Well-Traveled Homes

After spending an evening with the book The Well-Traveled Home, great examples of well-traveled home decorating were popping out all over Pinterest. I tend to pin these styles anyway, so I studied them more to see what worked in them. And, what I liked about them. I call my style “natural nomadic luxe” – mixing different cultures with a touch of elegance. So for example, I admire the festival of colors and the handiwork of kutchi embroidery such as this pillow cover that was from Banjara Textiles …

… although for my home I’d choose something a bit more neutral but just as embroidered and decorative. Maybe like the home decor equivalent of this salwar kameez from Cbazaar in India:

So with that “natural nomadic luxe” idea in mind, here are some well-traveled homes that caught my eye …

From Interiors Aug/Sept 2011 issue, this home has textiles from several areas of Indonesia, mixed with contemporary surroundings and furniture shapes:

They could have chosen to go more mod or slick in this house, or even more industrial loft. But instead it feels like a home where well-traveled people live. And you know there are likely many stories about the trip when they found the Indonesian textiles.

I love this home. Pieces from travels to different countries and cultures are woven into this bedroom. It’s in the home of Danish fashion designer Naja Munthe:

This is only one room in an entire home with artifacts from travels on artful display. See more photos at the photo gallery at Mad & Bolig.

In this room, while the curtains and the silk tassels are from Morocco, for most people it’s hard to tell because they could be in any traditional American home. I see a lot of window-dressings like this in upscale homes in the Midwest. But obviously the jali effect on the window and the chair are from somewhere very far away:

That room is in Ryad Dyor in Marrakech. Visit their site, you may recognize many photos from Pinterest.

This little corner of a home feels like it’s representing a variety of styles and, yes, travels. It was featured in MilK:

This room is by Martyn Lawrence Bullard and if I remember correctly, it’s in one of Cher’s homes:

I wrote of Cher’s Indian fantasy penthouse before. And I made a plea to her to adopt me so I can live there, but I never heard anything yet. Really, I’m a grown 40-something and I can bring in my own income and take care of myself. I’ll even clean up after myself and cook for myself. Nothing needs to be done to take care of me. I have no major psychological issues. I do not lie or steal, none of that bad stuff. Just give me a room to sleep in the penthouse. That is all.

These photos from AD Spain’s May 2011 issue offer clues that the family in this home has traveled far beyond where they live. Many more gorgeous photos of this home are featured by ECLECChic:

With that, I leave you for a bit because I’m doing significant traveling this week. Traveling on Sunday to give a conference presentation in Minnesota on Monday, then traveling to Ohio for a meeting on Tuesday, than traveling back to Chicago for one day in the office before catching our 8 p.m. flight out to Abu Dhabi, and then Chennai, India. Whew! I’ll next report from India.

And, oh! While writing this post, I got a “Happy Anniversary” note from WordPress. October 25 was this blog’s three-year birthday. Wow, guess I’m not the sentimental type. Thanks for remembering, WordPress! It’s perfect timing because this blog has helped me a lot to find and embrace my personal style, “natural nomadic luxe.”