How to Use Your Travels to Inspire Your Interiors

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How to Use Your Travels to Inspire Your Interiors
If youre 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 youd like to incorporate into your
home decor. But where do you start with this?
Often times the things we pick up while were
travelling are varied, quirky and unique - after
all, thats probably what attracted us to them in
the first place. That often means youre
travelling mementos are varied and not
necessarily all in the same style.
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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.
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There are a number of ways in which you can do
this without ending up with an interior thats
just a jumble of styles, colours and textures
that dont 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 youve visited to help everything tie
in with the location youre 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.
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Its also important to keep the background
neutral if youre taking this approach. You dont
want everything youre 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.
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"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 by
Mineheart to see if theres anything that appeals
to you and that could fit in with some of the
items youve 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.
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Many of the attendees at the event were looking
for inspiration for their own homes. Rita, from
Dublin, told the newspaper that although shes
done the basic decorating in her home, she needs
to add the finishing touches. "Its just a little
pop of colour... its more decoration than actual
structure. I like art deco. My house was built in
the 30s so Im kind of filling bits in, so
thats 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. Thats 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.