Room Decor for Travel Enthusiasts: Bring the World to Your Home

The desire to make one’s home a repository of elsewhere-ness is perhaps the most underrated of human impulses. We return from our travels carrying not just photographs and fading tans but also a hunger to reconstruct those faraway sensations within the quotidian confines of our living spaces. This room decor for travel enthusiasts—this domestic cartography of memory—allows us to inhabit multiple geographies at once, turning the prosaic act of coming home into a continued journey of sensory travels. 

#1: Suitcase drawers

Do you have old trunks lying around and not know what to do with them? Why not give them a new life by repurposing them into a room decor item? Slap on a new coat of paint. Give the handles a little going-over and bring in a carpenter to turn them into a set of drawers. 

#2: Tropical wallpaper

The wall becomes jungle, becomes beach, becomes somewhere definitively not here. Oversized monstera leaves and birds of paradise create the illusion of dimensional escape, the quintessential room decor for those perpetually between flights. In a beach-themed bedroom, the wallpaper design works as a chromatic backdrop against which white linens and rattan furniture can assert their sun-bleached presence.

#3: Morrocan tiles

The mathematics of Moroccan art—its perfect geometries, its celestial certainties—finds earthly expression in zellige. These hand-cut Moroccan tiles, with their hypnotic repetitions and jewel-toned glazes, transform bathrooms and kitchen splashbacks into medinas. 

#4: Paint your room decor with worldly patterns

Patterns from across the world are a dime a dozen. Aztec motif tiles, the indigo resist-dye of Japanese shibori, the block-printed symmetries of Indian woodblock or the chromatic assertiveness of Ghanaian kente, you take your pick. These patterns constitute a global lexicon of visual language. They are perfect for a beach-themed bedroom seeking to reference coastlines more exotic than our beloved Juhu beach. 

#5: Vintage hauls

That Indian painting with its latticework jaali design frame represents the trophy hunter’s approach to room decor. The artful acquisition of the foreign object that becomes, through possession, part of one’s personal mythology.

These vintage hauls—be they Ottoman coffee grinders, Chinese porcelain, or weathered colonial maps—function as three-dimensional souvenirs of room decor for travel devotees who collect the past as assiduously as they document the present.

#6: Indigenous art as room decor for travel lovers

The Warli paintings with their stick-figure simplicity and cosmic preoccupations represent just one dialect in the vast vernacular of indigenous artistic expression. From Australian Aboriginal dot paintings to Inuit soapstone carvings, these pieces transcend their role as mere room decor for travel enthusiasts to become portals into perspectives formed outside mainstream fads.

Also Read: 25 Insanely Cool Accent Walls in Living Room

#7: Canoe shelf

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The vertical canoe shelf—cleaved lengthwise and mounted against the wall—performs a beautiful transmutation of function. What once cut through water now houses books and curios, its elegant curvature a reminder of its first purpose. This ingenious repurposing represents the pinnacle of room decor that marries the practical with the poetic, bringing nautical adventures indoors without resorting to hackneyed maritime clichés.

#8: Travel in frames

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Framed photographs serve as windows punched through the solidity of walls, opening onto remembered landscapes. Whether showcasing professional travel photography or personal snapshots, these rectangular portals constitute the most direct form of room decor for travel aficionados. The judicious arrangement of these framed memories creates a cartography of experience, a visual autobiography told in geographic chapters.

#9: Fridge magnets are the classic room decor for travel-lovers

The humble fridge magnet—perhaps the most common souvenir to find its way into our luggage—transforms the utilitarian surface of a kitchen appliance into a mosaic of colourful journeys. These small emblems of elsewhere, with their reductive iconography and tourist-board aesthetics, acquire unexpected poignancy en masse. As room decor goes, few collections so directly telegraph one’s passport history or aspirational destinations with such unpretentious charm.

#10: Hang postcards as room decor

Strung along threads with wooden pegs, illuminated by the constellation of fairy lights, postcards become a paper laundry line of memories. This affordable approach to room decor for travel romantics creates a kinetic installation that stirs with passing breezes, the postcards fluttering like fragile wings. 

#11: Turkish lamps

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The perforated metalwork of Turkish lamps creates galaxies on your ceiling, transforming ordinary rooms through extraordinary illumination. These lanterns, with their coloured glass inserts and arabesque cutouts, project geometric constellations that transform room decor into a theatrical experience. Even when unlit, their ornate craftsmanship serves as a testament to the unique complexity of Turkish decorative traditions.

#12: Shoji screens and cherry blossoms

The accent wall that mimics Japanese shoji screens, with cherry blossom wallpaper inserted within its gridded framework, represents cultural appropriation at its most architecturally ambitious. For those who cannot install actual rice paper screens, this alternative creates room decor of serene East Asian inspiration. Alternatively, authentic screens paired with silk cherry blossoms offer a more three-dimensional homage to Japanese aesthetics.

#13: Traditional Indian tapestry

The riotous chromatic excess of Indian textiles brings pre-industrial maximalism to contemporary furniture. Used as upholstery and furnishings, these tapestries—with their elephants, peacocks, and divine figures rendered in thread—transform ordinary chairs into thrones and windows into a gram-worthy portal. 

