Bohemian Style ~ Part 2

More Bohemian style!  Here’s an intro from yesterday’s post to catch you up:

The bohemian aesthetic conjures up a romantic notion of a free-spirited yet somewhat impoverished life dedicated to art and wanderlust. So let’s look at some pretty pictures to see the building blocks of our modern concept of bohemian style.

I’ve come up with 6 main elements that seem to come up again and again whenever I spot something that appears decidedly bohemian in style:  Bright Colors, Patterns, Aged or Antique details, Global pieces, Nomadic influences, and an overall Eclectic design.  Naturally lots of these go hand in hand or overlap, but the more I looked at photos I realized that they all come in to play… keep an eye out for how many of these elements you can identify in any given photo.  If you want to see more of anything or the original source, click the photo.

Global

Mixing your continents gets you feeling bohemian pretty quickly.  If you walk into World Market you’ll see heavy influences in textile patterns from India, collections of various Buddhas from across Asia, and a splash of Central Asian suzani in the throw pillows.  Its easy to get pretty extreme since there are so many beautiful things to choose from, but I like to balance out design objects from different continents so that my home doesn’t end up looking like a hibachi restaurant due to all the Japanese items (for example).

This fabulous bedroom can be found in Morocco.  It is definitely high drama with classical Moroccan design elements in the hanging lanterns and elaborately detailed patterns on the ceiling, the textiles, and carved wood in the doorway arches.

If you don’t live in a Moroccan palace, you can still incorporate bed canopies and floor cushions.  This is my favorite nursery tour to date.  The floor cushions in beautiful prints, the cute stuffed camel, and even the subtle arches in the crib all quietly point to the Middle East without feeling like you walked into a bazaar.

If you think this wall hanging looks familiar, its because identical fabric was in one of the photos from Bohemian Style ~ Part 1 in the form of a headboard.  These Mexican coverlets are called tenangos, you can find more here at lavivahome.com in more beautiful colors.  The room maintains a clean, modern aesthetic in the furniture.

A little bit of India in jewel tones and patterns.  The elaborately painted side table is a creative way to bring in a pattern without relying on fabric.

Nomadic

The romantic idea of gypsies (again, not referring to any actual people group) involves a lot moving around and living in non-permanent structures.  Draped fabric can come in the form of a bed canopy, a wall hanging, or a cozy nook in a mini indoor tent.

Hanging fabric can create walls in a large open space like a loft or an outdoor patio.

Piles of luscious pillows are also prevalent in bohemian design, making any surface seem cozy and inviting.  Pillows make for easy to carry lightweight furniture, and are easily stackable in a corner when not in use.  This looks like a pile of large floor cushions, but its actually a sofa by designer Roche Bobois.

Moroccan poufs have been used in very glam settings lately.

Looks so comfy and plush…

Eclectic

If you like it, use it.  That means any found object can have a place in your home, and feel free to mix styles from the across the world and different centuries.

Birdcages in the bathtub?  Why not?

The sofa and walls are fairly contemporary, but the layered rugs and weathered industrial table make the room interesting.

This loft is a blank canvas full of beautiful things.  I love this oversize quilt that can be used as a room divider.  Check out the modern art with the black tufted sofa, the granny lamp, and those Moroccan style poufs again.  Oh and a cow hide rug, because, why not?

In conclusion – there’s a lot of gorgeous stuff out there. Go find what you love and bring it home, let things evolve naturally over time. There’s a ton of ways to do bohemian, but throw in some of these elements and you’ll be on the way.

Bohemian Style ~ Part 1

A while ago, this article on Apartment Therapy addressed some elements in Bohemian style in the form of furniture. I’ve been thinking about what really makes something “bohemian”, as far as we understand that word today.   That means that this post is not in reference to the current day Czech Republic, which is where you would actually go if you wanted to find the original Kingdom of Bohemia.

According to Urban Dictionary, the term “bohemians” , or artists/poets of 19th century France, were simply called such because the French incorrectly assumed that gypsy people (the correct term for gypsy would be “Romani”) came from the Kingdom of Bohemia. Romani people actually have a very long history going all the way back to India if you care to read more about it.

All convoluted misnomers and ethnographic history aside, the aesthetic does conjure up a romantic notion of a free-spirited yet somewhat impoverished life dedicated to art and wanderlust. So let’s look at some pretty pictures to see the building blocks of our modern concept of bohemian style.  I’ve come up with 6 main elements that seem to come up again and again whenever I spot something that appears decidedly bohemian in style:  Bright Colors, Patterns, Aged or Antique details, Global pieces, Nomadic influences, and an overall Eclectic design.  Naturally lots of these go hand in hand or overlap, but the more I looked at photos I realized that they all come in to play… keep an eye out for how many of these elements you can identify in any given photo.  If you want to see more of anything or the original source, click the photo.

Colorful

Rich, bright, even jewel-tone colors to be exact. This could mean a focus on one bright color, like this fabulous hot pink India-inspired sunroom:

Or this amazing bright teal bathroom:

Or lots of bright colors squeezed into one space. This living room is dominated by blue and green, but some orange, yellow, and pink come in through the pillows and art.

Aged

Boho means finding old things. Starving artists have to scavenge and re-use other people’s castaways. Older, worn furniture has a sense of history, and the patina of tarnished metal, chippy paint, or a threadbare rug adds depth and interest. Distressed paint finishes are very popular these days, as you might have noticed. Paula Mills found this antique fireplace mantel at a thrift store. Check out her entire house tour on Design Sponge, its all very bohemian.

This room also meets the boho qualifications with the old trunk, the oriental rug, the collection of colorful patterned quilts stacked in the old crate and basket, and the old mismatched mirrors on the wall. I’m assuming she doesn’t use the fireplace because it is full of books.

If you’ve ever seen an Anthropologie catalogue, you’ve seen some majorly distressed walls.  Click on the photo to see a small Apartment Therapy roundup of distressed walls and readers’ entertainingly strong opinions about this look.

Its not just about being distressed or chippy.  Antique furniture usually has a lot of intriguing curves and old world appeal.

This room has a subtly distressed wall and an antique sofa in two fun fabrics.

Patterned

Oh what a world of patterns we live in.  Geometric kilims, swirly suzanis, groovy ikats, fancy damasks, country florals, and an entire world of folk embroidery… human beings like some patterns.  Textiles are an art all their own.  As long as the colors get along, you can actually get away with mixing a lot of patterns all at once.  A true bohemian needs at least one patterned textile in every room of the tent, if not a dozen.

This lush little patio gets a break from all the green with a pink oriental rug and comfy pillows on the chair.

A little collection of quilts from Paula’s house that we saw earlier.

Mexican tapestry covers this headboard.  From this shot, it looks to be a pretty plain Jane bedroom until the fabulous headboard steals the show.

Skewed kilim rugs layered with the Moroccan-style poufs balance out the white walls, bed cover, and curtains.

Floral, floral, and wait… more floral.  I think the navy walls keep it modern (plus the headphones and camera smartly added to the wall) and pulls it away from going down granny chic lane.

Had your boho fill?  Good, me neither.  I’ll be back with more bohemian goodness later this week.