Creative Ways to Display Your Treasures

Q: 'I’m looking for a creative way to showcase trinkets I’ve collected over the years on my travels. I have lots of space but I’m lacking the creativity! Any quick and easy ideas for me to try?' Sarah, Hastings.

A: There must be 101 ways to display your fabulous finds at home, but I have a few go-tos that always make an impact and are super easy to achieve. Here are my top three display solutions.

String up a washing line and create a horizontal collage of your favourite photos, postcards and ticket stubs along a bare wall. Coordinate your backdrop by picking a wall colour with the help of the Dulux Visualizer app – it'll suggest paint hues based on your haul of travel memorabilia for a divine display.

We recommend using a neutral paint shade, such as White Chiffon or Almond White, so that your photos take centre stage. Use pegs and clips to pin your bits and bobs up and have fun rearranging whenever the mood takes you.

For those who have larger items to show off or who are itching for a meatier DIY project, have a go at creating your own fitted wall units.

Raw materials such as chipboard and reclaimed timber are in right now, so consider using these materials for your construction. Once you've completed the structure, give some of your boxes a hit of colour by painting the interior a shade that contrasts with your item, and see how your favourite things shine.

If you’re an avid globe-trotter and want to show off the travel souvenirs you’ve acquired over the years, a great way to do this is with a mounted wall cubby. This shelf style can feature multiple miniature spaces – perfect for displaying all kinds of unique items from around the world. Mounted wall cubbies come in a variety of sizes and colours, so it’s easy to find just the one to suit your space.

From vases to postcards, mounted wall cubbies are ideal for showcasing your things. Plus, they add a lovely vintage look to any space. 

If you don’t fancy using shelves to display your treasures, consider using a couple of old suitcases instead. You can use the suitcases as shelves by cutting them in half and mounting the front sections onto walls. Or, if you have small suitcases that are no longer in use, you can simply place them on a bedroom cabinet and leave them open to reveal your favourite items. Since suitcases are so sturdy, you can use them to store heavier items such as large ornaments. 

Creating memory jars is another fabulous method of storing your travel souvenirs without using shelves. This is a quirky way to display smaller items such as shells or rocks that will become a point of interest in your home. It’s a good idea to store similar travel items together, and there are plenty of ways to organise them.

For example, you could group your souvenirs by country or by the year that you collected them. Simply find a few spare clear jars you might have lying around the house and fill them up to create wonderful holiday memory features. The great thing about memory jars is that you can make as many or as few as you like, depending on how many treasures you’d like to display.

I hope that helps Sarah, and I hope you now feel inspired to decorate your home with your prized possessions. If you need any more inspiration, stay tuned to our inspiration page, where you'll find all manner of exciting home ideas.

Download the Visualizer app and create your own scheme around your treasures today.