There’s planning the vacation, there’s taking the vacation, and then there’s reliving and remembering the vacation.
I am a huge picture person - I regularly click through old Facebook albums and scroll through my Instagram feed to remember vacations gone by.
But having a physical picture is so much better than viewing it through a screen.
Professional framing is costly and hanging photos is complicated. Here are some cheap and easy ways to display your favorite vacation pictures. Because being surrounded by vacation pictures is a great way to keep the memories alive and inspire more travel.
DIY Photo Display
I absolutely love this photo display I made - and as someone who isn’t exactly crafty, I promise it’s easy.
Buy or find an old window shutter (I picked mine up from a yard sale)
Buy these small and adorable clothes pins, clear fishing line and push pins from a craft store or Amazon
Use your favorite photo printing service (Shutterfly, Snapfish, Mpix, etc.)
String up your pictures and voila!
I love this idea because it’s easy to swap out pictures as often as you want! I also hung a few other trinkets on the push-pins including my evil eye from Santorini and painted tile from Paros.
2. Mini Photo Books
Committing to an entire photo album is intimidating. That’s why I loved these little books that can each hold the pictures from one or two vacations.
They don’t take up too much space on your bookshelf and hold 36 4x6 photos. These are similar!
I keep them on my bookshelf and try to remember to flip through them once in awhile. You can also throw in maps, ticket stubs, subway cards, and other memories from your vacation to create a mini-scrapbook!
3. Good Old Fashioned Picture Frames
A stroll through the aisles of a HomeGoods, Marshals or Target will give you a million photo frame options. I love these wood and acrylic frames I found on Amazon and I also love the look of a floating picture created in the gold frame.
4. Minimalist Photo Display
Looking for a super minimalist way to display pictures? Here’s a hack - buy some place card holders typically used at dinner parties and weddings and use them to hold pictures!
I would recommend printing pictures a little smaller than usual if this is the method you’re going to use to display them - but I love the look. I picked these little bronze ones up from the Fotografiska in Stockholm, but you can find similar ones on Etsy and Amazon.
Another minimalist display idea is this magnetic photo cord that I also bought at the Fotografiska. You can fit this virtually anywhere!
5. Canvas and Metal Prints
Some pictures just deserve more than a frame - and for those, I like to blow them up and give them the canvas treatment. Above my couch I picked three pictures with the same color scheme:
The Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna, Austria
Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal
Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark
And in my bedroom are two canvases from photos I took in Greece circa 2011. I will never forget receiving these as a Christmas present from my aunt, an incredible photographer, and it made me feel so legit!
If you’re feeling fancy, you can also try printing on metal. The crisp blue of Jasper’s Spirit Island in the Canadian Rockies just screamed metal print to me.
6. Simple Poster Frames
Let’s be honest - frames for larger prints are super expensive. Sure, a professional framing looks great. But its costly and the hanging is complicated in its own right.
I prefer to buy these magnetic poster frames that clip right on, are super affordable, and super easy to hang with a little nail or even a thumbtack! Plus it’s way easier and affordable to swap the frame color if you switch up your interior design.
Currently waiting for the print to come in for the above frame, but you get the idea!
