A simple guide to building a bodacious boho bed

I look at a lot of photographs of bedrooms, and the ones I love most feature layered, multipatterned boho beds. You may not be ready to mix up pattern quite to the extent of the bed in the photo above, but the same FORMULA it uses will work regardless of how many colors and patterns you're ready to pile on.

No matter how wild or simple the outcome, the layered beds I love share the same basic elements:

1. Handcrafted throw, colorful OR textured OR BOTH 
2. Blanket/comforter, printed or solid 
3. Sheets, printed or solid 
4. Pillowcases, matching or not 
5. Accent pillows, colorful OR textured OR BOTH 

See any reoccuring themes? Yep, numbers 1 and 5. Start off with one or the other and build from there.

My favorite inspiration-starter is a killer throw.

Mary Richmond photo / Design Sponge

Take this kantha quilt, for instance. Most throws will span the width of a king-size bed if spread out lengthwise and cover halfway up the bed if left unfolded, depending on whether you pull it over the foot of the mattress or not. A smaller bed, of course, means the throw will cover more of it.

Nuevo Estilo

A vibrantly printed blanket can be substituted for a throw, as shown here, for greater coverage.

Old Brand New

But if the throw is small, you can arrange it as if casually tossed on the bed after a nap.

Pampa

Or drape it over the corner most visible upon entering the room.

Soho House

Or, if you prefer a tidier look, fold the throw across the foot of the bed as shown here.

Lesley Unruh photo

Your “throw” can also be a handwoven rug.

Next, focus attention on the coverlet or blanket that will go beneath it. 

West Elm

You may find a solid base easier to work with if you’re a newbie to pattern mixing or simply like a smooth, restful surface.

INC Architecture & Design

But don’t feel compelled to stick to white. There are lots of terrific neutrals out there, like this gray, for instance…

The Design Files

…or this linen.

Eric Piasecki

Or even a solid color, like this spring-like apple green….

...or this sweet lavender. Although you should consider texture in every layer, I think it’s especially important whenever you choose a solid color. In this example, both the throw and the coverlet are solid, but each has a texture—the crochet patterning and the quilting—which add interest.

Of course, you may prefer a solid coverlet that’s a smooth surface, like glass. But smooth is a texture, too, and stands out against more embellished pieces to make a very different statement.

Simon Brown photo / House & Garden

Depending on your comfort level, you may even pair a printed throw with a coverlet of a different print. In this example, both pieces are similar geometrics in similar color palettes; but one is mostly dark and the other mostly light—plus the scale is different—so they look as if they belong together.

La Boheme House of the Wishing Trees

Same goes here. Both coverlet and throw are unique, hand-embroidered suzani. But they work well together because of the variation in the scale of the designs, as well as one having a light background and the other going darker, though sharing an overall color palette.

Next stop is your sheets....

Michael Sinclair photo / House & Garden

...where white—or ivory—is always right, or so they say. But it’s certainly not all that’s out there.

Trevor Tondro photo

Never underestimate the power of sheets in a vibrant solid color, like this rich gold, which contrasts sharply and beautifully with the blue in the throw and the area rug.

Via Um Brinco

Don’t rule out printed sheets either, which, in this example, are mixed with a solid. The more you mix, the better trained your eye will become. Don’t be afraid to go a little wild, particularly if that’s what makes you happy. 

I, for one, LOVE printed sheets. They seem so much more special to me. Probably some connection with childhood. I do remember when white was the only color sheets came in, then BOOM!! The market exploded with color and prints. The first sheets I bought for myself post-college were big blousy flowers, and I loved them. I didn’t even worry about them matching anything else because then everybody covered up their sheets with their bedspreads.

On to the pillowslips, which absolutely do not have to match the sheets!

Natalie Jeffcott photo

Or some can and some don’t. Many of us stack double pillows on our bed these days, and most sheet sets come with just two pillowcases. Often you can buy extra, and a few sets package four, but sometimes neither option is available for the sheets we want.

BoHo Home

I’m facing that dilemma right now. Take a peek at my pillowcases, which in this view if all you can see of my bed. I need four pillowcases, but my current sets only came with two. So I borrowed pillowcases from one set and mixed them with the sheets and pillowcases of another. 

I’m not quite ready to buy new sheets but have scoped out a set of ivory ones that come with four pillowcases for when I am. But after living with this combination, I’m liking the mix. I may even mix it up even more when the time to buy finally rolls around. 

