The first rule of bohemian interior design is that there are no rules in bohemian interior design.
Originating in 19th Century Paris, boho was brought to life by the city’s vibrant arts scene, and a culture of people who placed more value on creativity than money. The whole idea behind boho is to rebel against the rules and jump head-first into the unconventional and the unorthodox… hence why it makes no sense when people ask, “Is boho out of style?”
That being said, there are still some techniques you can adopt to master the bohemian interior design style for your Australian home.
#1 – Be unapologetic in your mixing and layering
Forget everything you know about the minimalist style – there’s no place for IKEA in modern boho interior design.
Get playful with mixing your textiles, accents and artwork. Think vibrant tropical-themed wallpaper behind a vintage desk, with a patchwork quilt draped on the side of a modern sofa in the corner. We’re talking rugs with hexagonal designs alongside striped cushions on the couch.
If you like some form of consistency, you can still do all this while maintaining a clear colour scheme.
#2 – Be bold with your pattern and colour tones
Bohemian style interior design often embraces jewel tones like emerald green, amethyst purple and ruby red, contrasted with rich colour tones in the room’s accessories (like lamps, flower pots, fruit bowls and so on).
#3 – Tell a story with your ornaments, trinkets and other knick-knacks
No other interior design style offers as many conversation starters as the bohemian interior design does. If your décor doesn’t tell a story, then it’s not bohemian yet. For the well-travelled, their boho home should be a reflection of the nomadic lifestyle they’ve embraced.
Trinkets from across the globe, exotic artwork, piles of books, interesting sculptures, imported cushions… not only do these items inspire questions from your guests, but they effortlessly create a cosy and inviting atmosphere to relax and unwind in.
Of course, you don’t have to be well-travelled to encapsulate the bohemian style. Family heirlooms, handcrafted pieces… go nuts! Shake yourself free of the “everything has its right place” attitude and surrender to the fact that, with boho, things don’t have to match.
Placements and arrangements should be experimented with, in order to let your personality truly come out through your décor.
#4 – There’s no such thing as too many indoor plants
We’ve just spent three bullet points talking about the importance of contrasting colours, textures and materials to achieve a boho style. What better way to do this than with a varied assortment of lush and beautiful indoor house plants?
Snake plants, succulents, dracaenas… they’re all extremely different from each other, and can be placed in a diverse range of plant-pots for even more diversity in your home’s interiors. Be sure to place them at different heights (i.e. on the floor, on shelving and hanging from the ceiling) to capitalise on vertical space as well.
By choosing your plants wisely, you can keep maintenance down while also improving the air quality inside your home (some plants do this better than others).
Create your dream bohemian interior design space, with FURNISHD.
Now that you’re on track to turn your bohemian interior design ideas into a reality for your Australian home, let FURNISHD. help you bring your vision to life! We are highly experienced in impeccable interior design styling; from bohemian to Scandinavian, industrial and the classic cottage style as well.
With FURNISHD. you can gain access to personal furnishing experts through our online interior design and shopping platform. It allows you to experiment with different décor items and create your ideal bohemian style setup virtually first. Take the guesswork out of interior design – sign up to FURNISHD. today.
