Bohemian Room Ideas

Rich Base Color

• Bedeck the walls of your room with a rich paint color that will form the room's decorative base. Pick a dramatic color reminiscent of jewelry to capture the exuberant spirit of bohemian style. Colors to consider include scarlet or garnet red, emerald green, pearly white (for a minimalist-bohemian hybrid look), sapphire blue, citron yellow, bronze or gold. Lay the color on in multiple coats to achieve a vibrant depth. Apply a finish, such as a feathering or sea-sponge application of a lighter, complementary shade if the unadulterated color is too bright for you.

Velvet Drapes

• Swath one wall or section of the room with velvet drapes to conjure the curtains in a fortune-teller's tent or the curtains in the windows of gypsy wagons. Potential uses for drapes include window treatments, room dividers, and "frames" for a piece of artwork or unusual architectural feature you'd like to spotlight. Add crossroads-of-the-world detail (characteristic of bohemian decor) to the drapes by tying them back with lengths of bronze chain, thick nautical rope or cords strung with big wooden beads.

Bohemian Photo Wall

• Give a sly nod to your decorative style, and give the room a literal window into the exotic by covering one wall with a collage of photos taken in Bohemia, a historical area that encompassed the majority of what is now the Czech Republic. Purchase a coffee table book of photos taken there, and cut it apart using a razor blade. Cover one entire wall with the photos, attaching them with a removable adhesive.

One-of-a-Kind Accents

• Sprinkle your space with the ramshackle, one-of-a-kind decorative accents that creative people might dream up. For example, screw legs onto an old wooden door to make a table. Repurpose an antique wire birdcage as a plant holder. Glue a stack of old books together -- wider books at the bottom -- for a small couch end table that only looks precarious. Hang Moroccan lamps from the ceiling, and place LED "candles" in them for a permanent glow.