Bringing Our Travels Home, One Frame at a Time

Every home should have that one wall that quietly tells their story. For us, it’s the gallery wall in our dining room, a growing collection of pieces we’ve gathered during our travels with photos of our family. Each one holds a memory, a mood, or a moment we didn’t want to forget. And even though we’ve visited more countries than I can count on two hands, we’re only just beginning to collect art in a more intentional way.

For a long time, I thought our souvenirs needed to be small enough to fit in a suitcase or practical enough to use right away. But lately, I’ve been craving pieces that feel more lasting. The kind of items that don’t just remind us where we’ve been but help shape how we live at home.

Collecting With Purpose

I’ve started to pay more attention to the art and decor we bring back from our trips. Sometimes it’s a print from a street artist whose work made us stop in our tracks. Other times, it’s something smaller like a hand-painted tile or a piece of fabric that captures the colors of a city we loved.

We’re learning to look for pieces that tell stories. Not necessarily the most popular or obvious ones, but the stories that connect to us as a family. Now, instead of filling our suitcases with trinkets, I think about how a single piece of art can carry a whole trip’s worth of memories.

Our certificate for climbing the Great Wall of China

Street art collected in Lisbon of Sintra, Portugal

From our 9th anniversary trip to Mexico

Moved this art piece from my home office to here of Lisbon Portugal. Memories of living as expats!

From a street artist outside of our hotel in Cusco, Peru

Our time in Peru was incredible and the colors were so vibrant, I was so excited to take some art back home.

Designing the Gallery Wall

When we began updating our dining room, I knew this would be the perfect place for our gallery wall. We spend so much time gathered here as a family, and I wanted the room to feel like a reflection of all the places we’ve shared together.

Before hanging anything, I laid each piece out to make sure it would make the wall feel full enough with what pieces we have now. I taped together pieces of paper to match the size of each frame and taped them to the wall to get an idea on spacing. Some frames are simple and modern, others are a little more ornate. I wanted it to feel collected over time, not perfectly matched, but cohesive in the way that travel memories are — connected by feeling rather than by design.

Tip: Cut up pieces of natural kraft paper to the size of your frames. Arrange them to your liking and then start hanging the pieces. This will allow you to not create unnecessary holes in your walls.

Bought this outside of our hotel in Cuba

More Than Art on the Walls

The more I thought about this room, the more I realized I want our dining space to tell stories in more ways than one. Art is just the beginning. I want to slowly start collecting interesting bowls, plates, and serving pieces that come with their own history — ceramics from markets, hand-carved utensils, anything that sparks conversation when we sit down to eat.

I want our meals to feel connected to the same sense of adventure that travel gives us. Imagine serving soup in a bowl from a market in Morocco or pouring tea from a handmade pot picked up in Japan. Those moments make everyday life feel a little more magical.

Saucer from Japan

Bringing the Stories Closer

Inside our dining cabinet, I plan to add a few of our travel photo books so we can easily pull them out when friends or family visit. I love the idea of flipping through our trips while we eat or showing our kids where a certain art piece came from. It keeps those memories alive in such a natural, beautiful way.

This room has become more than just a place for meals. It’s a space that holds our stories, our adventures, and all the little reminders of how travel continues to shape us — even when we’re home.

If you’ve ever come home from a trip with a suitcase full of souvenirs but no real plan for how to enjoy them, maybe start with one wall. Choose a few pieces that truly speak to you, frame them, and let them remind you of what those moments meant. Build from there. Over time, that wall will become more than decoration. It’ll become a living scrapbook of your adventures.