apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

In my opinion, having posters or souvenirs of the city where you live is rather kitschy - and not in a good way. Folks who visit my home can see all that stuff in the giftshops, or simply look out the windows.

I prefer mementos of places I've visited to decorate my home.

I actually have that design (but the one from DC). We may not always live here, but it's where my husband and I met and got engaged. It's a huge part of our relationship and home.

I take photos of places I've been and prefer to decorate with those versus a bunch of photos or posters from where I live. That said I have a large framed photo of the Love Statue in Philly that I purchased before I lived in Philly up on my wall. I prefer to take people out to see the city and let them take their own mementos home. Instead of decorating with local flavor I try to feed my guests with local food at home or if we eat out.

Inevitably, we represent where we live by living there, by the style of architecture, the view out the window. In my case, perhaps it's only the California art that really gives it away. We do have things from places we have been to or lived in.

I have a framed MTA map in my hallway by the front door. Part decor, part useful information, it makes me smile to have it in my home. I plan to continue to add to the theme while I live in New York (I have a Mets pennant waiting to be hung up). I do have pics and mementos from other travels in my apartment, but I love creating a space that honors where I live now and the experiences I have here.

If anything, a lo of what we do can be represented in the books we keep on the place we call home, for me, I have several local authors, history books on the area and such but as for consciously representing my city? no but I do have a view of it from my living room so I think that counts, doesn't it? :-)

Taking a quick survey, I don't see anything that gives away either my place of origin (Texas) or my current place (Colorado). Although I've really been wanting some prints from campsteve.com, that's more because I dig the artwork than because they "represent."

~Q

I have some vintage NYC postcards from the '20s through the '50s hanging in frames in my entry. For me, it's not only about my love for New York, but about my love of the history of the city as well. Collecting the cards was great fun -- one is from a elementary school age girl writing to her teacher about her holiday. Another is from a young man writing to his parents in the Midwest about seeing television for the first time in NYC -- how it's just like watching a movie but not as clear.

Decorative items representing Texas don't generally suit my taste.

I love having artwork and maps up of some of the places I've lived before and the places I've visited—they always bring back great memories—but nothing of the current city in which I live. Not that I won't if I find something fantastic, I just haven't yet.

I have two pieces of art from my newfound home of LA. I also have a cityscape of Portland OR where i used to live and a bunch of photos/art from my hometown of Chicago IL.

I have a giant 1919 map of National Mall area of DC chopped up and framed in my living room...and I live in DC. I like it, and my friends/neighbors love to look at it and see how that area has changed since then.

I'm a lifelong New Yorker newly married to a Brit who has lived here about 3 years. I'm a novice at home organization/decor, but some of the wall art or decorative elements I'm choosing are sort of jokey references to his Englishman in New York status-- a "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster or a funny little Union Jack pillow that I may have actually found via this site. That's been my choice more than his, as he plays a very limited role in any home decor projects! Maybe it's an attempt at making him feel represented while showing him that I realize we're living on my "turf" right now and don't take it for granted. As for me representing NCY, we don't have anything yet, but I am trying to get a print of an illustration by Saul Steinberg that he did in the 1970s as a New Yorker cover-- View of the World from 9th Avenue. One of those humorous takes on the New York-centric view of the rest of the world.

I live in Iowa, and I have a 1950s-era graphic Iowa map framed in my dining room. It's got such great mid-century illustrations of Iowa life--plus, I'm relatively new to Iowa and it helps me learn my state geography.

I also have prints in my bedroom of 1940s-era "big letter" linen postcards from the town in Minnesota where we vacation each year and from the town where my husband and I went to college and met.

I think my "place" art primarily represents my love for mid-century graphic design, and the fact that is features places I love is just a bonus.

We have the green San Francisco Ork poster in our Chicago home and then the red Chicago version in our SF apartment. (Don't ask why we have two apartments - it's complicated.)

I recently moved to a funky and vibrant loft community located in an edgy and diverse neighborhood in SoCal. On a clear day (mostly, every day), we have gorgeous views of the mountains from the 3rd floor. We have also great views of the 5 freeway... we can even tell how traffic is before heading out of the door - ha! It's a great little community and we have our own monthly art walk in addition to the city's. I am selectively buying art from my neighbors/friends and other local artists. I also never ever forget where I come from (a very special place in South America) and display large b&w photographs that very strongly speak to me and represent my culture.

People who look my place over might think I have traveled extensively, since as a flea marketer I find other people's cast off souvenirs, and if I like them, I get them! So I have things from Indonesia, Japan, China, various places in Africa, and all over... I actually did travel to Egypt, Libya, and to London, so a few items come from there, but not much. But the town where I live in New Hampshire? Nothing. There isn't much that's iconographic about most small cities and towns, so you urbanites have an edge there.

We live in Vancouver, BC and use a lot of natural, native things to decorate - arbutus wood candlesticks (arbutus is a beautiful native tree), an arbutus stump as a nightstand, stones and shells from the islands around here. Other than that, all we've got is a souvenir spoon (I collect souvenir spoons). But then, we're originally from Chicago - I used to really want a Chicago neighborhoods map.

I actually have several Bay Area themed things in my apartment in Oakland. I have an SF ORK poster, a print of a sign from a now-closed burger joint that's in my neighborhood, and another poster that's a vintage map of the bay area printed on top of a map of the area of SoCal where I grew up. That last one if both complicated to describe and to look at.

I also have a lot of photos I've taken from all over the place on my walls along with silly tourist paintings that I bought in Italy. I think the Bay Area things work with everything else without sticking out too much.

We don't celebrate where we live currently as much as we'd like to recreate the feel of where we *used* to live. Thus, our living room will... eventually... evoke New Orleans.

I'm torn somewhat between two cities. While I live in Sydney, I would love to live in San Francisco, and, as such, have SF-related stuff. But I know that if I did live in San Francisco, I'd still miss Sydney and would have Sydney-related things up.

I love my vintage Seattle candy dish

http://flickr.com/photos/shilobyrd/2899848586/in/set-72157607584742755/

OMG!!! That's by one of my good friend's sister!!! I just did the BIGGEST double take when I saw this on my favorite site--wow! And yes, I definitely have that one, since I'm from SF! Craziness!!! (Go Megan! lol)

I have trail maps from national forests and wilderness areas in Oregon decorating my living room walls. It reminds me of where I grew up and helps me feel like I'm still surrounded by big trees while giving some color to my boring, white rental walls.

What I really want to do is blow up some black and white photographs of early Tel Aviv bauhaus architecture. Maybe a project for the spring cure?

Our Oregon collection fills our built-in china cabinet.

the featured san francisco print is sold out.... nooooo :(

Wow, this is so cool- I love Apartment Therapy! Just FYI, the SF print is not sold out. It is still available (along with other cities) at www.artsharkdesigns.etsy.com. Thanks!

I love my city. It made me who I am. I want a few tasteful art pieces representing it in my home.

I'm originally from the Boston area, so I found it easy to gather up Massachusetts stuff -- old photos of my college, postcards from my family's house on the Cape, etc etc. I find it tough to come up with some stuff from my new home -- Hartford, Connecticut. Any suggestions for finding cool stuff from not-as-cool places?