More and more homeowners are wanting their interiors to feel like the places they love most—not like a generic “style,” but like the resorts, cities, mountains, and gardens that stay with them long after a trip ends. That lines up with a broader design shift for 2026: homes that are curated, personal, and experience-driven, not just styled to a trend.
At Speas Interior Design, we see travel as one of the most natural starting points for that kind of design. Instead of copying a resort property, we look for the specific details that made you feel at ease and then integrate those ideas into a home that is better than a vacation property could ever be—because it’s yours, every day, tailored to your preferences.
Below are a few ways travel inspiration can thoughtfully shape your home.
Architectural Details Inspired by Places You Love
Specialty details built into the architecture of your home are often the most powerful way to bring travel memories home.
You might picture a wraparound front porch that reminds you of your time on the East Coast—wide enough for chairs, a swing, and long conversations—or large panoramic sliding doors that let the indoor and outdoor spaces exist as one, like you saw at a mountain resort.
These elements can be planned into a remodel or new home construction, so they belong to your home’s architecture and atmosphere, rather than feeling like borrowed scenery from somebody else’s vacation.
Colorado-Inspired Interior Design
If you want your home to be more “Colorado” styled, you can still take inspiration from the mountains and ski resorts of Vail and Aspen: large, exposed timbers and beams, and large-scale stone on your wood burning fireplace can bring that lodge-inspired feeling into your living room while still respecting your home’s proportions and layout.
Outdoor Living & Designer Outdoor Entertaining Spaces
Outdoor fireplaces or firepits extend the indoor experience into the landscape, creating spaces for gathering that work just as well on an ordinary Tuesday as they do when guests visit. All of this connects back to a broader trend toward biophilic design and creating indoor–outdoor flow: letting nature and light become part of your everyday routine.
Landscaping can also make a meaningful difference. With beautiful plantings and a green thumb, you can recreate the feel of a week at the lake or an entire English-style garden in your own backyard—layered borders, defined paths, and quiet seating corners—without ever having to go to the airport.
Making Your Bathroom Feel Like A Spa
One of the most common requests a designer hears is: “I want my bathroom to feel like this spa or hotel we stayed in on our last trip.” That’s not a coincidence. Globally inspired, wellness-focused spaces translate exceptionally well into real homes.
A few elements we consider:
- Japanese soaking tubs in cedar or hinoki with integrated heaters to keep the water warm while you soak.
- Saunas and steam showers that bring a spa-like experience home.
- Bidet or washlet toilets that add comfort you may have first experienced abroad.
- Showers with body jets and rainfall showerheads.
In this way, your bathroom becomes a daily reminder of a favorite trip—but more flexible, more private, and designed specifically for how you prefer to live: calm when you need to reset, practical when you are getting ready for the day, and durable enough to serve you well for years.
Bringing the Tastes of Vacation Home with Special Appliances
If some of your favorite experiences involve dining or gathering, the kitchen is a natural place to start for your travel inspired design.
We can incorporate features you’ve loved before, like:
- Wok burners or specialty cooktops or ranges, bringing the ability to cook with high, focused heat the way you experienced in restaurant kitchens, or street markets.
- A built-in wine dispenser that helps keep that Italian wine fresh for longer at the right temperature.
- Coffee, tea, or home working stations that mirror the rituals you enjoyed on your trip.
A travel-inspired kitchen in 2026 fits into your layout, storage, and daily routines—something no resort kitchen can fully do because it isn’t built around your family.
Designing Display & Storage for the Memories You Bring Back
When building or remodeling your home, thinking about how you will display your photos and mementos from your travels is something we consider every day. That’s why we give you storage and space to present those pieces that truly matter.
That might include:
- Alcoves and other ledges that can be configured during construction.
- A built-in bookcase in your office or library.
- Display cabinets in your formal dining room or living area.
We also look closely at practical questions:
- Adjustable vs. fixed shelves—what makes the most sense for what you want to display?
- How to light the shelves—does lighting make sense in the space, and if so, should we light the front, top, or back of the item? Glass and solid pieces behave very differently under light, and those details change how your collections feel.
Here are two recent projects where travel inspirations became the backbone of our design decisions.
At “Tranquil Transformation,” the clients were in the military and were overseas for many years. While in India they purchased several beautiful rugs that have held up for over 30 years—as well as an antique sword thought to be from the 1600s! Part of the design work was determining where and how that sword should live so it feels respected, safe, and integrated into the architecture rather than simply hung wherever there was space. The colors of their gorgeous rug collection tie the colors of their Colorado home together beautifully, becoming anchors for the color palette and our material choices.
In our “Contemporary Canyon Oasis” project, the clients have traveled to many locales and lived in Mexico for many years before settling down in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of their prized possessions is a Mesoamerican chess set that depicts Aztecs and Spanish Conquistadors on etched glass upon a metal base. Once our homeowners found this chess set, they knew they wanted a one-of-a-kind table for it to sit on. Fine custom furniture maker Benham Design Concepts created a beautiful walnut and stone table that looks like a tree and has leaves that slide out to use while playing. Instead of the chess set simply occupying a corner, the table and the surrounding room were designed around it, turning a single object from their travels into a focal point that feels completely at home in the space.
We Can Customize A Home That Feels Like Your Favorite Place—But Better
Resorts, hotels, and faraway locales are wonderful precisely because they take you out of your day-to-day life. But they are designed for many guests and short stays. A travel-inspired home, when it’s done thoughtfully, can capture the best parts of those experiences—everything you love most and translate them into spaces that are tailored to your family.
At Speas Interior Design, we use your travel inspirations as a starting point for a broader conversation about how you want to live now and in the future. Our showroom is located in Colorado Springs. We proudly serve clients across the US and in the surrounding area. Give us a call at (719) 685-0144 or contact us online to schedule your appointment.