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8 Bohemian Bedrooms Trek Effortlessly Into Style
True boho style seems effortless and authentically artful, and bohemian bedrooms are no exception. But don't worry, you can fake it
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel and design. I just completed my first remodel, turning my crumbling 1941 kitchen into a beauty of grays, whites and natural wood. If I could, I'd sleep on the countertop. That's how much I love it.
You can also read my parenting blog on Baby Center http://blogs.babycenter.com/author/sschoech/
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel... More »
If you were the wild-child heir to a European fortune who preferred to spend time in North Africa exploring souks and hosting dinner parties for expat artists, your bedroom might look like this.
Bohemian style is difficult to create, because the very key to doing it successfully is to make it look completely effortless and unplanned. There are some must-haves: fabrics and patterns from around the world, art (especially old art), books and a certain devil-may-care messiness.
But it is not simply eclectic. It is not neat or matching, and it is definitely not modern. Jonathan Adler is modern eclectic, but he's not exactly bohemian.
True boho magic is achieved only when the room looks as if you just gathered all the interesting things you've collected on your travels and combined them with all the good books you've ever read, then tossed everything together with a few old family portraits in gilt frames and some mismatched pieces of wooden furniture.
Nothing can match. Lamps don't necessarily have to work, and best of all, you don't have to make your bed if you don't want to.
Anthropologie is the modern master of faked bohemian artsiness.
Bohemian style is difficult to create, because the very key to doing it successfully is to make it look completely effortless and unplanned. There are some must-haves: fabrics and patterns from around the world, art (especially old art), books and a certain devil-may-care messiness.
But it is not simply eclectic. It is not neat or matching, and it is definitely not modern. Jonathan Adler is modern eclectic, but he's not exactly bohemian.
True boho magic is achieved only when the room looks as if you just gathered all the interesting things you've collected on your travels and combined them with all the good books you've ever read, then tossed everything together with a few old family portraits in gilt frames and some mismatched pieces of wooden furniture.
Nothing can match. Lamps don't necessarily have to work, and best of all, you don't have to make your bed if you don't want to.
Anthropologie is the modern master of faked bohemian artsiness.
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Positive boho signposts: mixed ethnic patterns, dreamy but sloppy canopy and clustered art in mismatched frames. Points off for neatness.
Boho signposts: Lots of North African elements, mixed patterns, a slight hippie look. Points off for lack of weird art.
| It's a little modern, but its boho signposts — art, layered fabrics, shoes on display, chandelier — are strong. Major points off for lack of books and old art, however, and for those matching bedside lamps. |
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by SFGIRLBYBAY
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| Boho signposts: stained glass; mismatched lamps, tables and patterns; and vintage linens. Points off for lack of books, art and a scarf draped over one of those lamps. |
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Books! Ethnic patterns! Mismatched patterns! Boho points off for neatness, matching lamps and the lack of old portraits.
by Tamar Schechner
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This is bohemian perfection. No points off.
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Old house, that's good. Funky wallpaper. A faded rug and some small, eclectic art. All good boho cred. Points off for the lack of books stacked on the floor and any true ethnic patterns.
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Well, the stark white is a little clean and bright for the true Gertrude Steins among us, but everything else — the patterns, art (note the portrait) and general mismatchiness are all very well done. Major boho points!
Comments
Erika Bierman Photography great idea book, I was at Anthropologie yesterday and I do feel I could always take the whole store home.
11 months ago · Like
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shellie jernigan haha. i had to laugh at your post with the "points off for neatness"! not often do we hear that one! i may have to quote you. my favorite vibe of a home for sure. thank you for this ideabook!
11 months ago · Like
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lorirobinson Boho always looks like the 60's and 70's Hippy dorm rooms and the apartments I lived in during my college years! I adore it! Fun to see it all return. Add points if you make an industrial or brick and board bookshelf yourself and load it into a corner with candles, artwork, books, and a puddle of global fabric hanging on it somewhere! Everything old is new again! Thanks for the post!
11 months ago · Like
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Vintage Renewal Love!
11 months ago · Like
lynandzoolings Loved every room even with "points off". I am Bohemian everywhere in my home and I love changing things out, adding to and always keep an eye out at garage sales, flea markets , the local thrift shop and one great antique shop in my town. I also love weird plants and they fit right in. Certainly, this style is not for everyone but there is a surprise around every corner in my home and I have so much fun living in it. thanks for the great idea book! More please!
11 months ago · Like
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woolylam My daughter tells me I have bohemian style. Not quite there, but pretty close! :)
11 months ago · Like
Pati LOVE the second and fourth pictures...My bedroom is, also, taking on a Bohemian/Turkish vibe....I've got the lanterns and will soon have a canopy behind the bed. I'm also going to buy tapestry material to make the drapes, along with covering the chest with the same material...LOVE it !! 
11 months ago · Like
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rebeccavanloon I don't know, comments seem a bit off. Are we allowed not to like something? I am not seeing anything but gushing niceness. For example in one picture, she said "matching side tables" when they were clearly not the same. Was this story rushed? Can we truly comment on bohemian? Does that not mean "free from caring what others think?". Living freely! Boho style is difficult to pull off if you have the money and are quite traveled. My most bohemian friend is still waitress at age 37 in San Francisco, is traveled (yes, internationally), has a collage degree, but doesn't care how it all comes together, it just does. I love combing through her pictures and other such items, it's almost like a cool store front...xoxo
11 months ago · Like
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CAROLE MEYER Great post.....fun!
11 months ago · Like
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gionne This couldn't have come at a better time! I was having difficulty trying to label my style and explain it to my friends. I was about to resort to defining myself as "messy" but your article saved me from myself. Great pics and fantastic descriptions. Bonus points for Boho points scale. Good on ya, Houzz.
11 months ago · Like
Artisanaworks I love the point system you have created. For me, the Workman Pub/Artisan Books speaks Boho to me. I agree, Catalina needs some ethnic textiles...especially on the bed...but that wallpaper and door treatment count for a lot! BTY, Bohemian as well as Ethnic could stand to be added to the style selections. Can you use a little of you influence, here?
9 months ago · Like
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Fl!p Breskin I confess to having moved some books for this shot, but we spend nearly as much time playing the instruments as reading. Do rugs on couches count? Old wood floors, high ceilings, old family portraits (real), and handsome cats everywhere? 
8 months ago · Like
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buffyfaulkner To the last poster Your house is beautiful beautiful
8 months ago · Like
Fl!p Breskin Buffy - Thank you! Glad you like it. You can see more of it here if you're curious:
by Fl!p Breskin
by Fl!p Breskin
Ideabook: Cozy, luminous & joyful...8 months ago · Like
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Ideabook updated on June 13, 2012.
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