Adding cultural elements to your living space is a fantastic way to connect with your heritage. Here are some ways to celebrate your culture through home decor.
There’s no better place to display your culture than in your own home. Your home reflects who you are as a person, after all. If you regularly feel homesick, make your home feel more familiar and comforting by including the sights, sounds, and scents of your culture in your home decor. These elements can help connect you with your ancestral roots, even when you’re living far away from home and family. Or, if you’ve never felt particularly connected with their heritage but want to dig deeper into that connection now, immersing yourself in common cultural elements is one of the easiest and most effective ways to do it. Whatever the reason, if you want to bring your culture alive in your home and everyday life, here are some unique ways to celebrate your culture through home decor to make your house feel more like a home.
Music To Your Ears
Music is an invaluable part of many cultures. You might wonder: how can I incorporate music into my home decor? Isn’t it something that people hear, not see? You can’t physically display music—that’s true—but you can display everything that your culture uses to bring music to life: instruments, song lyrics, dance regalia, or even old records. Try your hand at making your very own Native American hand drum, and keep it somewhere safe. Why not display your grandmother’s old traje de flamenca that she wore at festivals? If there’s a traditional song that you love, print the lyrics onto a wall decal or tapestry, and display them on the wall of your living room.
Nostalgic Smells
Another way to celebrate your culture through home decor is to include nostalgic smells. Does the smell of cooked vegetables and meat remind you of your mother’s savory, homemade baozi? Maybe the scent of saltwater brings back memories of the beach in your hometown. Smell is the best sense at conjuring up feelings of nostalgia. Much like music, you’ll have a difficult time incorporating smell directly into your home decor. You can, however, purchase items that give off these familiar scents. With a diffuser and essential oils, you can make your home smell how you want, when you want. The same goes for candles and incense. Plants are another great option if you want to include a subtle floral smell in your home decor.
Furniture and Art
Less abstract than music and smell, cultural furniture and artwork are two of the best things you can use to spruce up your home decor. You can purchase your own, but before you spend, ask your family if they have any heritage furniture or art that they’re not using. These items might be older and need a little TLC, but the fact that they’ve been in your family for years—maybe even for generations—makes them special. If you’re planning to purchase the furniture and art, consider shopping at stores run by native artists. These items will be more authentic and of a higher quality than ones mass-produced by a manufacturer.
