Design Styles
More Design Styles
By
Valerie Ott
Valerie Ott
Valerie Ott is a lifestyle writer who has over two years of experience writing on home decor, accessories, and DIY projects. Her work has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens, and she runs a blog on home accessories.
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Updated on 05/31/24
Boho design style is unconventional and artistic, a free-spirited approach to home decor that has roots going back to the 16th century. Today, bohemian is more of an adjective than a noun and indicates an aesthetic influenced by generations past.
A modern boho-style interior can be a maximalist space filled with color, pattern, texture, and a multitude of vintage and global decor objects. Or it can feature a streamlined interpretation of the style with white walls, woven accents and furniture, and natural decor elements like plants and dried florals.
Check out these boho design style ideas for inspiration on how to make your home decor more eclectic.
What Is a Boho Style Home?
Boho-style home decor combines items that are relaxed, bold, and unconventional. The look typically involves an eclectic mix of natural elements and many colors, patterns, and textures.
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Mix Patterns and Colors
When it comes to creating a boho-style space, all rules go out the window. Bright colors and lots of patterns such as florals and paisleys mixed with natural prints and mismatched patterns are a hallmark of boho style, like this space from Dazey Den. If brights aren't for you, embrace a subdued mix of shades like olive green, cognac, mustard yellow, and rusty oranges.
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Use Natural Finishes
The hippie influence of the 1960s and '70s on boho design ushered in an infusion of accessories that utilize natural or raw materials such as hemp, sisal, wood, and rattan. Think woven wall decor, macrame plant hangers, a sisal or wool Moroccan rug, and leather furniture.
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Emphasize Culture
Bohemian styles have significant ties to global and cultural aspects, so it's important to know exactly what you're representing when decorating your space. This space from Afro Bohemian Living features African artwork, woven baskets, and decorative items for an authentic feel.
Focus on Authenticity
With such a focus on global influences, boho design can be prone to cultural appropriation. To ensure your space celebrates other cultures respectfully, it is essential to educate yourself about the significance of items and pay attention to sourcing to ensure that you are buying items from creators rather than imitators.
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Add Global Accents
If you're lucky enough to travel to far-flung locales, look for souvenirs that can help you achieve a layered boho-style feel. Otherwise shop thrift stores, flea markets, or source global decor pieces online.
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Go Casual
Boho-style spaces are not fussy. Think floor pillows and leather poufs, piles of pillows or a comfy area rug, and spaces that encourage conversation, reading, and listening to music or playing games rather than watching TV.
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Try Thrifted Pieces
While thrifting for that perfect find may require some serious effort, you would be surprised at how many potential boho-style accents you can acquire on a budget—especially when it comes to textured pieces like wicker.
Emma Wilson of Wilson Aesthetics snagged this wicker shelf online, which serves as the perfect place to display her curated decor collection.
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Layer Plenty of Textures
Layering textures in your space can help create a chic boho-style atmosphere. Try layering boho-style bedding in a mix of textures, colors, and/or patterns, or add a chunky knit throw on your bed to add dimension to a more minimalist room.
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Mix Styles
Mix boho-style with midcentury modern accessories. For example, a mid-century hairpin leg desk mixed with a geometric print rug and a sleek white bookshelf with plants galore will achieve the look flawlessly.
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Be Artistic in Your Design
No bohemian-style space would be complete without a curated, creative mix of art and books. Pile art books on the coffee table, frame album covers as wall art, or hang an eclectic collection of art prints on a gallery wall that stretches floor to ceiling, like this living room from Dazey Den.
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Try Boho-Style Neutrals
If you aren't wild about color, design a boho-style living room with a focus on neutrals. Esther Schimdt added textured with layered rugs, leather and wicker accents, and a gallery wall.
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Add a Touch Of Whimsy
Boho style is meant to be playful, so have fun with it. This apartment by interior designer Alvin Wayne has its share of plants, muted tones, and a calming presence—yet the geometric tapestry on the wall boasting bright, abstract hues adds a whimsical touch to the room without overpowering it.
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Pair Earthy and Glam
Pair earthy and glam textures and finishes to add interest to a boho-style interior. This living room by Blue Copper Design mixes leather and wood accents with white walls and floor-to-ceiling curtains for an airy and polished feel.
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Decorate With Plants
A bohemian style room can never include too many potted plants. This living room from Leaf and Lolo is covered with natural greenery in various shapes, sizes, and styles. The macrame wall hanging and the wicker baskets enhance the boho-style feel.
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Give It a Personal Touch
Ultimately, boho style isn't about creating something perfect—it has to do with making the space feel like your own. Adding personal touches can tie things together. This cozy corner from Home and Spirit includes a string of pothos plants and a painted mural to liven things up next to the white macrame indoor hammock.
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Keep It Simple
You don't have to go all out to create a boho-style room (unless you want to). Keeping things simple can sometimes be the key—like this bedroom by Arbor & Co. A black-and-white color palette, a simple tapestry, and an oversize rug make up most of the decor here for an effortless feel.
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Add a Gallery Wall
Gallery walls can take a boho-style room to the next level. The key is to work not only with photos or art prints but also with objects, like this space from House of Chais. There are really no rules—and definitely no rhyme or reason—to how your art collections and decor objects should be arranged.
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Mix With Other Styles
Mix eclectic boho style with minimalist and functional Scandinavian design to create a modern boho-style bedroom like this space from S.U.S.A.P.
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Add a Statement Piece
Bohemian styles do not necessarily need a centerpiece to work, but statement pieces can absolutely contribute to the room's overall feel. This bedroom by K Shan Design features a retro wicker flower-shaped headboard that screams boho-style chic.
History of Boho Design Style
The term bohemian design style is derived from shorthand for the French word bohémien, referring to Bohemia, a region in present-day Czech Republic. Bohemia was erroneously believed to be the homeland of the Romani people, the largest ethnic minority group in Europe. Originating in India, the Romani largely led ambulant lifestyles and were known for their creativity, many being skilled artists, musicians, and tradespeople.
In 16th-century France, the word "bohemian" evolved to include any artist, writer, actor, or musician who led an unconventional lifestyle, traveling quite a bit throughout major European cities with little money. A more recent hotbed for boho-style culture existed in Greenwich Village in New York City during the 1950s, as embodied by the Beat Generation and the hippy culture of the 1960s and '70s.
While the Romani people who inspired this style have experienced persecution and discrimination for centuries, after being embraced by middle and upper-class white people, boho design has come to be seen as trendy and fashionable in modern times.
What are the types of boho-style decor?
Bohemian style was originally characterized by its colorful and maximalist embrace of the eclectic and the eccentric. Modern boho-style interiors are often mixed with midcentury modern, Moroccan, or Scandinavian influences, or interpreted with a minimalist touch using neutral palettes and choice accessories.
What are the main boho design colors?
There is no defining color palette for bohemian style interiors, which can range from earth colors to jewel tones to more modern neutral palettes. Feel free to mix and match colors, patterns, and textures to create your own interpretation of boho style.
What is the opposite of boho style?
The opposite of boho style is traditional style. Whereas boho style is free-spirited, eclectic, personal, and rule-breaking, traditional style is based largely on 18th- and 19th-century European styles and conventional notions of what a home looks like.While boho style has long been characterized by a maximalist bent, today's boho-style interiors range from a layered, collected aesthetic to boho chic spaces that are neutral-toned and minimalist.