Boho is the shorter, chic way of saying bohemian. Regarding this style of interior decor, some may think of the Bohemian culture that arose in Paris during the 19th century while others may imagine a room filled with vibrant colors and an eclectic array of folksy items. Whatever you consider boho vibe to be, know that you have a free license to be as eccentric or as simple as you, please.
After all, the true boho decor spirit represents nonconformity or going against the grain.
The word bohemian once referred to a lifestyle, but these days it tells the story of a type of decorating your interior in which vintage items and natural materials are used or reused, giving them that new life next to new furniture pieces.
Image: Linen Barn
It’s also about mixing decorating styles full of intricate patterns, natural elements, textures, and a rich color scheme set against a more neutral color palette.
Nature is always brought into the room with plants or candles as a focal point that provide a dusk-like glow. Bohemian decor is always original, showing passion and ingenuity while reflecting, in part at least, on the 1920s and 1930s.
How to Do a Boho Style in a Bedroom
Furniture Is A Popular Choice
Anything goes in your bohemian design. You can start with a modern-style sofa and a throw blanket for your living room. A solid color works fine, or it could be recovered in a heavy brocade and then accessorized with bright silk throw pillows to give it a Moroccan flair.
An easy way to get a bohemian interior design style with your original or flea market pieces is to paint them in various colors. Think mismatch of your paint colors. A dresser might be painted red on the top, the drawers could be black, and the sides might be green. A design, made freehand or with a stencil or rubber stamp in yet another color, could be put on the front or sides of the dresser.
Color And Texture For The Free Spirits
Bohemian decor is full of different colors and textures, but it works best with a neutral backdrop. Make sure fabrics and furniture colors are bold and sport a lot of texture. Patterns can range from intricate to modern and bright. In boho design, colors don’t have to match. If you find a piece of 1930s Depression glassware in an iridescent peach, it’s fine to place it on your sky-blue painted coffee table.
Artwork For Your Boho Bedroom Decor
Image: Dekoria
A collage is a great form of artwork for the bohemian style, and it’s always individualized by the scraps of fabric, photos, magazine cutouts, and trinkets used. Create a simple collage wall hanging by starting with a large painting canvas from the arts and crafts store. Cover the surface with an acid-free, quick-dry tacky adhesive (Scotch carries one that works for paper, plastic, photos, and metal) and attach whatever catches your fancy. Finish it with a coat of decoupage sealer.
If you are a painter, finish a piece with a golden overflow to give it an aged appearance. This can also be done with a found painting for a boho look. Or choose a reproduction of a classic portrait or landscape. You may even choose an ultramodern piece to fit among your more antique room choices. If you pick what you love, you can’t go wrong.
Natural Lighting Or Pendant Lights
Image: The Secret Linen Store
Whether you choose a crystal chandelier, a Moroccan lamp, or a vintage seltzer bottle table lamp, the important element in a room with bohemian decor is to make sure the lighting gives off a warm glow. It’s not as much about the style of lighting as it is about the effect of the light itself. Purchase frosted or yellow bulbs to use in your light fixture.
Flooring Of Your Bohemian Space
Hardwoods work well with bohemian decor. However, you will want to add an area rug or two. Remember, you are going for warmth, and a solid wood floor can seem cold and may echo when walked on. Certainly, you can trek down to your local home improvement or furniture store and pick out a rug. For authentic bohemian decor consider some wool braided area rugs or a rag rug. If you have a painted wood floor, consider painting a rug right onto the flooring as another option.
Bohemian Cafe With Different Styles
If you relate to the bohemian lifestyle that began in Paris during the 19th century, you can transform your bedroom to look like a cafe where members from this counterculture met. Artists, writers, musicians, and youth lingered in places like the Cafe Momus to discuss ideas, explore their creativity, and mock the bourgeois class.
When setting up your room in this Parisian boho style, think about what your main creative outlet is, and incorporate that into the room. If you are a writer, a typewriter would be fitting; for a painter, a canvas with works in progress near the window would be a nice touch.
If space permits, provide a space for social times where those you can relate to on a deep level may sit for hours. A simple table and benches of different shapes would be reminiscent of the cafes on Montmartre, but even a used couch or some bean bag chairs would suffice.
Candles, faux brick surfaces, earth tones and prints of wine bottles or coffee cups will help create this atmosphere from back in time. Incorporate nostalgic posters or newspapers, works of art that you or your friends have created, used lamps or tapestries, instruments you play, and plants into this boho room.
Gypsy Boho Style Rooms
The term bohemian has a connection to Bohemia, a historical area in what is now the Czech Republic. Many of the gypsies from Bohemia came to France and their nomadic, musical lifestyle was looked down upon by the upper classes. Thus, the artists, writers, and musicians who founded the urban counterculture were nicknamed bohemians as they were compared to the gypsies.
To pay homage to this migrant population, create a gypsy-style bedroom. Incorporate an eclectic mix of colors as possible into the room in terms of walls, floors, bedspreads, and accessories.
Hang lanterns and strings of lights around the borders of your room. Imagine the room is a fully-packed caravan used for traveling the world by hanging bags, wicker baskets, hats, ornaments, and scarves around the room.
Incorporate anything that represents past or future vacations, such as maps, postcards, photographs, and cultural artifacts.
Minimalist Decor With Natural Textures
At the core of bohemian values was minimalism or anti-materialism. Unlike the gypsy style of the bedroom which is chaotically filled with colors and items, you can create a simple bedroom that still has a bohemian motif.
For the perfect example, a great idea is a bedroom with a naturally peeling wall colored with earthy tones; only a few pieces of bohemian style furniture in the room, including a lilac deep cushioned bed and a simple wooden side table.
Hippie Motif For Your Living Space
Image: Dunelm
The Hippie generation is a derivative of the Bohemian culture. Incorporate peace and love into your bedroom with a hippie style of bohemian room decor.
Cover the walls with Vasuki wallpaper and Indian star tapestries, or paint a multi-colored warm color mural depicting a nature or social justice theme. Place a shag rug on the floor with different patterns, and hang beaded curtains in the doorway and windows.
You’ll want to hit used stores to buy some vintage furniture, such as a funky lounge chair or a corduroy couch. Create colorful collages to cover lampshades and side tables or to hang on the walls. You may want to use tie-dyed items and old records as accessories.
More articles in the Boho series:
35 Chic Boho Living Room Decor Ideas
Boho Office Decor for Stylish Home Working
Overall the boho bedroom look is one to be adored. So if you love this article, why not check out 9 Cottagecore House Tips to Create a Whimsical Haven, Bedroom Trends: BEST Décor Ideas [2023], How to Create Your Own Biophilic Bedroom Oasis or Top Tips for the Perfect Guest Bedroom Decor.
And then don’t forget to add this to your Pinterest board:
Jen is an interiors writer and blogger and has an insatiable love of home style and decor
Find me on: Web
