Framing Your Travels: Souvenirs, Maps, and Holiday Photos
The best thing about coming back from a trip is the memories you’ve made and brought home with you. These memories deserve more than just staying hidden on a phone or tucked away in a drawer. Everything you collect on your travels can become meaningful decor around your home when properly framed.
In this guide, we’ll explore the best travel keepsakes to frame and how to choose the right style for different types of travel photography and souvenirs.
Why Travel Memories Deserve to Be Displayed
Your travel memories are important. Displaying them not only enhances your home decor through storytelling but also helps you create a more personal space and relive special experiences every time you see them. Memories can easily be forgotten about when stored away in a drawer or on your phone. Framing them is a simple yet meaningful way to keep your memories visible, present and part of your home and everyday life.
The Best Travel Keepsakes to Frame
When travelling, we often collect keepsakes along the way to help us remember special places, experiences and moments from our trip. Rather than leaving them tucked away, framing your travel memories can turn them into meaningful pieces of home decor. But which travel keepsakes work best in a frame? Here are some popular ideas to inspire your display:
- Travel photos
- City maps
- Boarding passes
- Postcards
- Fridge magnets
- Polaroids
- Local artwork
- Foreign currency
- Museum tickets
Each of these can be framed in a range of styles, depending on the item and the look you want to achieve. For example, beach photos work beautifully in light or white frames, modern city photography suits aluminium frames and 3D objects like fridge magnets are ideal for box frames.
Box Frames for 3D Souvenirs
A box frame is the perfect way to make your travel memories stand out and is ideal if you want to display something other than a standard photo or artwork. With extra depth, box frames allow you to showcase your favourite holiday keepsakes in a safe and visually striking way. You can frame items such as:
- Shells
- Coins
- Sand from the beach
- Small souvenirs, like fridge magnets
- Miniature travel keepsakes
- Train/bus tickets
- Museum brochures
- Keychains
- Pressed flowers
- Small jewellery
Deep box frames help protect delicate items while creating a unique, three-dimensional display piece for your home.
Framing Maps and Routes as Statement Pieces
Framed maps are a timeless way to showcase your travel memories and create striking wall art. While they may feel traditional and old school, souvenir maps can make a great travel memory display. This includes city maps, hiking routes, underground maps, road trip maps, or even vintage travel maps of places you’ve visited.
For large maps, custom framing is often the best option, as it allows you to create a frame made to the exact measurements of your print. Oversized framed maps work well as a statement piece, creating visual impact in any room of your home.
If you didn’t collect any physical maps from your trips, there are still many easy ways you can create this look. Scratch-off world maps are a popular way to display the countries you’ve visited over the years. It’s a great way to keep track of all your travels in the future.
Choosing the Right Frame Style for Your Travel Photos
With so many different styles of travel photography, it can be difficult to know which frame will best suit each image. Here’s a simple guide to help you choose the right frame.
Modern travel photography:
Vintage and European travel prints:
- Ornate gold frames
- Antique finishes
Coastal and nature holiday snap:
- Natural wood frames
- White picture frames
- Light oak tones
Bold city breaks and contemporary photos:
- White picture frames
- Oversized mounts
- Striking coloured picture frames
Travel Frame Ideas for Different Rooms in the Home
Your travel memories can be displayed throughout your home, turning each space into a reflection of your experience and adventures. Here are some ideas to inspire you:
- Create a travel gallery wall in your hallway to welcome guests with your favourite destinations and memories
- Display travel photography in your home office to bring inspiration and a sense of escapism to your workplace
- Showcase holiday memories with family and friends in your bedroom for a personal and nostalgic touch
- Add food-related travel prints or frames, or recipes collected on your journeys, to your kitchen for a cultural feel
- Create a timeline of family holiday photos along your stairway to tell the story of your travels over the years
The design possibilities are endless, and with the right frames and layouts, you can turn your travel memories into a cohesive and meaningful part of your home decor.
Framing Your Travel Memories With Picture Frames Express
The right frame doesn’t just protect your travel memories; it transforms them into meaningful pieces of home decor that let you relive your favourite adventures every day.
Browse our wide range of picture frames on our website and start displaying your travel memories in style today.