The plus is I can buy better sheets and pillowcases for less. Why? Because if I don’t require a matched set I can shop clearance and have fun finding prints that complement each other and the rest of my room.

A final touch: Accent pillows

Although your accent pillows need to look great with everything else you’ve picked out, I think they work best when they refer back most strongly to the inspiration throw. That doesn’t mean they should MATCH it--quite the contrary.

Mary Beth Koeth photos / Design Sponge

They should recall it in some way and be a strong statement in themselves because they occupy the head of the bed. In this example, the accent pillows play up the colors in the throw but on a grander scale: big, happy stripes compare to petite diamond patterns.

Simon Upton photo / AD

These accent pillows repeat the color palette in the throw but on a grander scale with big, beautiful flowers.

Anthropologie

This bed is done completely in white and ivory but creates interest with texture. The accent pillows in particular refer back to the throw. The euro shams also have a zig-zag pattern, like the throw, but the smaller pillows sport textured stripes of varying widths as well as fringe that complements the throw.

George Roske photo

These accent pillows refer back to the black in the throw, but tie it in with other natural elements in the room.

Amber Interiors

The blue accent pillows on this bed play on the blue stripe in the throw, as well as the blue print in the bench cushion at the bed’s foot. The natural colored accent pillows connect the bed to the suzani draped over the headboard. All the textiles in the room share a handcrafted look and feel, which unifies the look even more.

Here’s how I used these guidelines to refresh my own boho bedroom:

Anthropologie / Soft Surroundings

The short version is, I started with Anthropologie’s Open Market Throw Blanket as my inspiration and paired it with Soft Surroundings’ Sumptuous Chenille Blanket in champagne (no longer available) as my coverlet.

Soft Surroundings / Target / Soft Surroundings

I also considered these options insteads of the chenille blanket: the Luxe Super-Stitch Velvet Quilt in ivory, the Chenille Stitched Quilt in cream, and the Medina Quilt in raspberry daquiri and in bellini (peach). To decide, I narrowed my choices to three, which I ordered and compared in the room on the bed to make the final selection.

Ebay sellers' photos

I chose to make three custom euro shams in mixed fabrics as my accent pillows. I pulled the colors from the inspiration throw and went with a midcentury-modern wave-stripe, a hand-dyed ikat, and a chinoiserie floral. I think they worked because all were so different yet referred back to the color palette dictated by the throw. 

I had seen several ready-made shams I liked, but in the end made my own because I wanted a unique mix. I also chose to use one of the prints for a window treatment and to upholster a chair seat.

BoHo Home

What I ended up with is a versatile mix. I can change out any of the separate pieces at any time to freshen up the look. For instance, I have several handcrafted throws I could swap out for the one on my bed now without changing either the accent pillows or the coverlet. And I’ve already shown you several coverlets that would work with the pillows and the throw.

Variations on a theme

Whatever you do, don’t let my guidelines limit your imagination. Once you’ve gotten your pattern-mixing feet wet, who says you can’t mix it up even more?

House & Garden

For instance, the coverlet and the throw can switch places.

Maxwell Tielman / Design Sponge

Or who’s to say you can’t double up on the throws? Not me!

Didier Delmas photo / Marie Claire Maison

You can even TRIPLE-up on the throws and skip the coverlet. And if your bed requires a skirt (or you just like bedskirts) consider adding yet another print pulled from the palette of your inspiration piece.

Via Interior Design Journal

Or make the throw a solid and the blanket/coverlet a print.

Michelle Nussbaumer via One Kings Lane

Because the truth is that none of this is written in stone. It’s about putting together what makes you happy and what gives you comfort in your most intimate of home spaces.

If you want more...

• Check out two of my master bedroom refreshes HERE and HERE.
• Become a BoHo Home follower in whatever way works best for you: Sign up to have posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or, follow my blog with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.

Got Mail #6 / Boho must-haves from Anthro spring collection

Anthropologie

I know I’m guaranteed some boho home décor beauty when the seasons start to change and Anthropologie rolls out its new collection. Take it from me, this year’s spring home-decor offerings are a breath of boho fresh air.

I also know the door’s open in this photo, but let’s stay inside a bit and look around. After all, that’s what a lookbook’s for, and this one will have you ogling, drooling and spending before you know what’s hit you.

Comfort for living

I can’t begin to identify every new piece in each photo, but I’ll try to hit the highlights.

