The $1 Decor That Brightens Up My Walls

I’ve been very fortunate to travel a lot over the past few years. My friends and family are scattered across the country. Between visiting them and going on my own adventures abroad, I’ve made it to some far-flung places.

One thing I’ve learned along the way is that I’m not much of a souvenir buyer. Shopping often feels like a chore to me, and it’s even less appealing when I have to drag everything home in my suitcase. You won’t find me buying kitschy mugs, magnets or keychains anymore. These days, the only souvenir I buy without fail is a postcard: light, cheap and more versatile than you might think.

Turning postcards into budget décor was my favorite college dorm trick. I used to buy them from local bookstores and gift shops to hang on my walls, but they never really had meaning. As I started traveling more, I turned it into a little game: Every time I went somewhere new, I’d bring back a postcard and add it to my collection. Then it became personal — and so much more fun.

Fast forward a few years, and my collection now takes up several feet of space above the desk in my apartment. I love looking at it. I get to stare at it every day while I’m working, and it puts me in a more relaxed, creative mood. It makes a great conversation starter, too, because every piece of it tells a story. When I plan trips now, I’m always itching to add new elements to the wall.

When I’m shopping for a new postcard, I don’t always look for a landmark or a famous vista. I want to choose something that represents the place as I experienced it so I can remember how it felt to be there. I’ll often bring back options and choose the one that feels right.

For example, I bought three cards on my most recent trip to London: A generic illustration of Big Ben, a photo of the famous Notting Hill bookshop and a greeting card from Kew Gardens. That last one is the least recognizable. It’s an unlabeled drawing of one of the greenhouses; you wouldn’t know what city it’s in unless you’d been there. But that’s the one I hung up because it reminds me of the afternoon I spent there with my friend, and that’s the memory I want to keep.

I did the same thing in Washington, D.C. I used to visit my grandparents there as a kid, so that metro is one of the first subway systems I got to know. Its cold Brutalist architecture just feels like D.C. to me, so I chose a moody, gray illustration of one of the stations over a nicer photo of the National Mall. It captures the feeling of being there.

If you’re a frequent flier or decorating on a budget, I highly recommend starting your own postcard wall. It’s an easy, inexpensive and rewarding way to let your space reflect your journey — literally.