Saturday, July 11, 2009

Dreamin Bohemian

I have been thinking about the gypsies of Bohemia in olden times, who traveled by caravan late at night from one town to the next town, to set up camp and eek out a living, I am having a hard time in actually getting a clear definition of just what Bohemian Style is. I feel like a townsperson, I think I see the picture, but then poof...I see the back of the wagon just breaking the horizon in the distance.




http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house/gypsy-wagon-workshop/

bohemian - 5 dictionary results


(1.)
Bo⋅he⋅mi⋅an  /boʊˈhimiən/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [boh-hee-mee-uhn]
–noun 1. a native or inhabitant of Bohemia.
2. (usually lowercase) a person, as an artist or writer, who lives and acts free of regard for conventional rules and practices.
3. the Czech language, esp. as spoken in Bohemia.
4. a Gypsy.
–adjective 5. of or pertaining to Bohemia, its people, or their language.
6. (usually lowercase) pertaining to or characteristic of the unconventional life of a bohemian.
7. living a wandering or vagabond life, as a Gypsy.
Origin:
1570–80; Bohemi(a) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.


(2.)
bo·he·mi·an (bō-hē'mē-ən)
n. A person with artistic or literary interests who disregards conventional standards of behavior.
[French bohémien, from Bohême, Bohemia (from the unconventional lifestyle of Gypsies, erroneously supposed to have come from there).]
bo·he'mi·an adj., bo·he'mi·an·ism n.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.




(3.)
A Gypsy.
An itinerant person; a vagabond.
[Sense 3, translation of French bohémien; see bohemian.]
bo·he·mi·an (bō-hē'mē-ən)
n. A person with artistic or literary interests who disregards conventional standards of behavior.
~[French bohémien, from Bohême, Bohemia (from the unconventional lifestyle of Gypsies, erroneously supposed to have come from there).]
bo·he'mi·an adj., bo·he'mi·an·ism n.

Bo·he·mi·an (bō-hē'mē-ən)
n. A native or inhabitant of Bohemia.
The Czech dialects of Bohemia.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


(4.)
bohemian
A descriptive term for a stereotypical way of life for artists and intellectuals. According to the stereotype, bohemians live in material poverty because they prefer their art or their learning to lesser goods; they are also unconventional in habits and dress, and sometimes in morals.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

(5.)
bohemian
"a gypsy of society," 1848, from Fr. bohemién (1559), from the country name, from M.Fr. Boheme "Bohemia," from L. Boiohaemum (Tacitus), from Boii, the Celtic people who settled in what is now Bohemia (and were driven from it by the Gmc. Marcomans early 1c.). The modern sense is perhaps from the use of this country name since 15c. in Fr. for "gypsy" (they were believed falsely to have come from there, though their first appearance in W.Europe may have been from there), or from association with Bohemian heretics. It was popularized by Henri Murger's 1845 story collection "Scenes de la Vie de Boheme," the basis of Puccini's "La Bohème." Used in Eng. 1848 in Thackary's "Vanity Fair."

"The term 'Bohemian' has come to be very commonly accepted in our day as the description of a certain kind of literary gipsey, no matter in what language he speaks, or what city he inhabits .... A Bohemian is simply an artist or littérateur who, consciously or unconsciously, secedes from conventionality in life and in art." ["Westminster Review," 1862]
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bohemian


That was a lot of information, all well and good! But I am talking Bohemian Style. Boho.
I have a certain preconceived idea in my mind, but then I try to research it a little I get a different picture depending on which source I am using. I really do love how people put it together in their homes as a decorating style, and that is what I am searching for.




I myself am looking for a fresh update. It seems to be a lovely melange of color. The above pictures are a very modest and moderate interpretation of color when it comes to decorating with a boho style, the norm is to apply the glorious color to the walls, and incorporate massive dark wood furniture and accessories are eclectic and personal but not shy either. Bold. I am still in my research stage, but I love what I see so far.





It has a very 60's 70's feel, I think this will be a fun exploration. More to follow.

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