How to Weave Travel Finds Into Your Home Decor

ByMy Daily Tricks

We need to talk about “The Box.”

You know the one. It’s in your closet, under your bed, or maybe stashed in the garage. It’s that cardboard box (or, if you’re me, three boxes) filled with travel finds. It’s packed with that beautiful but weirdly shaped vase from Mexico, the hand-painted mask from Bali, and the stack of brightly coloured textiles from Morocco. You loved them in the market. You gleefully haggled for them.

And now… they’re in a box.

Why? Because there is a razor-thin line between a home that looks “artfully collected” and one that looks like the clearance aisle of a Pier 1 Imports. And you, my friend, are terrified of crossing it.

I see you. I was you. My first apartment looked like a chaotic, theme-park souvenir shop. It was not a vibe.

But here’s the secret: It’s not what you have, it’s how you use it. Your home should tell your story! Those pieces deserve to be seen. You need a game plan. So let’s open that box and figure out how to weave travel finds into your home decor without looking like a confused Epcot pavilion.

The First Rule: Curate, Don’t Clutter

This is the most important step, and it’s the hardest. You must edit. Ruthlessly.

Your home is not a museum. You are not a curator tasked with preserving every item you’ve ever touched. You are a real person who needs to live in a space that feels calm, not chaotic.

You cannot put everything out. I’m going to repeat that, because it’s important. You cannot put everything out.

The “Hell Yes, or Hell No” Test

Before you display a single thing, I want you to empty that box onto your floor. Now, pick up each item, one by one. Ask yourself one question: “Does this piece genuinely make me happy, or do I just feel guilty I spent $50 on it?”

Be honest. That “funny” miniature Eiffel Tower? The oddly-shaped clay whistle you were talked into buying? The T-shirt you’ll never wear? Put them back in the box. This is not their moment. We are only working with the “Hell Yes!” pile.

IMO, this first edit is the most liberating part. I once had this… thing. It was a large, brightly painted wooden fish I bought in Central America. I’d been hauling it around for years. I finally looked at it and realized, “I hate this fish.” I gave it to my nephew. It was fine.

Your “Hell Yes!” pile should consist of the items that give you that little spark, that actual memory of the sun on your face or the smell of the market. Those are the pieces we work with.

Grouping: The “Power in Numbers” Trick

Okay, let’s talk about that one lonely, hand-painted mask. You hang it on your giant, blank living room wall. What happens?

It looks… sad. It looks small. It looks like a mistake.

Now, what happens if you take that mask, add the other two masks you bought, plus that small woven fan, and a little carved wooden thing? And you hang them all together in a tight, intentional cluster?

That, my friend, is a statement. That is art.

How to Create a Cohesive Grouping

This is the secret to making eclectic items look chic. You have to trick the eye into seeing them as one single unit.

  • Find a Common Thread: Don’t just group “all my stuff from Peru.” That’s not a theme. Group by material, color, or function.
    • Good: A gallery wall of 7 different woven baskets from 4 different countries.
    • Good: A shelf displaying your collection of hand-painted blue and white ceramics from Mexico, Portugal, and Japan.
    • Bad: A table with a clay pot, a woven basket, a painting, and a metal… thing. It’s too much.
  • The Odd Number Rule: This is a classic designer trick. Groups of 3 or 5 almost always look more dynamic and natural than groups of 2 or 4.
  • Baskets Are Your Best Friend: I am obsessed with this. A collection of flat, woven baskets hung on a dining room wall is one of the most high-impact, low-cost “global influence” statements you can make. It’s stunning, adds texture, and works with almost any style.

Give It a “Job”: The Functional Souvenir

The fastest way to make a travel find feel like a natural part of your home? Make it useful.

When an item has a purpose, it instantly moves from the “tacky souvenir” category to the “functional home decor” category. Your brain just accepts it.

I have a gorgeous, hammered metal tray I bought in a souk in Morocco. For years, it sat on a shelf, collecting dust. Now? It lives on my coffee table and holds my TV remotes, a candle, and a coaster. It’s not “clutter” anymore—it’s the solution to my clutter.

H3: Examples of Travel Finds with Jobs

Look at your “Hell Yes!” pile again. What can you use?

