Modern Boho Living Room Makeover
Hi, Welcome to Postbox Designs! If this is your first time here, stop by and introduce yourself below! I love chatting with my fellow design friends, answering questions, or even being the tie-breaker in a design fight. 🙂 I’ve been an interior designer for 14 years, and doing solely E-Design for two years now. But this summer I was able to do something I had never done before!
Earlier this summer I had the really fun opportunity to pair up with Sonder-think of it as a cousin to AirBnB but every property is beautifully and professionally designed with a modern, fun look. I worked with them to design rentals in several major cities in the US and today I’m sharing one in the heart of Boston. If you love it, you can even rent it out yourself! I shared the Master Bedroom Makeover with you the other week…and stay tuned for future reveals in San Fran and Chicago properties!
Modern Boho Living Room E-Design
The great part of working with Sonder, was the E-Design process worked beautifully. I literally sat outside with my laptop overlooking our lake while designing a loft in downtown Boston. That is technology at it’s best my friends! After I created the Mood Boards, Shopping Lists, and Floor Plans, the local Boston designers purchased and pulled together each room based on my drawings. Just like any of my E-Design clients!
Here was the existing Living Room space I had to work with (and yes, it really is as small and odd-shaped as it looks in the photo!). I created this Mood Board for it…and here is the look at the finished space.
Budget Friendly Modern Boho Design
Here is the best part:
Every single Sonder project was super budget friendly. I only had a $5000 budget to furnish a Living Room, Dining Room, and two Bedrooms. Yup, if I can do it, you can do it too!
I love sources like Wayfair, All Modern, Target, West Elm, and Article for all of my projects-but these sources worked really well for this Modern Boho style.
How Do You Decorate in the Modern Boho Style?
If you love this style and want to incorporate it into your own space, here are some items to look for:
Polished or Matte Gold or Brass
Bold, Vibrant Colors-especially Navy and Dark Green
Velvet or Leather Furniture
Natural Items such as crystals, geodes, and succulents
Prints such as Mudcloth, Ikat, and Fringe/PomPom
Geometric or Aztec Patterns-rugs and pillows are a great place for this
I started off the Living Room with this lovely blue velvet structured sofa. With this pop of color, you can go a bit more neutral with the rest of your items. We stuck with a gold, white, and black theme with the majority of the other items: the artwork, pillows, decor, and lighting. And you can get a little peek of that gold hexagon side table….its small footprint is perfect for a little space like this Living Room.
Less Is More with the Modern Boho Style
If you hate fuss and “stuff”, then you are going to LOVE this style! The Modern Boho style can be pretty minimal, simple, and sleek. In this Living Room design for example, all we used was one single oversized art print. No complicated Gallery Wall needed-it’s the easiest wall decor ever!
And one of my personal pet peeves from seeing beautiful Pinterest images with gorgeously styled coffee tables…that is not real life (at least at my house!). In fact for most of my clients, I use a tray that corrals a simple vignette on their table. You get a pretty focal point, but you can literally lift up the tray and move everything if you need more room. In this Living Room, the coffee table is large enough to still have plenty of room with this simple styling in the middle.
Modern Boho Coffee Table Styling
Whenever you are styling a coffee table: I say think SIMPLE. I usually style with four elements in mind:
ONE: One tall item (this hourglass) or a tall vase
TWO: A stack of books (use ones you already have or grab some in colors of your room). This also helps elevate smaller decor objects to keep them from feeling lost.
THREE: One smaller decor object. I like to use something fun and whimsical-in this case this natural geode.
FOUR: A tray to corral it all in (not used in this case)
You can do this with any design style, but with the Boho look this works especially well: use the nature that is around you. A grouping of rocks or a sprig of greenery (like in this vase) brings nature in, which is a huge part of the Boho design style.
And here is this super simple (and budget friendly) coffee table close up. Places like Target and HomeGoods are the perfect spot for picking up inexpensive but fun items. And feel free to change it out with the season!
This Boston Living Room had a TINY (and funny shaped) footprint. But we were able to sneak in this sleek media console table from All Modern (one of my favorite budget-friendly go to sources) with the TV. I added a pop of color to the room with a single accent wall of Benjamin Moore’s “Hale Navy”.
Budget Friendly Living Room Design
This entire Living Room was pulled together for around $2500…not bad for an entire room full of furniture, artwork, lighting, and accessories! I would always invest the largest chunk of my budget into your main seating: in this case the sofa. My next expensive piece would be any chairs you may use. I think you can easily get away with less expensive pieces like coffee tables, side tables, and even rugs (Rugs USA is my favorite sources on these). Lighting and decor items are a great place to use some budget-friendly finds.
Think of the items you use most in your room. Those are the items that should be the most durable, easy to clean, and well-made. I’m a big believer you can achieve beautiful design on ANY budget, and this Living Room is a great example!
Modern Boho Bedroom Design
If you missed it, I shared the makeover of one of the bedrooms from this same property. You can find all of the details along with “Before” and “After” photos below:
Modern Boho Bedroom Makeover
Or you can even rent property if you are planning a trip to Boston. Check out all of the properties for rent over at Sonder!
If you want to know more about how Postbox Designs works, you can check out How It Works to see what all comes in your custom Postbox. I offer several different Room Packages at different price points, you can see them all right here: Room Packages. So if you would rather spend this winter cozying up in your new room instead of stressing over it, E-Design is going to be your new BFF!
You can also find 24/7 free access to Design Freebies for just about every room of your home over at my Free Resource Library:
Cheers,
Kristin
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