Anthropologie

My absolute fave in this photo is that wild and crazy chair—the Medina-Printed Rivona Chair. The Medina print reappears in other new pieces. The inspiration for the fabric is Moroccan, but the chair is all midcentury modern. Love those legs!

Anthropologie

Told you you'd see it reinterpreted on other pieces. Meet the Medina-Printed Tassa Sectional. It’s low-slung and pillowy, and if you fall asleep on it you’re liable to wake up in One Thousand and One Nights. Scheherazade never had it sooooooo good.

Anthropologie

Here’s another view of the Tassa, paired up with the equally transporting Moroccan Wedding Ottoman. It functions as a coffee-table ottoman OR a bench for extra seating. I’m just wondering why it took someone so long to turn the ubiquitous Moroccan wedding blanket into multifunctional furniture.

Love those slender golden legs! I think I have legs on the brain, if that's anatomically possible...??

Anthropologie

Here are some other beauties that caught my eye (clockwise from top left):

• The Floret Occasional Chair (you caught a glimpse of it in purple earlier but it also comes in green) features cotton velvet upholstery on a rosewood frame. What more could you ask for? 
• The Moussem Ceramic Stool, designed by Tracy Boyd, made of glazed white clay. It wants to cuddle up to a chair in my living room, but it would also work on a patio.
• The Zaylie Chair is inspired by Suzani applique and embroidery and sports embellishment all the way around, so be sure to place it where it can be viewed from a variety of angles. 
• The Kezia Occasional Chair is upholstered in your choice of three printed velvets. ‘Nuf said, right? 
• The Tanja Trunk makes a terrific coffee table or end-of-bed accent with its natural wood, incised eight-point stars and antique-iron accents. 
• This collection of Sketched Safari Chairs, by fashion designer Edward Hall, is the perfect anchor for any global-inspired home. So many shapes, sizes, animal prints and colors! Begin your safari hanging out with the elephants on the Purple Holloway Chair and the Canary-colored Tillie, then run with the big cats in the Indigo Bixby and the bright Orange Tillie. The collection also includes a flamingo-printed chair, as well as elephant wallpaper and a tiger lampshade, but I’ll let you hunt those down on your own. 

Dining with pleasure

Anthropologie

Nothing tells a sweeter story, gathered ‘round a table, than Anthro’s Folkthread Chairs, reinterpreted this season in recycled silk in three colors to mix and match. I’m also in love with the plushy Kinza Rug beneath. It’s shown in ivory but also comes in a black-and-white version.

Anthropologie

And what would any gathering be without romantic, mood-setting lighting? I’m loving (left to right): the Abalorio Chandelier, the Nomad Pendant, and the Beadcraft Chandelier.

Dreamy boho bedrooms

Anthropologie

The Premium Leather Rhys Bed comes in 13 colors and four sizes. Here it’s dressed in one of my favorite new duvet sets, the Kessabine, shown in slate but also available in orange. I love the embroidery, pompons and fringe against soft cotton, don’t you?

Anthropologie

The striking Geo Brass Inlay bedroom furniture collection includes this platform bed with massive headboard in tropical hardwood, inlaid with brass, and the diminutive nightstand shown. There’s also a three-drawer chest of drawers to complete the sweet suite.

Anthropologie

The Prana Bedroom Collection showcases the natural beauty of multi-hued, live-edge oak and includes the bed, nightstand and six-drawer chest shown. And there’s that Moroccan Wedding Ottoman again, this time at the bed’s foot. All items are sold separately.

Anthropologie

If this rooms isn’t glamorous boho—glambo—I'll eat my pompons. The Velvet Ainesworth Bed comes in 18 colors and two sizes, each and every one fit for a princess, a diva, a super-model, or glamorous, boho you. The Velvet Edilyn Bench comes in all the same colors so you can have a custom match as well as a comfy seat to take your shoes on and off.

Anthropologie

Some of my favorite new Anthro bedding includes (clockwise from top left) :

• The Kerry Cassill Persica Quilt and shams, which call to mind lovely, gently worn bedding you might find in the Paris Flea Market. Here it’s paired with the Lulie Wallace Cascabel Sheet Set. I can almost smell peaches, can’t you? 
• The Woven Sunset Duvet and shams is by LA’s All Roads Design and features standard, king and euro sham options. I love its happy pinks, and, of course, I adore anything that comes out of the All Roads’ workshop. 
• I don’t often point out cute kid's stuff (unless I want it for my adult self!), but the Wilderness Map collection of toddler and infant bedding is an exception. It’s perfect for your little cowboy or trailblazer or bronc-buster. Check out the buffalo! I bet there’s an antelope in there somewhere too. 
• Ditto for the Cat Collective collection. Wish I had a young child so I could decorate with that, right down to the cute little bereted cat pillow. Turn him over and check out his stuffed tail! 