  • That Moroccan pouf? Stop treating it like a fragile artifact. Put it on the floor! It’s your new footstool or extra seating.
  • That stack of Peruvian blankets or Turkish towels? They are not “too beautiful to use.” Drape one over the arm of your neutral sofa right now. It adds instant color, texture, and story.
  • That colorful Mexican ceramic bowl? It’s your new permanent fruit bowl on the kitchen counter. Or it’s the key dish by your front door.
  • Those tiny espresso cups from Italy? Use them as chic little planters for small succulents on your windowsill.

When you give your travel finds a job, you get to interact with them every day. That’s infinitely better than letting them rot in a box.

The “Contain & Frame” Strategy for Small Stuff

“But Harper,” you say, “what about the really small stuff? The old coins, the ticket stubs, the pretty rocks, the sea glass?”

You’re right. On their own, this stuff is just… junk. It’s clutter. If you sprinkle it on a shelf, it just looks messy.

The solution: You have to “contain” or “frame” it. You need to send a strong visual signal to the brain that says, “This is not random trash. This is an Intentional Collection.”

Shadow Boxes Are Your New Best Friend

A shadow box is a magic portal. It turns a pile of flat, boring-looking junk into a fascinating, curated story.

I have a simple black shadow box in my hallway. Inside is a matchbook from a cafe in Paris, a folded-up metro ticket from Rome, and a few weird, beautiful old currency bills. It cost me nothing, it’s 100% personal, and it’s the one thing everyone stops to look at.

The Power of a Beautiful Tray

We talked about trays for function, but they also work for containment.

A small, chic tray (maybe brass, marble, or wood) on your dresser is the perfect home for “floaters.” That small, carved stone from a beach in Greece, two or three interesting foreign coins, your favorite perfume bottle…

  • Scattered: Looks like a mess.
  • Grouped on a tray: Looks like a chic, personal vignette.

The Big One: Integrate, Don’t “Theme”

This is the biggest mistake I see. Please, I am begging you: Do not create “theme rooms.”

Just because you loved your trip to Japan, you do not need to create a “Zen Room” with a tatami mat, a shoji screen, and a fake bonsai. It feels inauthentic. It feels… well, it feels like a theme park. :/

The goal is to weave travel finds into your home decor, not let them take over and turn your house into a costume.

My 80/20 Rule for a “Collected” Home

The secret to a truly stylish, “global influence” home is this:

Your room should be 80% your normal, baseline style. The other 20% is where you weave in your stories.

Let’s say your baseline style is Modern Scandinavian. Your room is 80% clean lines, a neutral grey sofa, light woods, and simple, cozy textures.

Now, we add the 20% “global” layer.

  • Instead of plain beige pillows, you use two mudcloth pillows from Mali. (Adds pattern + texture)
  • On the wall, you hang one large, beautifully framed Japanese woodblock print. (Adds color + story)
  • On your bookshelf, tucked between your books, you place a small, hand-carved wooden figure from Kenya. (Adds organic shape + warmth)

See? The room isn’t “African” or “Japanese.” The room is “Modern Scandinavian.” But it’s a Modern Scandinavian room that is clearly lived in by a fascinating person who has stories. That’s the goal.

Don’t Be Afraid to Alter Your Finds

This might be a controversial take, but… it’s your stuff. You paid for it. It lives in your house. You have my official permission to alter it so you will actually use and love it.

That textile you bought is a weird, long, skinny shape? Have it professionally framed. A 4-foot-long framed textile behind a sofa is a high-end designer move. Or, if you’re brave, cut it up and have someone sew it into two amazing throw pillow covers.

That wooden carving is a color that just clashes with everything? I once (gently) sanded and re-stained a wooden mask that was a horrible, bright orange. I know, I’m a monster. But it’s now a beautiful, deep walnut, and it’s hung in my living room instead of hiding in a closet. I have zero regrets.

The goal is to love your finds in your home, not to perfectly preserve them as museum artifacts in a dark box.

Conclusion: Go Open The Box

Your home is your autobiography. It should be a living, breathing map of where you’ve been and what you love. Weaving travel finds into your home decor is the most authentic way to write that story.

It’s not about spending a ton of money. It’s about being a ruthless editor (Curate!), a smart-thinking designer (Group it! Give it a job!), and a confident storyteller (Integrate!).

The best homes, IMO, are the ones that are “collected,” not just “decorated.” They feel real. They feel human.

So go. Seriously. Go open that box. Pick one thing from your “Hell Yes!” pile. Give it a job, put it on a tray, or hang it with two other friends. You’ve got this. Your house is about to get so much more interesting.