Real-Life Boho Style

We are big fans of boho chic at Shimu and we think our furniture, particularly some of the more unusual antiques, perfectly suit this relaxed, colourful aesthetic. Our customers obviously feel the same, and today on the blog we showcase the boho style of some real-life Shimu customers.

Boho is colourful, eclectic and highly personal. It’s a look associated with the 70s – with tie-dye and macramé – but the original Bohemians sprung up in France centuries before peace signs and flower power. Boho has inspired fashion and interiors since the late sixties and has never gone out of style.

Boho is an invitation to kick off your shoes and relax, to luxuriate in pattern, texture and colour. Textiles play an important role in the boho look and ethnic details feature strongly. Furniture is relaxed and careworn – distressed pieces with faded layers of colourful paint really suit the boho vibe. Accessories are quirky and fun, often antique.

We have two great examples of boho living – one a hotel by the highly regarded interior designer David Carter, and another a family home in Baildon, West Yorkshire, owned by Pippa Hamilton. Both David and Pippa are longstanding customers of Shimu and both – although totally different in their approach – show a real flair for relaxed boho style.

David is a highly influential interior designer who creates stunning interiors for clients around the world. His bijou hotel in East London, 40 Winks, was called ‘the most beautiful small hotel in the world’ by German Vogue. We created the the bespoke wooden window panels pictured above and below, and provided Oriental antiques for this flamboyant hotel.

David is a passionate exponent of a ‘grand’ design. Never bland or predictable, his work is driven by strong ideas and a conviction that a successful interior should reach out and touch our emotions.

Pippa Hamilton’s Baildon home is a more informal affair, with Chinese and Asian antiques bought from Shimu over a number of years. When we moved to our old showroom in nearby Saltaire over seven years ago, Pippa was one of the first customers through the door, and fell in love with a beautiful carved cabinet from Shaanxi province. This now takes pride of place in her main bedroom. Since then she has added to her collection with painted grain chests from Gansu and Mongolia, including the pieces shown below. She uses textiles – rugs, throws and wall hangings – to great effect and has created a gorgeously cosy family home.

Both David’s glamorous hotel and Pippa’s cosy rural home are perfect examples of how boho can work in a real-life setting. In our next blog post, we’ll feature pieces from the Shimu collection to help you achieve boho style in your own home.