18 Tips for Creating a Boho Style Home - The Spruce

Boho style home decor combines items that are relaxed, bold, and unconventional. The look typically involves an eclectic mix of natural elements ... TheSpruce/AlmarCreative Nowadays,inrelationtostyle,"boho"isatermusedtodefinethingsthatareunconventionalandartistic;however,ithelpsto understandtherootsofbohemianstyleinordertopulloffthelookauthenticallyinyourhome.  Sowhatdoesbohoreally mean?Well,first,it'sshorthandfortheFrenchword bohémien,referringtoBohemia,aregioninpresent-dayCzechRepublic.BohemiawaserroneouslybelievedtobethehomelandoftheRomanipeople,thelargestethnicminoritygroupinEurope.OriginatinginIndia,theRomanilargelyledambulantlifestylesandwereknownfortheircreativity,manybeingskilledartists,musicians,andtradespeople. In16thcenturyFrance,theword"bohemian"evolvedtoincludeanyartist,writer,actor,ormusicianwholedanunconventionallifestyle,travelingquiteabitthroughoutmajorEuropeancitieswithlittlemoney.AmorerecenthotbedforbohocultureexistedinGreenwichVillageinNewYorkCityduringthe1950s,otherwiseknownasthebeatgeneration,whicheventuallygavewaytothehippycultureofthe1960sand'70s.WhiletheRomanipeoplewhoinspiredthisstylehaveexperiencedpersecutionanddiscriminationforcenturies,afterbeingembracedbymiddleandupper-classWhitepeople,bohodesigncametobemainlyviewedastrendyandfashionable.  Today,bohemianismoreofanadjectivethananounandindicatesanaestheticthattakesitsinfluencefromthosefreespiritsofgenerationspast.Themodernbohostylelookiseclecticandemphasizesnaturalelementsandvintagepiecesfromthe1950s,'60s,and'70s.Withsuchafocusonglobalinfluences,bohodesigncanbepronetoculturalappropriation.Toensureyourspacecelebratesotherculturesrespectfully,itisessentialtoeducateyourselfaboutthesignificanceofitemsyouchoosetoincorporateandpayattentiontowhereproductsaresourcedfrom.Hereareeighteenwaystoembracebohodesigninyourhome. WhatIsaBohoStyleHome? Bohostylehomedecorcombinesitemsthatarerelaxed,bold,andunconventional.Thelooktypicallyinvolvesaneclecticmixofnaturalelementsandmanycolors,patterns,andtextures. 01 of18 MixPatternsandColorsWithAbandon DazeyDen Thereisafoolproofformulaformixingandmatchingthrowpillowslikeapro;but,whenitcomestocreatingabohostylespace,allrulesgooutthewindow.Brightcolorsandlotsofpatternssuchasfloralsandpaisleysmixedwithnaturalprintsandgeometricpatternsareahallmarkofbohostyle.Ifbrightsaren'tforyou,embraceasubduedmixofshadeslikeolivegreen,cognac,mustardyellow,andrustyoranges. Eveninalivingroomspace—likethisonebyDazeyDen—youcanthrowa mixofpillowsandthrowsonadaybedorsimplesofaforalayerofextracomfort,style,andeclecticenergy. 02 of18 UseNaturalandRusticFinishes Arbor&Co. Thehippieinfluenceofthe1960sand'70sonbohodesignusheredinaninfusionofaccessoriesthatutilizenaturalorrawmaterialssuchashemp,sisal,wood,andrattan.Thinkwovenwalldecor,macrameplanthangers,asisalarearug,oraleatheraccentchair. Althoughnaturaltexturesarekey,don'tletthatstopyoufromthrowinginmetallictoucheslikeafloorlampforalittleshinealongsidenaturalelementslikethistreetrunkcoffeetableinalivingroomdesignedbyArbor&Co. 03 of18 PutanEmphasisonCulture AfroBohemianLiving Bohemianstyleshavesignificanttiestoglobalandculturalaspects,soit'simportanttoknowexactlywhatyou'rerepresentingwhendecoratingyourspace.TheInstagrampageAfroBohemianLivingtakesthistoheart—thehallmarksofbohostylearepresent,withdistinctAfricancultureservingasthecenterofitall.Fromtheartworktothewovenbasketsanddecorativeitems,Africanpresenceisfeaturedallthroughoutherhome. 