Authored by Analisse Weathers

If you’re the type of person who loves to travel, and comes down with a serious case of wanderlust during the time that you’re stuck at home, why not design your bedroom to manifest this passion!

It might seem overwhelming at the outset, but designing a world travel theme for your bedroom can be quite simple and easy to do. No interior design skills required!

How To Design A World Travel Theme For Your Bedroom

Choose The Right Bed / Bedding

Your bed is the most prominent and important feature in your room, so this should be your starting point for redesigning your bedroom. And you can get as creative as you want to.

Ie, if you’re a self confessed francophile (someone who loves France), buy a French double bed. You could have a bit of a heated snooze with an oriental style bed from China, or set up a capsule bed like they do in Japan.

If you’re not feeling too adventurous, aim for a hotel style bed – something luxury that makes you feel as though you’re in a hotel room. But remember that a luxury hotel room isn’t just about the look, it’s about the sleeping experience too.

There are a lot of options on the market for bedding, so take the time to look around in order for you to get the best sheets and mattress for your needs. You can even buy travel themed doona covers.

When it comes to your mattress specifically, we highly recommend reading reviews before you buy anything, for example, big fig mattress reviews, to educate yourself on the different features and specs.

Cushions / Pillows

Pillows are, for the most part, excellent accent features, and there’s a reason you find throw pillows in almost every hotel room.

You can either go with plush designer cushions to continue to create a hotel room feel, or you can opt for themed cushions that remind you of your favorite destinations, like Paris, or London.

There are many travel related cushions out there, with maps, or flag designs, and those that feature pictures of world landmarks. But you can also print your own images onto pillows these days, if you’re wanting to make your room more personalized.

Maybe you scan one of your favorite postcards, or a city map you collected, and have it printed onto a throw cushion, or maybe you opt for one of our favorite travel photos. Either way, pillows can be a great way to add to the theme of your room.

Framed Art

Hanging framed art is yet another way you can bring a foreign vibe into your room. In particular, framed pictures or canvases of landmarks, landscapes, and culture are great options.

You can often find framed art and canvas prints from local stores, and these will carry all the typical shots; the Eiffel Tower, the London Metro, etc.

If you’re wanting to make your room more personalized, you can of course print your own photographs, or, if you’re looking for something a lot more niche, there are many canvas art sites which sell a huge range of country themed prints online.

Wooden Trunks

There’s no denying that a wooden trunk is charming, and utilizing one at the end of your bed is a great way to incorporate that feel of vintage travel into the room. Likewise, you could instead stack antique suitcases.

We personally prefer wooden trunks, because not only do they make magnificent decoration pieces, they’re also incredibly functional, serving as storage for almost anything you need.

You can use it to store pillows, blankets, extra clothes. And if you can either leave it as is, or decorate with passport stamps for an extra dose of the travel theme.

Maps & Postcards

What is a world travel theme without maps?! Maps are excellent decoration element for a world travel theme, and you can either decorate your walls with maps you’ve personally collected, or go for a full on wallpaper feature wall.

Obviously, when choosing a map to feature, it’s important to choose one which has some type of significance to you; a place you already love, or a place you dream of traveling to.

There are a huge range of options with this too; you can mount scratch maps onto your wall and scratch off the places you’ve been to, or buy a pinboard style map where you can place a pin for every new destination – both of these are fun and interactive.

A similar idea is to create a collage of the postcards you’ve collected, whether this be on your many journeys, or postcards you may have been sent from friends and relatives when they travel overseas.

With postcards, you can either frame them an place on your bed side tables or desk, or create full scale wall collages; the possibilities are only limited to your imagination.

Transform Your Walls

You don’t want to go overboard in plastering your walls, usually one feature wall is all that you need to tie a room into a theme, otherwise it might be a bit too much. But definitely consider doing at least one wall.

Whether you’re an incredible artist who can paint your own murals, or you decide to hire one, painting can be a great way to bring a travel theme into your room. Wallpaper is another great option, and very easy to do without prior skill.

Wallpaper in particular has become quite trendy for feature walls, and is no longer stuck in the 70’s. It comes in very easy to use roll on packs, and you can either buy repeat patterned paper for natural effects like the Amazon jungle, or murals that transport you into a different world entirely.

Accessories & Souvenirs

If you’ve purchased accessories and souvenirs from your travels, these can be a great addition to your room. Though just be careful to strike the right balance between tacky souvenirs, and those that actually add value to the room.

For instance, you may have a scarf collection with beautiful fabrics you bought from China. Consider a scarf rack openly hanging from one of your walls. Or, if you bought back African carvings one time, consider where you might place them.

It actually doesn’t matter if the piece itself doesn’t scream ‘travel’ to an outsider, it’s the symbolism it offers, and the memories it brings back when you look at it, knowing where it came from.

Lighting

Lighting is something that most people completely forget about when designing a travel inspire room, but you can really add a sense of culture with the lights you choose.

From Asian style lanterns to Moroccan candle holders, you can completely transport yourself to a different world just with lighting – so don’t discard this aspect by sticking to a generic table lamp.

Or, why not turn your whole roof into a galaxy with stick on glow in the dark stars or the like – you could recreate the feeling of being in the outdoors camping, even though you’re warm and cozy inside!

Ultimately, get creative and think outside the box – why not bring the world into your bedroom!

Resources

➤ If you’re importing specific travel items from overseas or buying exotic pieces for your bedroom online, it’s important to make sure you comply with the border security and customs rules, duties and screening processes for your country.

➤ If you’re buying new pieces or feature items with which you’re not previously experienced, make sure you fully research what’s involved with having it in your room. For instance, if you purchase an aquarium to go with a Maldives theme, make sure you’re ready for keeping your aquarium clean.

➤ If you don’t own your home (i.e. you’re renting), or if you’re looking at selling in the near future, don’t make any changes which might permanently damage walls. Check the rental agreement with your landlord as to what you can and can’t do – i.e. you may not be allowed to paint walls.

Analisse Weathers is a blogger and writer who covers home improvement, home renovation, home repairs, and just about anything related to home-related subjects. Her ultimate aspiration is to become an interior designer someday.