Weave me some happiness

Anthropologie

Nobody does textiles better than Anthropologie, and they’ve really outdone themselves this spring. There’s a vast array of new colorful throws, rugs and pillows….

Anthropologie

...as well as designs in black, white and other neutrals. I just adore the detail and the workmanship in these pieces. I could look all day and touch all night if they’d only lock me in the store! (I keep trying!)

Anthropologie

My favorite rugs will probably be sold out by the time this post appears. From left to right, my penultimate picks include the very boho Versify Rug with its all-over tassels, the William Morris-inspired Wyla Rug done in crewel embroidery, and the Embroidered Tiger Rug, available in either orange or teal.

Anthropologie’s unique, handcrafted rugs do often sell out quickly, particularly in the smaller, less pricier sizes. If, like me, you have wall-to-wall carpet and no good space for an area rug (and your budget doesn’t allow a bigger size) get the one you like in a 3-by-5 and hang it on the wall as art. But get it quick, before it’s gone, K?

Anthropologie

I’m really into the look of a handcrafted throw at the foot of my bed since I redid my bedding with one of Anthropologie's throws. But now they have plenty of new choices for me to drool over. Clockwise from top left, meet my spring collection picks:

• The Tufted Desert Throw, the latest from All Roads Design, which simply SINGS summer sunset. 
• The Centrale Throw Blanket, which I simply MUST have for my living room. 
• The Woven Poms Throw in mind-bending boho coral. 
• The Textured Indira Throw in a cadre of neutrals. 
• The rug-like Aldalora Throw in either neutral or blue. 
• The Tufted Yoursa Throw with its sweet patchwork of soft stripes, outlined in poms.

Anthropologie

And I could never forget throw pillows, especially these, with lots and lots of fringe, poms, tassels and embroidery. From left to right, shop the Marisol collection (which includes the 30-by-30-inch floor pillow shown at bottom), the Tufted Leyland collection, and the Tufted Yoursa collection.

So many textiles, so little time!!

Delicious décor to feed your (my) decorating habit

Anthropologie

My storage picks, clockwise from top left, include:

• The Eyelash-Fringed Catchall Basket, handcrafted by women in Rwanda, 
• Ditto for the Lidded Tassel Basket, in white. 
• The Cassatt Woven Vessel, a delightful mix of glazed stoneware, wool roving, and manila and cotton rope, designed by mixed media artist Karen Gayle Tinney. 
• Playtime Canvas Bins, which are just too cute in my book to limit to the kids. (I want that sweet alpaca one for my office.) 
• The Cat Study Hook in orange, designed by Brooklyn-based Leah Goren. 
• The Tasseled Pera Baskets, which come in in three colors and shapes (my favorite, a gorgeous gold, is not shown). 

Anthropologie

Fiber wallhangings have been making a big comeback from the 1960s and 70s, and Anthro adds to its collection each season. But when each style's gone, it's gone. Here are, left to right, newbies Ojai Fringed Wall Art in your choice of two motifs, the statement-making Macrame Woven Wall Art, and Salinas Fringed Wall Art in your choice of three motifs.

Anthropologie

What would any Anthropologie catalog be without unique pottery? Clockwise from top left, meet my new best friends, Wild Alpaca Pots, Gold Accent Dessert Plates (hang them on the wall as art!), Arletta Coasters, and Simea Mugs.

Anthropologie

Last but not least are two more woven wonders: the Tulum Hammock, which is embroidered but reminds me of mud cloth, and the Beadwork Hammock, designed by LA artist, sculpture and jewelry designer Julie Rofman to emulate the look of her intricate beadwork.

Anthropologie

Here are some close-ups of each hammock. Can you guess the missing detail?

If you guessed me (or you!) lounging away a sultry summer afternoon therein, you’re on the winning track! Just 17 more days until spring, so summer can’t be far behind.

Until then, if you want more…

• Explore the products and stories behind the Anthropologie spring collection in the Spring Home Journal and Studio Sessions. 
• Request your very own catalog. 
• See everything that’s new in the Anthropologie house and home collection. 
• Become a BoHo Home follower by subscribing, using one of the services at the bottom of this page. Or, follow my blog with Bloglovin.