Art

Display a one-line drawing of your favorite cityscape or travel destination to hang above your sofa or bed. Black and white line drawings are timeless, while watercolor scenes add a pop of color. Here at EverLine Art, we have hundreds of cities to choose from and you can find the perfect size, finish, and color for your space. Be sure to check out our world map to find your favorite travel destination!

Souvenir Vignettes

One way to creatively display travel souvenirs at home is by grouping similar items together into souvenir vignettes. Vignettes are all about thoughtfully arranging objects to tell a visual story or evoke a feeling. For travel souvenirs, you can create a vignette tied to a specific place or trip you’ve taken.

For example, you could gather souvenirs from a trip to Paris – things like a mini Eiffel Tower statue, postcards of famous sights, a French market basket, and macarons in a nice box. Arrange these items together attractively on a shelf, side table, or console table to bring that Parisian feeling into your home. Whenever you look at that vignette, it can transport you back to your memorable trip.

Other ideas are to create a New England nautical vignette with seashells, starfish, and lighthouses collected from Cape Cod. Or make an Italy vignette with mini colosseum replicas, tiles, and a gondola model from Venice. Get creative grouping and staging your souvenirs to relive your travels!

Meaningful Coffee Table Books

Putting beautiful hardcover coffee table books on display is a great way to bring your travel memories home. Books like stylish photobooks, detailed travel guides and personalized journals can spark storytelling when shared with guests in your living room or lounge area.

Photobooks with professional photographs from your favorite destinations make for great conversation starters. Services like Artifact Uprising, Picaboo and Shutterfly make it easy to design gorgeous custom photo books featuring your travel highlights. Displaying these on the coffee table lets you visually re-live your journeys with visitors.

Coffee table travel books can also showcase stunning scenes far beyond where you’ve been. Conde Naste Traveler publishes luxurious travel tomes featuring exotic locales worldwide. Taschen art books present architecture, culture and history in vivid visual detail. These inspire future travel dreams when guests page through them. Thoughtfully curated coffee table books make traveling part of your home’s story. They encourage you and guests to relive treasured memories while dreaming up new ones.

World Map Wall

An eye-catching way to commemorate your travels is with a world map wall accented with push pins. Push pin travel maps allow you to visually plot out all of the different countries and cities you’ve visited over the years. They serve as colorful records of your journeys that you can proudly display in your home.

Tips for using a large world map:

• Start by choosing a large format map made specifically for push pins. Look for one that’s professionally printed on high-quality paper or canvas.
• Opt for a size and scale that will let you easily mark multiple destinations.
• Black and white or sepia toned maps offer versatility for any décor. Or pick a colorful map to make the pins really stand out.
• Use pins, stickers, or tags to mark all the spots you’ve visited.
• Color coordinate them by trip or region to help tell the story of your travels.
• Write the year on each pin or use numbers to signify trips over the years.

As you continue exploring the world, your map will become an ever-evolving art piece. When guests come over, they can walk up close to see all the adventures you’ve been on and learn where your next one might be!

If you don’t want to push pins into a wall, you can create a gallery wall of your favorite locations.

Memory Boxes

Memory boxes allow you to collect small souvenirs from your travels to display and reminisce over. Choose boxes made of wood, tin, or other materials that appeal to you. Decorate the outside of the boxes with maps, flags, or photos from your destination. You can also label them by location. Memory boxes are perfect for gathering keepsakes like postcards, ticket stubs, paper money, and other small mementos you pick up on your trips. Keeping these small treasures organized in a dedicated box makes it easy to take them out later and relive your adventures.

Group your travel memorabilia into different boxes depending on the destination. For example, you could have a box showcasing your trip to Paris, another for Costa Rica, and a third box for cruises.

Accent Pieces

Your souvenirs can be incorporated into your home’s accent pieces as well. For example, you can use a pretty trinket box or dish from your travels to hold jewelry or keys on a console table or dresser. Look for locally made decorative pillows, poufs or throws featuring traditional textiles and patterns from places you visited. These make great additions to a sofa, chair or bed.

You could also frame an intricate textile or tapestry and hang it as wall art. If you have small souvenirs like pins, patches or ticket stubs, consider having them incorporated into a custom pillow that tells the story of your travels. With unique accent pieces styled throughout your home, your souvenirs become conversation starters that let you fondly reminisce about your trips whenever you see them.

Display Travel Souvenirs At Home To Keep Wanderlust Alive

After traveling to new and exciting destinations, it can be tough to figure out what to do with all of the mementos you’ve collected along the way. However, with a little creativity, you can easily transform your souvenirs into meaningful home accents. Carefully incorporating souvenirs throughout your home is a great way to hold onto special memories long after your trip has ended. Let your décor reflect your passion for travel and remind you of the joy each souvenir brought back home.