04 of18 AddGlobalAccents KShanDesign Giventhatbohoculturehasahistoryofcelebrating wanderingartists,homeaccessoriesthathaveaglobalfeelareimportantinabohemianstylespace. Again,thisiswherebeingmindfulofeachpiece'sculturalsignificanceisessential. Ifyou'reluckyenoughtotraveltofar-flunglocales,lookforbeautifulsouvenirsthatcanhelpyouachieveanatural-eclecticfeelinyourhomewithauthenticpieces;but,ifyoudon'thavethatluxury,shopthriftstores,fleamarkets,oruseappslikeNextdoorandMercaritofindglobalaccentsthatarebudget-friendlyandclosertohome.Wheneverpossible,trytosourceitemsdirectlyfromtheculturestheyoriginatefrom. Thenagain,youcanalsodecoratewithavintageglobe,aquirkyandcharmingtravel-centricaddition. Continueto5of18below. 05 of18 GoCasual KShanDesign It'sveryimportanttokeepinmindthatwhenitcomestothisstyle,keepitcasual. Boho-stylespacesarenotfussy. Thinkfloorcushionsandpoufs,pilesofpillowsoracomfyarearug,andspacesthatencourageconversation,reading,andlisteningtomusicorplayinggamesratherthanwatchingTVorhostingformaldinnerparties. 06 of18 TryThriftedPieces WilsonAesthetics Whilethriftingforthatperfectfindmayrequiresomeseriouseffort,youwouldbesurprisedathowmanypotentialbohoaccentsyoucanacquireonabudget—especiallywhenitcomestotexturedpieceslikewicker.EmmaWilsonofWilsonAestheticssnaggedthisgorgeouswickershelfonFacebookMarketplace,whichservesastheperfectplacetodisplayhercurateddecorcollection. 07 of18 LayerPlentyofTextures Cottage+Sea Havingtextureinyourspaceisimperativeforaboho-chicatmosphere,butitalsomattershowyouincorporatethem.Layeringtexturescanplayasignificantroleinthis.Placingonerugontopofanotheratadifferentangle,orevenlayingachunkyknitthrowonyourbedcanmakeallthedifferenceinaddingextracomfortandinterest. 08 of18 MixStyles BlancoBungalow Likeanyeclectic,interestinghomespace,boho-styleroomsmakecreativeuseofinterestinganduniquepieces.Butratherthanstickingsolelywithoneparticularstyle,thisconceptfocusesmoreonmidcenturymodernaccessoriesaswellasanythingreminiscentofthefreespirithippycultureofthe1960sand'70s.Forexample,amid-centuryhairpinlegdeskmixedwithageometricprintrugandasleekwhitebookshelfwithplantsgalorewillachievethelookflawlessly. Continueto9of18below. 09 of18 BeArtisticinYourDesign DazeyDen Nobohemian-stylespacewouldbecompletewithoutacurated,creativemixofartandbooks.Infact,beatniksofbygoneeraslikelyownedwaymorebooksthantheydidclothing,furniture,orothermaterialpossessions. Ifthisdecoratingstyleappealstoyou,youprobablyalreadyvaluethearts,soyou'rewellonyourway.Agoalofcreatingabohostylespacegivesyoualicensetopileartbooksonthecoffeetable,framealbumcoversaswallart,orhanganeclecticcollectionofartprintsonagallerywallthatstretchesfloortoceiling.Theresultsareoftendazzling,suchasinthisexampleoforganizedchaosofthisbluelivingroomdesignedbyDazeyDen. 