Henson Emily - Bohemian Modern

Bohemian

MODERN

Bohemian

MODERN

Emily Henson

Photography by

Katya de Grunwald

SENIOR DESIGNER Toni Kay

SENIOR COMMISSIONING EDITOR Annabel Morgan

LOCATION RESEARCH Jess Walton

PRODUCTION Gordana Simakovic

ART DIRECTOR Leslie Harrington

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Julia Charles

PUBLISHER Cindy Richards

First published in 2015.

This revised edition published in 2020

by Ryland Peters & Small

2021 Jockeys Fields,

London WC1R 4BW

and

341 E 116th Street

New York, NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

Text copyright Emily Henson 2015, 2020

Design and photographs copyright Ryland Peters & Small 2015, 2020

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 978-1-78879-286-8

E-ISBN 978-1-78879-313-1

The authors moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress CIP data has been applied for.

Printed and bound in China

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

I first had the idea for Bohemian Modern when I was travelling in Los Angeles for my first book. It was sparked in part by a resurgence in that ancient knotting technique that was popular in the 1970s macram. I kid you not, everywhere I looked people were doing it. This craft that my mothers generation was probably so glad to see the back of was making my own generation go bananas. Oversized macram wall hangings, mini macram necklaces, plant holders, bed canopies and dog coats (OK, I made that last one up, but Im certain they exist). I tried my hand at it, and I admit it was fun. Kind of like my favourite childhood game, Cats Cradle, but with a prize at the end: a plant holder! The 1970s were having a comeback, and as a child of the 80s I was into it.

In this Danish family home, a garden designer has mixed granny chic florals with Moroccan rugs and framed posters for a quirky and stylish bohemian look.

An architect and artist built this Dutch home from the ground up. They have flawlessly blended old and new, sleek and rough, for a rustic bohemian style.

I became curious about people who were taking those ideas made popular in the 1970s and rethinking them for todays world. Not just macram but also houseplants en masse, boucherouite rugs and, dare I say it, dream catchers basically, all those clichd ideas that spring to mind when you think of 1970s interiors. I had lived in Los Angeles for many years and had seen the style re-emerge in the hills of Echo Park, home to many new bohemians seeking a liberated and creative lifestyle. I set out to find modern homes that fitted this idea of 21st-century bohemian, but what I found instead was a group of individuals who tick the Bohemian Modern box not just because their homes scream modern hippy (although some do) but because they are actually living a Bohemian Modern lifestyle creative, unconventional and shunning the status quo in interiors, and doing so with such flair and success. They are bohemian in spirit, not just in style.

For Bohemian Modern, I travelled Europe to share with you the homes of artists, architects and designers of all kinds, from furniture and interiors to textiles and gardens. I certainly saw my fair share of macram and kilim rugs, as you might expect in a bohemian home, but more excitingly I also saw innovation and creativity in the homeowners interiors choices. They proved to be free spirits who refuse to follow the rules, choosing instead to make up their own. I finished my travels feeling truly inspired and reinvigorated in my own work as a stylist and designer.

In a Moroccan riad, white-washed walls provide a clean canvas for the homeowners collection of retro furniture not what you expect to find within the walls of the ancient medina.

Polished limestone plaster coats the floors in this lakeside home near Amsterdam. Corners are filled with plants, and the neutral base is broken up by the orange plastic chairs, found in the junk.

THE DETAILS

A woven plastic stair runner in red and white zigzags provides a playful contrast to the worn brick walls of this stairway.

A plastic rug is paired with a mini plastic pouffe. These rugs are a colourful and practical addition to the Bohemian Modern home great both indoors and out, and easily cleaned.

A glossy red kitchen shelf holds a selection of eye-catching cans and packages. Frequently used items such as coffee and tea can easily be decanted into more attractive containers.

A vibrant mix of patterned pillows some handmade, some store-bought livens up a plain bed.

Pattern and colour

Ive always been drawn to vibrant colours and patterns. Although Ive toned it down in recent years, I still tend to choose colour over neutral and print over plain. When I think of a bohemian home, this is what springs to mind. Not that every Bohemian Modern home has a vibrant colour palette you will see in the case studies that some dont but very often it is a defining element. Whether they are introduced via textiles, paint, tiles or wallpaper, pattern and colour are great starting points for a rooms dcor, and a foundation upon which to build a strong look.