By Laura Studarus Entertainment 10.09.2026

"I Travel for a Living – These Habits I Picked Up Abroad Transformed My Home"

Ever feel like you’re the best version of yourself on holiday? A travel writer shares the simple rituals she’s brought home to make life feel richer and more intentional.

Writer, photographer, and avid traveler Laura Studarus reveals the small habits she developed while being on the road for months at a time, helping her create a sanctuary at home.

It took me years to notice that my neighbors have the most beautiful yellow roses I’ve ever seen. And several more years to realize why creating beauty where you live is important.

I’m a travel journalist – a job which is exactly as much fun and chaotic as you might imagine. Over the years, travel allowed me to check off dozens of lines on my bucket list, including learning how to dive like a mermaid in Bora Bora, snap selfies in Japan during cherry blossom season, and dog sled in the Finnish Arctic Circle.

But all this adventuring means I only spend about half the year at home, short bursts of two or three weeks at a time that feel like an eternity. I used to joke that I’d swing by to sleep and change clothes. Secretly, I hated being at home. Or at least I thought I did.

Spoiler alert: my hometown, just north of Los Angeles, is a lovely place to be. My house isn’t the enemy either. What actually sent my mind recoiling wasn’t a much-needed dose of rest and suburbia – it was coming back to a life that lacked the intention and meaning I found on the road.

The good news: the tools I needed to make my time at home special were mindsets that I had already practiced while traveling. For anyone who has ever struggled with reentry after a bucket list trip, here are my tips for making time at home feel just as special as being on the other side of the world.

Personalize Your Space

The Danish tradition of Hygge translates to creating a cozy space. But my blank walled bedroom at home was the polar opposite. I justified the room’s storage locker-like appearance, telling myself I wasn’t home often enough to invest in a comfortable bed or really tailor the space to my tastes.

But when home repairs destroyed an internal wall, I surprised myself by topping off the renovations by impulsively painting my room dark blue – a nod to the color accents at my favorite resort in the Maldives. A big new bed, and framed pictures on the wall quickly followed. For the first time in my adult life, I suddenly had a nest that I couldn’t wait to get back to after a long flight.

Actually Use Your Souvenirs

Like most travelers, I’m a fan of bringing home little things I fall in love with on the road. Currently, my bathroom is populated with Japanese skin care products and my kitchen shelves are lined with Moomin cookies from Finland.

However, I was struggling to embrace the carpe diem attitude of life on the road, where I’ll actively seek out little pleasures. Instead, I convinced myself that my souvenirs are rewards that need to be earned instead of memories to be enjoyed.

Reality check: refusing to romanticize the mundane of my life at home wasn't making me more virtuous – just miserable.

Now when I’m tempted to wait until I’ve finished an assignment to make a cup of the tea I bought in Poland, or break into the chocolate I bought in Switzerland, I’ll remind myself that if something is worth taking up space in my luggage, it’s worth a spot in my day-to-day life.

Stop Multitasking (Or at Least Try To!)

At home, my meals weren’t the focus of my day. I used breakfast as an excuse to doomscroll, scrambled to answer emails over lunch, and inhaled afternoon treats while racing to reach deadlines.

I didn’t realize how much pleasure I was missing until I started adding traditionally prepared matcha to my morning routine. Sipping from a bowl that takes two hands to hold has an unexpected side-effect: I couldn’t also hold my phone.

This isn’t a problem I have while traveling. Even at the most run-of-the-mill restaurant I’ll often bring a book, only to leave it in my bag because I’m so engaged in the experience of eating something new, somewhere new. Novelty isn’t always an option at home – my culinary skills don’t stretch far past avocado toast. But putting my phone away and actually concentrating on the experience of having a meal really has become my favorite seasoning.

Really Notice Your Surroundings

I’ve always loved the French idea of the flâneur, someone who strolls through the city and notices things simply for the sake of seeing. And in other countries, I certainly take up that title with the enthusiasm of someone ready to walk holes in her shoes – something that has actually happened to me. More than once.

But at home, my hot girl walks are usually accompanied by podcasts, mentally drafting emails, or otherwise ignoring the route I take nearly every day. That is, until I made a conscious effort to really look at the neighborhood I’d been mindlessly strolling through. Imagine my surprise when the so-called cookie-cutter suburbia contained a clutch of Little Free Libraries, children’s chalk sidewalk drawings, and gorgeous landscaping – aka the things that make daily ordinary life feel magical.