Bohemian style layers on and reflects owner’s personality
LOS ANGELES— It may not be a look for all homeowners or even a way to decorate your entire house. But the bohemian style, which first emerged in early 19th-century France when artists moved into less-affluent Parisian neighbourhoods, offers an artistic, freestyle bent, according to designer, stylist, blogger and DIY-er Justina Blakeney in her recently published book, The New Bohemians.
Blakeney’s new home is a Spanishstyle “jungalow” near the Los Angeles River.
“It’s only 1,100 square feet, and all the rooms are small, but it’s my new ‘wet canvas,’ which allows me to add my sense of colour, pattern and plants, the three key ingredients for any bohemian esthetic,” she says. She shares her thoughts and tips about how to achieve the bohemian look:
Share with us your take on why the bohemian style works.
The point of it is to reflect who you are, and if you’re a person who has a free spirit and consider yourself also to be creative, this allows you to show that in your own home. The home is used as a wet canvas, and you decorate more as an ongoing creative project versus decorating with an end goal in sight and looking like X, Y and Z.
You divide up bohemian into six different categories: modern, folksy, romantic, earthy, nomadic, maximal.
I talk about modern bohemian, and this is really a marriage of clean lines and functionality that a modern person is drawn to, but the bohemian comes through in a level of accessorizing and a love of colour.
Earthy bohemian is a big movement right now — it’s a get-back-to-nature vibe and brought into the home through natural materials like wood and sheepskins and handmade stuff. More than ever before, we’re seeing people fill their homes with tons of houseplants, which reflects the return to nature.
In the 1990s and 2000s, minimalism was such a big trend in design that this is a backlash from that and all its darkness and a “pathetic esthetic.” This is about making a space come alive with personality and surrounding yourself with things you love, which is at the heart of bohemian style.
How does a homeowner put together a room or home in one of these styles, yet not have it look too kitschy or stylized?
This is something that comes with time and making your home little by little. If you go in and try and style in one fell swoop and put it all together quickly, it looks theme-y; maybe, like a Tiki room. Bring things in piece by piece, and (layer) on the items, colours, patterns, textures slowly, rather than get it done in a hurry. This look is not created in a one-stop shop.
What if tastes change and someone wants to incorporate a very different piece here and there?
Anything can work in the bohemian style as long as the overarching isn’t too precious or fussy. It’s engaging with the material; you may have a traditional credenza, maybe even handed down, and you want to incorporate (it), though it doesn’t reflect the style, and put your own personal stamp and paint or change hardware, and instead of entryway, put (it) in your kitchen and give a new context.
How about mixing parts from a few of the bohemian looks?
It works definitely, and a lot of the homes for the book could have gone into different chapters. There’s a lot of overlap, and it’s not cut and dry, and that’s part of the bohemian style.
Tell us where you and others can find furnishings and accessories to assemble these kinds of look. Does provenance matter?
I think provenance does matter, but what matters most is that the item tells a story. The most intriguing homes pull in from many places. So besides big box, go to thrift stores. Also go to flea markets . . . I even shop at import stores but add from many sources.
You say a home isn’t a home without plants. Even if you don’t have a green thumb?
Before you go to a store, walk around with your cellphone (and take photos of) where you have the best natural light and where you might place some. Start with something that’s low-maintenance before you advance to an orchid.