You’ve been around the world and your collection of souvenirs is starting to make that clear. Alternatively, you love cooking, reading, or knitting and wish there was a way to reflect your interests in the design of your Philadelphia home. One way to personalize your home is to use the things you love or are most interested in as part of your decorating scheme. Whether that means proudly displaying your souvenirs or making your hobbies the focal point, is up to you.
Pick Versatile Souvenirs
When you’re in a tourist area or exploring a gift shop in a museum, it’s easy to become entranced by the beautiful items on display and for sale. But choose your souvenirs wisely. The odds are fairly high that you won’t look at a large, cumbersome vase the same way when you get home as you do while on your trip.
The best souvenirs to use to personalize your home are either small or functional. For example, mugs or bowls handmade by people in the country or city you’re visiting can be ideal souvenirs, as they are easy to incorporate into your life back home. Whenever you use the items, you’re reminded of your trip. Plus, you can arrange the bowls or mugs in a visible area, so that you can easily share your travel stories with visiting house guests.
Stick with a Theme
Another way to bring your travels or hobbies into the design of your home is to choose a theme and stick with it. Maybe you love visiting the beach when you travel. Start bringing home a seashell or small jar of sand from each trip, then arrange those items on a tray or shelf in your living area. Picking a theme brings unity to your collection, while allowing you to focus on the highlights of your trips.
If you’re going to decorate with your hobbies in mind, it still helps to stick with a theme. If you’re a sports fan, you can focus on displaying vintage jerseys or signed baseballs. If you love art, you can hang up small prints from your favorite artists in your living room.
Create Shadow Boxes
Dedicate one wall in your living area to displaying shadow boxes you create to house and display souvenirs or mementos from your hobbies. For example, you can dedicate one shadow box to each of your favorite cities or create boxes that focus on your favorite things to do. If you go to a lot of concerts, for example, you can make a shadow box for each of your favorite bands, and include tickets from a show, the band’s logo, and a CD or sleeve from one of their albums.
If you need help figuring out how to put together your shadow box, you can find tutorials all over the Internet. Real Simple has a short and sweet 3-Step How-To, for example.
Make a Collage
You’ve got loads of travel pictures taking up space on your digital camera or phone. Why not free those photos by printing them and arranging them into a collage to hang on the wall? If you don’t have a photo printer, places such as PhotoLounge in Center City will print your pictures for you. You can make a series of smaller collages, each one highlighting a place you’ve visited or combine all of your trips into one big collage.
You love your activities and hobbies and you love your Philly home. Why not bring the two together by showing off your souvenirs when you decorate your space?
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