Bohemian Style Living Room Ideas
Bohemian style living rooms are gorgeous if done correctly. They are heavily based on color matching, patterns, and textures.
‘Organized chaos’ describes bohemian design pretty well. Sure, boho can look like a whole lot of junk thrown together in a room, but there’s generally a point to all of it. Anyone who has lived on their own can testify to this!
If you’re unfamiliar with boho design, we can catch you up with our post about it here. You can visit our bohemian style pinterest board for inspiration into planning your boho home. Or, keep reading for a quick refresher.
What is boho style?
Bohemian style clings to several types of established interior design trends, but it’s most closely related to farmhouse and colonial.
Farmhouse is the closest by far, as both bohemian and farmhouse include lots of unfinished wood, wicker, woven wood, chic elements, and bright colors. Colonial concept fits in primarily because of the decor and furniture style.
Nearly all bohemian decor thrives on old, vintage style furniture, meaning colonial (and even Victorian!) styles are alive and well.
One of the most unique things about the boho concept is that you can find most of the accessories at antique stores, yard sales, garage sales, and mom and pop shops.
You can’t quite replicate the styles of decades passed, but you can find old pieces that belong to those decades. Vintage and bright pieces are the types of furniture that make a boho living room pop.
Here’s our take on boho living room ideas (see also '12 DIY Boho Ideas For Your Dining Room'). Hopefully you can find a style that matches your taste – don’t be afraid to combine the styles too!
There are some beautiful kitchens in the video below, too. Take a look!
Minimalist Bohemian Living Rooms
This is the budget-friendly option! If you’re looking for a more tame and contained boho decor, you’re in the right place.
Keep the Colors on the Down Low
For the cautious boho decorator, use patterns that are funky and cool. In minimalist style, steer clear of bright colors and go for muted tones like tans or grays. You can bring them out in pillows, blankets, and couch covers too, but every piece doesn’t have to stand out. Pillows can also be covered to keep your living room extra tidy.
Ditch the Water, Fake the Plants!
By now, you probably know that this style thrives on a multitude of plants. But for the boho minimalist, fake plants may be the best option. The only work you have to do is purchase the plant! These also work best for apartment owners, who may not have a lot of natural light in their home.
“But I want a real plant! I can’t fake all of them!”
We hear you, and we understand. Succulents and other plants that don’t need a lot of water may be the perfect solution for you. Then, when you feel like upgrading to the big leagues, bring on the real plants!
Colorful Boho Living Room
Classic bohemian style thrives on the brightest colors you can bring. Oranges, yellows, and reds thrive here with a plethora of patterns to boot. Warm colors work so nicely and you can combine different shades of them together too.
Lights and darks can mix, but don’t go too heavy on the darks - we want to keep the room as bright as possible!
Wanna Do a Color Run?
Take the warm colors from a rainbow and use them in your room! Oranges show through the best; yellows are often next, and fit in very nicely with orange. As you can see above, red is quite popular as well!
Ground your oranges and reds with more subtle tans, dark greens, and browns. Some people may love a bright orange couch; but if you don’t want to go that route, neutral tones are your best friend. They work great for the walls, carpets, and floors too. But, you can go bright there too. You have a lot of flexibility here. Colorful rugs will brighten your room and be a conversation starter and talking point for friends and family!
Adding in the Cool Tones
This is the fun part! Add in cool tones to create a more balanced, relaxed feel in your room.
Greens are by far the easiest color to include: use plants! This method is easy and brings life, literally, to the room. Greens will help tone down any reds or bright oranges, especially since most plant trunks are brown! Small muted plants like in the photo below are a nice finishing touch in this room.
Think about complementary colors when adding in purples, blues, and greens. For example, blues and oranges go nicely together; dark blue is especially popular when paired with orange. Blankets and pillows are often the favorite choice here, since they are small and don’t take a lot of light out of the room.
