Decorating your apartment can be a new and exciting process, but it can also be overwhelming. The Bohemian style appeals to young people and remains a hip trend for numerous reasons. It’s visually appealing, exotic, whimsical, comfortable, and is the perfect style for those on a budget. Instead of covering up the handmade and demanding cohesiveness, it celebrates the handmade, the eclectic, and the piecemeal. So what exactly are the perfect elements for putting together a gorgeous bohemian style pad?
Color, Patterns, and Even More Patterns
If you’re looking to create the perfect Bohemian apartment, then you shouldn’t be afraid of color and pattern. It isn’t often that you’ll see a clean, white room that features no colors or bright patterns. Actually, vibrant colors and patterns in a bohemian design palette might clash under traditional circumstances. Yet somehow, the seemingly contradictory elements of the perfect bohemian style come together to create a harmonious whole. That’s the challenging part.
It’s a mistake to assume that all patterns and colors will work together. You can’t just throw everything and the kitchen sink into a room and expect it to look good. How can you make it work? The best way to see what works and what doesn’t is through experimentation. Don’t be afraid to check out what other people have done and attempt to simulate it. The Bohemian style has come back into popularity in recent years, so there should be numerous examples that you can reference online (like this very article!)
Fabrics Galore
One thing that fully characterizes the bohemian style is using copious amounts of fabrics – from furniture cover ups to pillows to wall hangings. The heavy use of fabric is pulled from luxurious Middle Eastern tents and exotic gypsy caravans. Ultimately, it creates a warmer, more cozy look to a room. Selecting fabrics with unusual patterns or bright colors only adds to the bohemian vibe.
Intimate Spaces
The Bohemian style often features extremely open, large spaces or extremely small, closed in spaces. Often, the smaller spaces are easier to create unless you already have an open floor plan.
The Bohemian style is incredibly intimate by its very nature. It makes your home into an escape, a lovely space to share food and drinks with friends both old a new. It’s a place that fosters dream and whimsy. It’s important to create these smaller, intimate spaces within the Bohemian home.
To create these cozy spaces, employ the use of fabrics, mosquito netting, and bead or other decorative curtains. Add a lovely canopy over or around your bed. Create a book nook in an awkward corner of the house. Put mosquito netting around a balcony lounge chair. All of these things will create tiny spaces that you can escape into when the world becomes too overwhelming. It also adds to the Bohemian vibe of your home.
Suggestions of Portability
The Bohemian style is pulled largely from nomadic peoples around the world, so it’s important to incorporate portable elements into your home. It may seem like a subtle detail to keep in mind, but it can really serve as a guide and pull together the entire look of a Boho room.
The best way to suggest portability is by purchasing the right kind of furniture. Cheaper furniture items like butterfly chairs or other foldable pieces are a great way to go. You can make these look more comfortable and luxurious by draping them in fabrics and pillows. If your landlord allows, hanging swings and indoor hammocks are also great options.
Of course, there are other ways to suggest portability as well. You can hang up various pots and pans from nails in the wall, or even a rustic looking pot rack. It’s almost as though you are prepared to pack away your kitchen supplies at any moment.
Eclectic Collections on Display
Taking some cues from the traditional gypsy image, the Bohemian style celebrates eclecticism and the unusual. There is no such thing as “crowded” or “too loud” in the Bohemian room. The more strange books, rustic vases, and world knick-knacks you have, the better. Always leave some room on your shelves to show them off.
Don’t have too many things to stock your shelves with? Not to worry! There are many different ways to get knick knacks. Hit your local flea markets and yard sales for strange (but affordable) buys. When you travel, check out some nearby stores and get items that will add a little pop to your home. You can even use family photos for art by framing them in patterned or aged frames that’ll tie into the Bohemian look.
A Little Green Can’t Hurt Either
The Bohemian style is often connected with the hippy subculture for a reason. It is a style that tends to appeal to the wanderers and travelers of the world – those that like to march to the beat of their own drum. One things that many of the world’s hippys and eccentrics are known for is their gardening prowess. It’s also a style renowned for its ability to bring the outdoors in.
With this thought in mind, it’s important to consider adding a little green to your home via potted plants. Adding plants to a space always adds to the warmth and comfortability of a home, but it also incorporates itself well into the Bohemian style. Though normal clay pots will do the trick, consider purchasing colorful vases or maybe even hand painting the clay pots yourself! If you have a deck, use it as a mini garden. The more bright and exotic flowers, the better! If you’re feeling ambitious, you can even create a little terrarium.
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Photo Credit: Artilleriet
