Bohemian Style [Paperback]

Elizabeth Wilhide (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2001

Bohemian style is a rejection of restrictive minimalism and a return to artistic freedom; Leading interior design writer Elizabeth Wilhide reveals how to find your own celectic style and bring interiors to life with vibrant colours, glittering surfaces and exotic fabrics; Advice on revamping junk and using 'found' items make this book ideal for the costconscious and for those with an eye for the unusual; Striking colour photographs of inspirational interiors; Eclectic, exuberant and, above all, intensely decorative, Bohemian style flourishes once more. Celebrating a new freedom of creative expression in the home: walls saturated in brilliant colour; surfaces and finishes enriched with luminous tiles, mosaic and glittering mirrors; exotic textiles hung from windows and draped over low-level sofas and divans - the Bohemian look is a vibrant cultural mix spiced with artistic flair. Bohemian Style reveals that a willingness to experiment and a taste for vitality and self-expression are more important than knowledge of design when it comes to creating alternative interiors. And the look need not be costly: Bohemian style is also about creating style on a shoestring, improvising furnishings from cast-offs, and conjuring magic from the everyday. Chapters on the history of the movement, paint techniques, walls and flooring; soft furnishings, and 'found' objects; and inspirational colour photographs make this an invaluable sourecbook of creative ideas that will enable you to create your own, individual Bohemian style.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tired of buying your furniture in giant warehouses an hour's drive away and struggling with assembly instructions once home, only to see the same table on the same rug in your friends' houses? Well, don a neckerchief and white blouse, pour a glass of plain old red table wine, put on some Billie Holiday, and prepare to reject "the dull conformity of mass taste and manners."

But first, read the opening chapter of interior designer and author Elizabeth Wilhide's Bohemian Style, "Artists in Residence." It's a succinct, erudite history of bohemianism as seen through the lives and often communal homes of 19th- and 20th-century artists such as William Morris, Augustus John, and Dora Carrington. The walls, floors, ceilings, light fixtures, fireplaces, and everything else in these artists' domiciles--country cottages, studios, even gypsy caravans--not only kept body and iconoclastic soul together, but also became surfaces to paint, tile, sculpt, drape, and draw. So--no money for canvas this month? Paint the landscape on the kitchen wall, then. Anything, except the status quo, goes here.

The remainder of the book is devoted to the how of bohemian style: how to paint (including how to make your own paint), applique, mosaic, tile, collage, dye and drape textiles, even turn found objects into art and light fixtures. The emphasis here is on the quick and easy--how to dash off a wall treatment in an afternoon, say. That said, it should be clear that type A personalities may very well find the decorating ideas in this book frustrating, even a shade slapdash. They're not bohemians.

A book delineating how to decorate in a style that is by its nature personal and idiosyncratic may seem a contradiction in terms, and in many ways it is, but the how here really consists of seed ideas, ruminations on how bohemians would do it, and tips for making your own visions come to life successfully. Note that there are no step-by-step instructions here; beginners will have to go elsewhere for those. Or make up their own.

With its colorful, full-page photos of historic and modern rooms that exemplify the bohemian aesthetic and its intelligently written text, this is a book that can change the way you think about home décor and even how you live in your home. --Stefanie Durbin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Elizabeth Wilhide was born in the United States and has lived in England since the late 1960s. She is a leading expert on interior design and has written numerous books on the subject, including Lighting, The Laura Ashley Book of Windows, Conran's Original Home Design and, for Pavilion, Creating Space, William Morris: Decor and Design and The Mackintosh Style: Decor and Design.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Pavilion Books (September 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1862054339
• ISBN-13: 978-1862054332
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,037,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Color, Imagination, Inspiration...., March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bohemian Style (Hardcover)

Just received this book...am ever glad I ordered it. Review online does not do it justice...or, it was just what I needed right now to inspire me to go nuts decorating. The photos are colorful beyond description, lots to study in each one; makes one feel brave as far as putting things one already has together & looking for a few more great affordable "finds" to pull it all together.I am going to devour this book and then go nuts in my home. Not for the taupe & Bassett furniture crowd but if you want to decorate with imagination this book is a great kick in the behind to help you get your place fixed up the way YOU'VE always imagined it & not apologize for it either. I'm off to read & start my projects....

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unique, beautiful, colorful decorating, February 23, 2006

By 

anglitorra - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bohemian Style (Paperback)

My husband and I are both artists of sorts, and like a profusion of handmade and vintage things in our home. Being a newly married lady having to set up housekeeping for the first time, I have read whatever books I could find on decorating. I found most advocated the kind of stiff, minimalist, store-bought look my husband and I so strongly wanted to avoid.

This book has been a great help to me. It has practical instructions for making things yourself, giving different alternatives for unconventional wall treatments and floor coverings, and other methods you can use you can make your space your own.

It provides interesting historical background on everything from the embroideries William Morris had in his house to the historical use of floor cloths. It has some very lovely pictures of how artists have chosen to decorate their homes.

The book does not advocate chic modern minimalism, nor does it advocate a fluffy country style of decorating. So far, it has been one of the most useful books on the subject of decorating I have found. It is one of the few that give practical instructions on how to make things to suit your tastes, rather than simply advice on where to buy them.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting introduction to the Bohemians, June 27, 2007

By 

M. verdugo (Palm Springs North, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bohemian Style (Paperback)

I found this book to be very informative on the famous Bohemians, like the artists William Morris and Augustus John, and some interesting tidbits on the other artists and writers that rebeled agaisnt the social and political norms of their time.

The photographs are nice and very colorful. This is not a book for the person looking for a how to "Martha Stewart" take on bohemianism.

A quote from the book says it all.
"This book provides an introduction to what is less a decorating trend and more away of life. By definition, bohemians are true originals, mavericks,even rebels, and the interiors that display their passion and creative impulses resist rigid categorization."