The Peacock Pavilions hotel in Marrakesh; its proprietor leads travelers on day-long expeditions through the city’s souks. Journeying to a new place lets you try on what living in another culture feels and looks like, whether you’re exploring the adobe house-filled streets of Santa Fe or the lantern-lit alleys of an ancient Moroccan city. Many travelers, dazzled by the rug sellers of Istanbul or the pottery workshops of Oaxaca, return with worldly housewares or art to decorate their homes.
While cool art and vintage home decor are available at most destinations, “you’ll find more handmade items like textiles, rugs and baskets if you travel to places like Morocco, India and Mexico, which still have living crafts cultures,” says Sachasinh.To get straight to the treasure hunting, you could hire a tour guide who specializes in shopping for a few hours.
“I’m wary of checking a bag with breakables, though,” says Bradley, who has ferried glass and pottery back from Cambodia and South Africa in a hard-sided carry-on. Grouping disparate travel finds on a gallery wall can make them seem cohesive. “I have the most random ... stuff hung on the wall of the staircase at my house — a painting from India, a brass bowl I got in Turkey,” says San Francisco interior designer. “It’s like a chronicle of my life, and these things remind me of special moments when I get back home.” Indagare’s Bradley arranges Iranian tiles, Burmese boxes and Peruvian ceramics amid the novels and art books on her shelves.