How to Approach Home Decor as a Digital Nomad

Someone who is able to work remotely, would greatly benefit from the opportunity to travel the world, staying for a year or so in one city before moving to another. And it can be an exciting and a rewarding ride! The thing is, a sense of homelessness does eventually get to spoil the fun. It’s not about homesickness, which is there from the start and fades away, but a disorientation that comes from not ever feeling settled.

It could take a couple of years to realize that part of the problem is that an avid digital nomad would not bother making any of those temporary abodes an actual home. They are just spaces to live in until moving on, and it seems like a waste of time and money to put any effort into decorating them and making them a home.

Buying movable interior design is expensive and impractical. With do it yourself projects, however one can actually afford so much more and be able to better adapt it to different homes. It can make a very big impact on the life of remote employees and help them create a home away from home.

If you are new to the remote work life, here are some ideas as to how to approach home decor when you don’t have a permanent home.

There is one consistent factor you will have to take into account no matter where you are living. That factor is your desk, where you will spend hours each day working to maintain your lifestyle. Your remote work is what makes this life possible. And if you can take the same environment everywhere you go, you will bring a much greater sense of stability.

Paint some small pictures to put in frames you have designed yourself. Use other frames for photos of your loved ones. Upcycle some containers to use as pots for various plants around the world. A familiar desk will help keep you sane during turbulent moving periods.

When designing your decor for your temporary homes, keep in mind that you are going to start feeling a sense of nostalgia for your city or country. You will want items that remind you of your culture back home.

For this reason, you will get a lot of benefit from using patterns and styles that would actually feel out of place back home. After all, you’re not going to have nostalgic fare up when you are in the place you’re nostalgic for. But what feels kitsch when settled at home will give you a lot of comfort when on the move.

Finally, it is important that you remember that as much as you want your decor to impart that sense of familiarity, almost as important is practicality. It is no use creating designs that will be difficult to transport or that may not work in any other space. Whatever you build should be easy to adapt no matter where you are, even if you are going to have to downsize in a country with higher rent.

Practicality is key to a digital nomad lifestyle. That does not mean you have to keep your home sparse and minimalistic, but your design does need to be movable and hardy.

Published in: Home advice | Author: Josh