How Travel Inspires Your Home Design

I am excited to have an amazing friend, Catherine, guest blogging today!  She is over at FEST and is such a talented woman!  Her blog is all about Food, Style, Travel, Ect.(FEST) and I know you will just love this post she wrote for The Forward Home.  I asked her to write about how her travels have inspired her style and decorations in her home. ENJOY!

                                                                                                                 

I don't consider myself an interior decorator by any means, but I do take pride in having a clean home, free of clutter, and full of beautiful memories. I like the things in my home to trigger happy memories and beautiful feelings. Since I love to travel and have been blessed with some beautiful travel experiences, I've chosen to decorate my home with things that remind of far-off places that either I or my loved ones have traveled to. 

Here are some of those things.

1. Painted wood carving from Beirut, Lebanon - My grandparents lived in Lebanon and their home is filled with beautiful treasures from their travels. I always admired this wood carving as a young girl. When I got married, she gave it to me as a wedding gift.

2. Blue painting of Ganesha from India - My husband brought back this gorgeous and intricate piece of art from India. It now hangs in our bedroom. 

3. Wood carved elephant statue from Thailand - Another treasure from my husband's travels.

4. Bronze lamp from somewhere in the Middle East - This is another relic passed on by my grandparents from their many travels in the Middle East as a young family.

5. Framed painting of volleyball players in Redondo Beach - I grew up playing volleyball at the beach featured in this painting. This was a card my Mom gave to my husband for his birthday. I loved it so much that I framed it.  

6. Piece of Coral from Hawaii - My parents are certified scuba divers and this is a piece of coral they uncovered from one of their expeditions in Hawaii.

7. National Geographic Magazines - These are not from a far-off place, but they represent my love of travel and add an awesome pop of yellow to my home.

8. Papyrus Painting of King Tut and His Wife from Cairo, Egypt - I purchased this in Cairo with the intention to give it to my future husband as a wedding gift. A year and a half later, that happened!

9. The World Is Your Oyster Print - I created this print from a similar one that I saw on Etsy. I love the modern touch it adds to our home and it's such a great reminder to always keep discovering.

10. Hand-Carved Pottery from Jerusalem, Israel - This is a favorite piece of mine that I picked up in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem.