6 Style Tricks To Creating A Boho Modern Interior

Have you seen that look – Boho Modern – which is taking over Pinterest? It’s fab isn’t it, but pretty tricky to know how to work it into your own home. Not today – don’t sweat it! This is where I step in with my six ways to create a Boho-Modern interior at home – all illustrated by shots from my magazine shoots. Let’s do this.

Living room with maps on a wall
Tip: Hang maps with paperclips as I did in this shot for House Beautiful Magazine

WHAT IS BOHO MODERN?

A quick look through Instagram and Facebook, and you’ll see it is teaming with Kilim rugs and cushions, exotic holiday treasures, rough woods, tropical plants and terracotta tiles. It’s a look. It is so laid-back it is almost horizontal.

It’s an easy style that is effortless (which we all know took years to put together).

I love love love Boho Modern, but I’m not 100% confident of filling my whole home with ethic prints, wooden crafts and plants. This is my very own version – a softer, sweeter version of the look. Let’s start at the top.

Bed with patterns above it
Copy this idea of making a headboard from India carved wooden panels for my shoot with Country Homes magazine

Tip 1: BoHo In The Bedroom

As the hero of your room, your bed will take centre stage. Now the true Boho-Modern hippy would have an AMAZING French-style bed by Hudson Furniture like this one: Roccoco curves with voiles hanging above and layers upon layers of throws and rugs.
Us mere mortals need to concentrate on the basics – Boho Modern bedlinen. I’m a sucker for a Kali throw. Throw one or even two (go wild) over a pretty bed linen set – and there is the look. If you want to throw caution to the wind, make a headboard from decorative Indian wooden carvings. Nice, and easy too!

Wardrobe with the door open
This wardrobe was £30 from Brighton’s Car Boot bought by me for House Beautiful magazine.

Tip 2: Add Flea Market Finds

The Boho Modernist spends weekends in flea markets tracking down a one-off piece of furniture. If you’re not one for car boots, then let’s cut to the chase…see the plant and the vintage suitcase up above? It’s a clear sign we’re entering a Boho-Modern bedroom.  That’s all you need – suitcase you can pick up from Oliver Bonas and a fern from your local garden centre. Our work is done here. Next!

Homely living room
Copy this distressed wall effect spotted in my shoot for Furniture Village. I think if used old tea bags you could cheat the aged look on your wallpaper.

Tip 3: Hippy In The Lounge

Step into the lounge of a Boho-Modern lover, and you’ll spot an old velvet sofa from New York, teamed with a table from the street markets Indonesia, mixed with a hand-woven rug from a recent trip to Tangiers. The high street is teeming with exquisite Boho Modern copy-cat pieces at a fraction of the cost. You don’t have hop on a plane to get this look.
My pick of the best places to shop for Bo-Ho Modern
West Elm: Just got to love their rugs. Anthropologie: the home of Boho-chic fresh from the states. Urban Outfitters: Great rugs and hangings. H+M Home: Dress your bathroom in ethic patterns and prints. Lombok;  Rustic wooden furniture with curvy shapes. Design Vintage: My one-stop-shop in Brighton. Decorator’s Notebook: For hippy gifts with a fair trade slant. Society 6 + Lumitrix: quirky art for your walls
Just think of the air miles you’ve saved.

Bright room with many pictures on the wall
I still love this room created when I on the Style Team at House Beautiful.

Tip 4: Up-Cycle Through This Trend 

If you love an up-cycle project, then this look is a walk in the park for you. See that, sideboard? It was an ugly brown plywood 1970s one bought for £15 from Brighton Car Boot. Paint it, wallpaper it – boom – you’ve got a bespoke piece. Frames on the wall? All from charity shops. Paint ‘em and stick ‘em to the wall – there you go! You see this look not about how much dosh you have to splash on your home; it’s about being creative with what you have. Throw in a few bargain buys from TKmax and HomeSense, and your home is giving out kick-off-your-shoes-and-relax-good-vibes.

Bright dining room
Look at these tiles….lush. Harveys Furniture went all Boho Modern when I got my paws on their look book.

Tip 5: Mix It Up In Your Dining Rooms

Okay –so you have fallen in love with the Boho Modern style. This doesn’t mean you have to chuck away all your old furniture and replace it with something new. You can be clever about this by adding Boho Modern prints and fabrics into your existing room.  
Swap your plain shade for a patterned one, brighten up your chairs with odd cushions in bold prints (Habitat are my go-to), dress your tabletop with vases filled with palm leaves. There – your all-white Scandi-look has been ruffled up a bit to look all Boho Modern. Lovely.
More confident with this Boho Modern look? Then pick a tiled pattern floor for your home’s next big improvement.

Dining room with stylish chairs
Don’t forget to switch your chairs around as Id id for House Beautiful.

Tip 6: Mix It Up  

Nothing in the Boho home has to match. Repeat! Nothing has to match. That means your tables and chairs can all be odd. In fact, it is almost required. The key is to choose one colour pallet and stick to it to make the odd furniture look like they are meant to be.  Once you have mastered this look, start adding more colours as you grow in confidence.

Well, there are my 6 ways to nail the Boho Modern look.

(Confession…I think I’ve managed to sneak way more than six ideas in this post past you. Did you notice? Oopsy)
I reckon you are ready to add a bit of Boho Modern to your home. What do you think? Let’s add these touches to your home bit-by-bit.

•• Disclaimer, this is a sponsored post. As always, these are my opinions, my photos and my thoughts.

9 thoughts on “6 Style Tricks To Creating A Boho Modern Interior

  1. Loads of interesting ideas and inspiration. My daughter wants a hip boho room, so I’ll have to get my act together to style one soon.

  2. Love a market and love something picked up on travel, with a memory immediately attached. This is a lovely trend and I think I’ve inadvertently been incorporating elements of this!
    Brilliant tips.

  3. Hello Maxine, I love the idea of boho room. My sister is crazy for it. Your blog is so informative and so helpful for me. Thank u so much for the blog.

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