Bring in bright blues to contrast darker oranges; these can be in the form of curtains or blinds for your windows, or even a mix of blue and orange in a colorful carpet! These blue curtains fit in nicely with the rest of the color scheme
In the pins below, notice how the blues aren’t the dominant color, but instead act as accents. The simple stripes on a pillow or a section of rug with solid blue is a wonderful way to bring in these darker tones.
Gypsy Living Room
Now, if you want to go full-on bohemian style, this is your section. In gypsy living rooms, the walls are plastered with images of all sorts: paintings, abstract pieces, artwork, dreamcatchers, photographs, hanging plants and more.
You can also decorate walls, but don’t use too many large pieces – instead, include mostly small pieces with a couple larger eye-catching ones.
Go Absolutely Berserk!!
Virtually nothing is off limits with this section. Go color crazy, including essentially anything you think fits your personality.
Still, it is important to remember the 60-30-10 color rule. Normally when designing a room, 60% of it will be a neutral color. But with gypsy living rooms, pick a brighter color like an orange, red, or yellow as a base and work from there.
Choosing yellow as your base color is a good starting point, since you can build off of it nicely and it isn’t as shocking as orange or red.
Both of the examples below work well, but the room with purple walls will be far more difficult to build on versus the one with neutral walls.
Rustic Boho Living Room
Keeping your look set in a certain decade is pretty easy with boho interior design. Unfinished wood, unstained wood, wicker and woven designs, and light, airy colors will help keep your home looking fresh and bright, as if from long ago.
Whites, creams, and tans with funky designs will bring coziness and home-like vibes to your family room. If you want to add in some oranges, reds, and purples, you’re certainly welcome to!
Bring Home the Bacon
Similar to minimalist boho design, a rustic boho living room primarily uses tans and browns. But that doesn’t mean patterns are muted!
Look at the photo below. The chair and the pillow have different designs, but combined together, they give a wonderful, homey feel, like your Grandma would plop down in that chair and start telling you stories “from O’ before you were born!”
Eclectic Bohemian Living Room
This style of bohemian decor is more intentional – not like gypsy bohemian, where there is a ton of color as well as dreamcatchers and other small accessories spread out across the room.
Eclectic decor is more laid back and easier on the eyes. Patterns are still prevalent, but without a bright splash of color.
Colors, Tones, and Match Making
With eclectic interior design, even though you use more muted tones, bright colors are off limits completely!
Instead of having multiple orange pillows, yellow throw blankets, and red bean bags, you’ve got a more composed color pattern with only one of those poking through. Here’s an example of that below!
In the picture above, even the yellow pillows are muted, which is a different approach than some of the louder bohemian designs.
Notice the frills on the blanket, resting on the couch: this type of flair is prominent in eclectic bohemian design.
Keep it Chic!
‘Aaahh freak out!
Le freak, c'est Chic
Freak out!'
Have you heard about the new dance craze?
No, no, no, not that CHIC..but a great band, nonetheless! Most people might use the word chic to describe how something looks, but it’s often overused.
We define chic as ‘elegantly and stylishly fashionable,’ which is pretty broad.How does the chic look fit into bohemian design? Well, mix modern with old-fashioned 60s and 70s boho looks!
Check out some of these living rooms that manage to combine old with new. Colors are toned down and modern art is added along with newer furniture – but they match well!
Moroccan Boho Style Living Room
Moroccan boho style is pretty simple. The most common way to add Moroccan taste to your living space is to add a bright patterned rug that takes up most of your floor.
Generally, they’re red with other complimentary colors mixed in.
Rugged Living, Moroccan Style!
These rugs are bright and electric, lighting the room up!
Check out the three pins below from the same room; you can really see how a rug livens up the space. You’ll love this in your bohemian living room!
Well, that completes our ideas for boho decor in your living room. We hope you found something here that you like and want to incorporate into your home! The options are pretty vast, so you can start small and continue to add different elements.
If you want more inspiration, check out our bohemian Pinterest board. We have individual sections for your family room, bedroom, and bathroom, with more sections on the way. Be sure to check back here for more bohemian articles!
