Tips and Tricks

Curating a Well Traveled Home

September 17, 2015

A big trend in home decor for Fall 2015 is a curated look – that could be anything from a gallery wall to an entire space.

Have you finally settled down and bought yourself a quaint little home to set up camp in? Or maybe you’ve had Charleston home builders design you a brand new home you can start a family in after years of moving around? Whatever your situation, if you’ve been traveling around the world a lot before finding a house to call your own, you’re going to have a lot of items from your travels that you’ll want to show off. But how do you do showcase your travels while also making it look nice?

Since I have a wandering spirit and adventurous travel is a big part of who I am, reflecting that in my home is important to me. But doing so doesn’t mean carting home tonnes of souvenirs and artifacts, in fact creating a space that reflects your adventures is a delicate balance between timeless staples and subtle injections of far off places. Too many treasures from your travels and your home will start to look like a Grand Bazaar. Of course, I know some people who like to purchase different country flags after they visit. Some people will put the flags up in their house, whilst others might like to put them on house mounted flagpoles. It’s completely up to the individual, however, I would personally prefer to make subtle hints at places I’ve been to keep the house looking casual.

travel3 (PC: Elle Decor)

Follow these tips and you’ll create an inspiring, well curated home with ease.

When curating a global inspired space, I like to keep the furnishings classic and simple, adding interest through fabric, wallpaper and accessories. With a neutral and classic backdrop, ornate pieces such as a Moroccan screen or carved chair can be added with ease and replaced when your mood changes just as easily.

Look to pattern and texture in textiles to create a modern global space. To keep contrasting patterns from competing with each other, it’s important to make sure they all have the same tonal value. Balance patterns by layering them on top of solids, a graphic rug with a solid border achieves a similar effect. When thinking about textiles, don’t forget about the walls, graphic wallpaper is a great way to create a very distinct look. Nervous about committing to wallpaper and are planning to have someone like this Painter NJ come in and paint the walls ready for you to build on? How about a Persian rug hung on the wall? Impact and interest without a serious commitment.

PicMonkey Collage81 (PC: Style at Home)

An obvious go to for sharing your adventures and creating a well traveled look is to turn to photographs you’ve taken. But without some careful thought, a picture wall can start to feel busy and look tacky. When choosing images, choose similar scenes, for instance landscapes, architecture or animals and develop them in black and white or sepia to create a harmonious look. If you really want to showcase the colours in your photography, make sure to keep the matting, frames and sizing relatively consistent to create a balanced look.

PicMonkey Collage82 (PC: Style at Home and mylovelythings.blogspot.com)

Collections of items that inspire you, when grouped together create a curated look, full of meaning and memories. But don’t just fill your suitcase with stuff in an attempt to create a curated look – decide on what inspires you and mindfully collect as you go – you may even find some treasure at markets and ethnic stores in your own backyard.

PicMonkey Collage83 (PC: homeedit.com, Pinterest and Design Sponge)

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  • Christine September 19, 2015 at 5:44 am

    there are lots of great ideas here! I have a collection of art from backpacking around Europe. They’re all done by sidewalk artists but I put them in matching expensive frames and now they are one of my favourite collections!

    Now you’ve got me thinking – what will be next?!

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