Afro Boho Decor: Where to Find It & How to Style It
I am sharing tips to help you design your home using Afro Boho decor and the Afro Boho design style. It doesn't matter if you are a DIY and design newbie or if you're even a veteran. Learning about the nuances of design styles will always help you when it's time to execute.
Best African Boho Decor!
What is Afro Boho?
Afro boho is short for Afro bohemian. The literal definition of bohemian means a socially unconventional person, especially one involved in the arts. Afro stands for African and diasporic elements.
Boho or the bohemian became a design style or approach in Paris in the 1900s. Afro boho differs from the boho style in that Afro boho has an aspect of honoring one's heritage and culture, which you don't often find in just pure boho. Both styles appreciate natural elements, but Afro boho tends to use more intense and rich colors than a modern boho color palette.
Don't be afraid to add everything you love in the layer and blend everything with color, texture, and pattern.
Afro boho is a decor and design style that blends the bohemian and Afro-centric aesthetics. Folks who are drawn to this style enjoy exploring and representing their Afro-centric heritage. They also have an appreciation for travel and other cultures.
Where to shop for Afro Boho
Thrift and consignment stores will be great places to check out. You will find a lot of eclectic pieces, and that's another element embedded into the Afro boho style, that eclectic. Eclectic means, in general, adding pieces that don't seem like they should go together, but you're incorporating them in a way that makes everything make sense.
You can also check out one of my favorite stores, World Market. Even if you don't have a World Market near you, they have a great online shopping experience. Also, check out African festivals.
Last but not least, Facebook Marketplace.
I have found some of the best pieces on the marketplace for myself and my design clients. Whether it is Afro Boho style or some other style, Facebook Marketplace is terrific for getting unique, eclectic, and all kinds of items you can incorporate into any style.
Decor elements in Afro Boho
What kind of decor and other elements do you see in this design style, and where do you even use these elements? There is so much you can do and so much fun you can have. Again, remember, it blends that playfulness and sophistication and gives you that unique vibe. Afro Boho can be styled in any room in your home. My entire home is styled using varying degrees of the Afro Boho aesthetic.
Afro Boho consists of that layered pattern, as I was talking about.
Think of these patterns, pairing even this pattern with the Kuba cloth pattern on a wall. They do not conflict with each other. They can work together.
Afro Boho has bold, saturated colors, but you can also use a neutral color palette to anchor an Afro Boho space.
I have a dining room that shows the quality of using a neutral color palette.
Also, mixing time periods is okay. Modern furniture or contemporary furniture mixed with more vintage pieces.
You want that cozy lighting.
You want to also mix up soft and hard surfaces. So, for example, if you had a wood bench of some sort, you want to soften that with pillows or maybe a soft sculpture on the wall, like a juju hat or something like that.
Animal prints are also prominent in the Afro Boho. Natural elements, lots of live plants, and plant imagery in artwork and pillow accessories are featured. Now, for those who are live plant-challenged, you can always get fake plants.
You can also add plant imagery in artwork on walls and pillow accessories. Don't forget about dried plants as well. Dried eucalyptus or dry palm fronds are fantastic and can give that natural element.
Wood is another element, using new or recycled wood.
If purchasing something that's natural wood is out of your budget, definitely go for some of the laminated wood pieces that you can still get that wood element. You also consider some exotic wood, anything from bamboo to zebra wood.
Repurposed items and giving something old a new use are other elements in the Afro Boho design.
As I mentioned, pattern fabric includes the Kuba cloth, mud cloth, and adinkra symbols. These terms and fabric patterns are mainly indigenous to the West African continent.
Another aspect is woven baskets, woven rugs, lots of pillows, and comfort. You don't want the space to be like a museum. Opening the space up so that it is welcoming and folks want to sit down and sit a while, including you, is very important to the Afro Boho style. Think of it as being relaxed, playful, and yet sophisticated.
Sculptured pieces that might even be everyday objects but used as art are another element. Raffia, that's like a grass, a dried grass. African masks. Masks can show any quality, from serious to playful. Traditional African jewelry might be displayed as art and or sculpture.
Again, framed art and canvas art are other aspects of the Afro Bohemian style.
Carved stools are another significant element showing an appreciation for the artistry in one's heritage, particularly in the African or diasporic heritage.
Wood blinds are another way to bring that kind of wood feature into one's home.
Upcycle pieces using a dresser, for example, to store things or to hold dishes or something. Painting the furniture, not only leaving the wood in its natural state but painting a dresser in an old pop of color would be another aspect of Afro Boho or a direction you could go in. Macrame wall hangings are all the rage. That's a crossover between Afro Boho and Boho. There is quite a bit of a crossover, but Afro Boho has some very distinctive elements that distinguish it from a pure Boho.
Wood floors or ceramic floors are also prominent in the Afro Boho style.
Layering area rugs on carpet and rugs on rugs is another element of Afro Boho. If you don't have a wood or ceramic floor, don't let that stop you. As you see, this list is pretty extensive.
You can do so much by creating this Afro Boho vibe in your space.
Afro Boho decor
I hope this helped you understand Afro Boho decor and perhaps have the courage now to implement this style in your home. Are you interested in Afro Boho design? Let me know in the comments below.
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