10 of18 TryNeutralsWithBohoFlair EstherSchimdt Neutralsworkasafoundationformanydifferentstyles,andbohoisnoexception.Ifyouaren'taswildaboutgoingcolorfuloroverlyeclectic,thenfocusmoreonworkingwithyourneutralcolorschemeandaddingsomebohoaccentshereandthere.Thisgorgeouslivingroomincludesacuratedgallerywallwithvariousartprints,keepingthingscohesivewhilestillstayingtruetotheslightlychaoticaspectbohobringstomind.Thelayeringofaprintrugoverasolidwhiteone,andofcourse,theleatherandwickerdecoraccentsaddtotheoveralltheme. 11 of18 AddaTouchOfWhimsy AlvinWayne Bohostyleismeanttobeplayful,sotrytohavefunwithit.ThisstunningapartmentbyAlvinWaynehasitsshareofplants,mutedtones,andacalmingpresence—yetthegeometrictapestryonthewallboastingbright,abstracthuesaddsawhimsicaltouchtotheroomwithoutoverpoweringit. 12 of18 PairEarthyTexturesWithGlamorousOnes BlueCopperDesign Onelovelythingaboutthisstyleisyoudonothavetochoosebetweensomethingglamorousvs.somethingdowntoearth.Often,thetwoworktogetherperfectly.ThislivingroombyBlueCopperDesignshowshowit'sdone—optingforleatherandwoodaccentsinlightenedtonestoworkwiththeairy,chicwhitewallsandfloor-to-ceilingcurtains.Nomatterwhereyoulook,itfeelscomfortingandinviting. Continueto13of18below. 13 of18 AddAllthePlants LeafandLolo Truthfully,whenworkingwithabohemianstyle,youcanneverhavetoomanyplants.Theyserveastheperfectfunctionaldecorchoiceandaddlifetoanyroominyourhome.ThislivingroomfromLeafandLoloiscoveredwithdifferentplantsinvariousshapes,sizes,andstyles.Themacramewallhangingandthewickerbasketsonlyaddtothebohovibe. 14 of18 GiveitaPersonalTouch HomeandSpirit Ultimately,bohostyleisn'taboutcreatingsomething"perfect"—ithastodowithmakingthespacefeellikeyourown.Addingpersonaltouchescantiethingstogether.ThiscozycornerdesignedbyHomeandSpiritnotonlyincludesastringofpothosplants,butaskinnywoodenplantservesasaverticalshelfandapaintedmuraltoliventhingsupnexttothewhitemacramehammockchair. 15 of18 KeepItSimple Arbor&Co. Youdon'thavetogoallouttocreateaboho-centeredroom(unlessyouwantto!).Keepingthingssimplecansometimesbethekey—likethisbedroombyArbor&Co.Ablackandwhitecolorpalette,asimpletapestry,andanoversizerugmakeupmostofthedecorhere—yetitworkssoeffortlessly. 16 of18 AddaGalleryWall HouseofChais Gallerywallstrulycantakeaboho-decoratedroomtothenextlevel.Thekeyistoworknotonlywithphotosorartprintsbutalsowithobjects.Therearereallynorules—anddefinitelynorhymeorreason—tohowyourartcollectionsandobjectsshouldbearranged,andweencourageawhimsicalapproachwhereverpossible.ThisgorgeousexamplefromHouseofChaistrulybringsthewalltolife. Continueto17of18below. 17 of18 BringScandinavianandBohoVibesTogether S.U.S.A.P BohoandScandinavianstylesareoftenlinkedhandinhandwitheachother,thoughthereareafewdifferences.Scandinavianstylesfocusmoreonsimplicity,minimalism,andfunctionality,whereasbohotendstobemorefree-spiritedandimperfectinitsapproach.However,thetwostylescanworktogetherwell,especiallyinbedrooms.Theneutralcolorschemeandminimaldecorarepairedwithwhimsicalwickerbaskets,texturedthrows,andplentyofcomfortingattributes. 18 of18 AddaStatementPiece KShanDesign Bohemianstylesdonotnecessarilyneedacenterpiecetowork,butstatementpiecescanabsolutelycontributetotheroom'soverallfeel.ThisbedroombyKShanDesignhasplentyofnotableaccents,butthewickerflower-shapedheadboardtrulycatchesyourattentionthemomentyouseeit.Theunusualshapeandnaturaltexturestrulyscreambohochic. 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