What is a meaningful home, and how do we create it? Some say a meaningful home is a peaceful home. Others say a meaningful home is an authentic home. Still, others argue that a meaningful home is one where we feel most at home in our own skin. With so many definitions and understandings, how do we create a meaningful home for ourselves and our families? Well, I’m going to offer you three examples you can use today!
1 – Define your own aesthetic
The internet is full of design advice. You can research the Nancy Meyers aesthetic and your Pinterest boards will explode. Search for modern organic, modern classic, transitional or traditional design, and you are sure to be flooded with all the design inspiration your little heart can hold. That doesn’t even begin to touch cottage core, grandma core, grand millennial, or modern cottage.
What you’ll probably discover is that there are pieces and parts of each one of these design aesthetics that you love. You may love the look of floral wallpaper from grandma core, but in a black and white tone that is more modern. Or maybe you like a traditional leather sofa but with a more modern arm structure.
You are your own person, and your family is unique as well. That is why defining your own aesthetic is so important as you create a meaningful home. Dive into Pinterest and research the styles you like. Then really study which aspects you want to showcase in your own home. Before you know it, you’re on your way to creating a meaning home for yourself and your family.
2 – Showcase meaningful artwork
Artwork can be expensive. You can find reasonably priced artwork at places like HomeGoods, Desinio, Target, or Amazon. We have artwork in our home from reasonably priced stores like Hobby Lobby and PierOne. The artwork you choose should reflect the design style of your room, but should also be a meaningful reflection of your family. Let me give you a couple examples:
Big box, bigger memory
We bought the artwork below years ago from PierOne. When I saw it in the catalog, I asked my husband and children if this canvas reminded them of anything. Each of them said it reminded them of a hike we took in Colorado through the grove of Aspen trees… the one where the bears climbed on our car! That artwork, while purchased at a big box store, elicited the same memory for each of us. It was a high production piece that helped us create a meaningful home.
In honor of the dogwoods
These two pieces also have special meaning for us. The top artwork came from from a local artist in the Smokey Mountains. The shop was beautiful and the artwork was completely stunning. We chose this print because of the color story it tells, but also because we had planted several dogwood trees on our property, but had not been successful at having them survive. This was a nod to the dogwoods, but it played beautifully within our home’s color palette.
Currency of foreign lands
The coins are all foreign coins from our travels. Some are from the UK, others are from Israel. One is an antiquity; a widow’s mite. Instead of placing these coins in a drawer, a box of mementos, or otherwise storing them away, we framed them as a reminder of our adventures.
Together, this type of artwork helps to create a meaningful home. When you see it every day you remember again and again special times with special people, and you get to live with the memories you collectively share.
3 – Collect meaningful trinkets
Maybe it’s just us, but we love souvenirs. We love browsing local stores and gift shops searching for that special piece that will remind us of our travels. In London we bought a red metal double decker bus, in Gatlinburg we bought candle holders and carved from stone and marble dice, and then there are the coffee mugs…OH, the coffee mugs. But what we have learned is not to buy just any kitschy thing that catches our eye.
When purchasing trinkets and souvenirs, purchase the ones that have meaning, that will remind you of your trip, and will work into the overall design aesthetic you’ve chosen for your home.
Coffee Mugs
If you purchase coffee mugs on your travels, you may like the ones with all the logos, funny sayings, and touristy designs. I have one in particular I purchased in London that I love. It is covered in all the things; the double decker busses, the telephone booths…Big Ben… I love it. It’s ugly. But I love it!
But then there are the coffee mugs that remind us of our travels, and are beautiful. Those are the handmade, stoneware and pottery mugs we purchase. My husband has one from June Lake, in California. It is by a local potter, and he uses it every single day. We have others from potters in North Carolina, California, Tennessee as well as other states. We try to purchase them in similar colors to our home’s design aesthetic, and we use them on a daily basis. These travel souvenirs are what help us create a meaningful home.
Travel Trinkets
Travel trinkets don’t have to be store bought. They can also be found objects. During the Covid Pandemic, we rented an Airbnb cabin in Cumberland Gap. Stores were closed, activities were cancelled. Outdoor activities were all we had. And so we packed up our two stir-crazy teenagers and ventured off on wild adventures and mountain hikes.
On one particular hike, we came upon an abandoned train track. As we walked along the decrepit tracks and veered into a dark, creepy tunnel, we found large chunks of coal. The trains that traveled this path must have been coal trains. And so, each of us chose one large chunk of black sooty coal to bring home. We placed them under a cloche in our travel cabinet. Each time we see them, we remember that hike, and all the memories we made that week.
On our trip to the UK, we visited the beaches of Brighton. The beaches weren’t sandy, but rather full of large pebbles. While difficult to walk on, it actually made for a comfortable place to sit and watch the waves on the shore. We each brought home one large pebble from the beach. These are travel treasures, and while they may only appear to be rocks to anyone else, to us they are souvenirs from a memorable trip.
Display decor that means more
In a world where any aesthetic can be curated from online shopping, creating a meaningful home begins when you display decor that means more. One way to do this is by curating your treasures and displaying them together. For us, that is in a glass case from IKEA. We rotate the items in and out according to the seasons.
In the summer, you will find seashells displayed in a large glass bowl from all our trips to the beach. You will find a carved wooden turtle from a trip to St. Lucia. And you’ll also see the largest pinecone we’ve ever seen from a kayaking trip on June Lake in California.
In the winter, we substitute out a few meaningful Christmas ornaments we picked up from various locations. There is a set of Russian stacking dolls, hand-carved bowls from Ecuador, an Israeli drum, and well as other beautifully displayed memories.
Create a meaningful home
You don’t have to display your treasures in a travel case. You can work your travel memories onto bookshelves, into frames, or simply setting on a tray. The point is to choose your travel trinkets and souvenirs intentionally, and then display them proudly.
Often we travel to destinations far and near hoping to create memories that last a lifetime. We take photos we rarely look at, visit places we can’t fully remember, and return home to an everyday life with everyday routines. Most of us long for something more meaningful than the 9 to 5, and 5 to 9. Why not create a meaningful home that reminds us of good times and great memories with the ones we love most.
Let me know in the comments, what are your favorite travel treasures and how do you display them in your own home?
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