Also Read: Top 26 Indian Interior Design Ideas to Add That Desi Drama to Your Home

#14: Sea shells for room decor

The beach-themed bedroom reaches its culmination through the strategic deployment of shells—those pretty things that you gathered on a long walk on the beach. Arranged in glass vessels, affixed to picture frames, or strung as wind chimes, these marine relics offer tactile connections to distant tidelines. 

#15: Use maps as room decor for travel bugs

The cartographic wall—oversized maps marked with pins or annotations—serves as both a decorative element and an aspirational document. This quintessential room decor for travel planners transforms geography into autobiography, with different coloured pins indicating past conquests and future campaigns. 

#16: Tibetan prayer flags

These rectangular scraps of primary-coloured fabric, stamped with mantras and strung across windows or doorways, bring high-altitude spirituality to our homes. Originally designed to broadcast prayers on Himalayan winds, they make for a great room that references not just place but a philosophical outlook. You can use them as balcony decor or place them close to open spaces, where winds can cause them to flutter away. 

#17: Moroccan poufs 

These leather ottomans—often hand-stitched in geometric patterns and stuffed with firm padding—bring North African casual seating arrangements to our spaces. Their versatility as footrests, impromptu tables, or extra seating makes them practical room decor for travel aesthetes who appreciate functional art. Available in metallic finishes or vibrant colours, they inject Marrakech market sensibilities into otherwise buttoned-up interiors.

#18: Scandinavian-inspired rugs

The minimalist geometries and restrained palette of Nordic floor coverings offer a subtler approach to room decor. These rugs, with their characteristic restraint and functional beauty, ground more exuberant elements in Scandinavian pragmatism. In a beach-themed bedroom, they provide textural contrast to seashells and driftwood, their woven patterns suggesting ice rather than sand.

#19: Kashmiri carpets

The intricate floral patterns of carpets from India’s northernmost region represent painstaking craftsmanship translated into floor art. Often featuring paisley motifs, these carpets bring room decor up to paradisiacal standards. Their traditional silk or wool construction speaks of mountainous terrains and ancient weaving techniques passed down through generations of artisans.

#20: Japanese Kintsugi art

The golden-veined pottery that results from this Japanese repair technique—where breakage becomes an opportunity for embellishment—offers profound philosophical room decor. These vessels, their fractures highlighted rather than hidden, remind us that damage need not mean diminishment. 

#21: Vietnamese silk lanterns

The jewel-toned translucency of these collapsible lanterns brings Hoi An’s famous night markets into domestic lighting schemes. Their saturated colours and simple forms offer room decor for travel dreamers seeking Eastern influences without overwhelming complexity. When illuminated, they cast a glow that turns ordinary evenings into something approaching the exotic.

#22: Artisanal textiles

The chair upholstered in vibrant blue artisanal fabric represents just one application for these handcrafted textiles. As curtains, cushion covers, or throws, these fabrics—often created using traditional techniques like block printing, backstrap weaving, or batik—offer room decor that supports indigenous craftspeople. Their imperfections and irregularities stand as a counterpoint to mass-produced textiles, each variation a signature of the human hand.

One for your little ones:

Travel-themed room decor #1: Animal wall decals

For the safari-themed nursery, removable wall stickers offer impermanent fauna without a long-term commitment. These adhesive elephants, giraffes, and lions create savannah scenarios that stimulate infant imaginations while providing room decor that can evolve as tastes mature. Their easy application and removal make them ideal for rental properties or parents anticipating changing tastes.

Also Read: 4 Useful Tips for Applying Wall Decals or Wall Stickers for Home

Travel-themed room decor #2: Animal print rugs

The tactile pleasure of synthetic zebra, leopard, or tiger prints underfoot brings jungle theme nursery concepts down to ground level. These rugs combine durability with dramatic patterns. For the safari-themed nursery, they provide essential texture that complements painted walls and wooden furniture.

Travel-themed room decor #3: Jungle mural

The fully painted jungle scene—complete with dense foliage, hidden creatures, and atmospheric details—transforms a child’s room into an immersive environment. In a jungle theme nursery, such murals provide endless opportunities for storytelling and animal identification as language skills develop.

Travel-themed room decor #4: Go intergalactic

For aspiring astronauts, space room decor launches bedrooms beyond terrestrial concerns. Whether through dark wallpaper spangled with accurate constellations or beds shaped like NASA vehicles, these cosmic touches in kids’ room designs prepare children for dreams of interstellar travel. Such space room decor acknowledges that exploration needn’t be limited to Earth’s geography, expanding young horizons beyond planetary boundaries.

How can Livspace help you?

If you’re looking for ways to transform your house with beautiful designs, book an online consultation with Livspace today. Our team of seasoned and creative designers is ready to collaborate with you to bring your vision to life.

• Our expert team can custom design your dream home with curated render designs and expert advice
• We have delivered over 75,000 happy homes
• Count on us for high-quality and durable materials

Disclaimer: All contents of the story are specific to the time of publication. Mentions of costs, budget, materials, finishes, and products from the Livspace catalogue can vary with reference to current rates. Talk to our designer for more details on pricing and availability.