boho dining room light fixture idea

Modern Boho Lighting Ideas for Any Space

Meggan Wynja

Bohemian Light Fixtures

Boho-style decor draws its inspiration from natural textures, earthy tones, and soothing rounded shapes. When you choose bohemian decor, your space will immediately feel a little lighter and brighter — especially when you incorporate boho lighting ideas into the room.

Whether you need a pendant light, sconce, or floor lamp, we’re excited to share our favorite modern boho lighting ideas with you!

1. Natural Shades

Natural materials for light shades are one of the easiest ways to transform your space with a boho lighting idea that doesn’t require a big financial or time investment. You might want to explore woven rattan, palm, and string materials for your shade. Just keep an eye on the shape of your shade to ensure it falls within the realm of modern boho lighting ideas. We recommend teardrop, basket, drum, and hive shapes to make a strong statement without losing the natural feel of the design.

You should also consider keeping the ambiance light and energetic when you choose shades in neutral hues that bounce more light around your space. Focus on beige, white, ivory, and latte, while avoiding deep grey or dark brown. 

2. Wood Accents

We love adding wood accents to our bohemian light fixtures — but you should lean towards light-toned woods like white oak, maple, and birch to match the aesthetic. Consider a floor lamp with a wood stand and a classic drum shade in a light fabric color. Home in on the eclectic mix-and-match vibe of the boho philosophy when you explore boho lighting ideas that blend different materials like wood, metal, and fabric together.

3. Use Gold

Touches of gold immediately elevate any space and can also lend a helping hand to bohemian-inspired interiors. Gold, copper, and bronze evoke the Mediterranean and Moroccan energy that inspires so much of boho decor. At Color Cord Company, you’ll find that all our lighting fixtures are available in metallic finishes, which you can combine with fabric or woven shades to create the perfect design. You can even order your fixture with a matching cord color to ensure continuity throughout your space.

If your space already features a lot of golden and metallic hues in door knobs, swag hooks, and furniture, it’s easy to complement those finishes with other natural hues that highlight the earthy aesthetic. Check out the Boutique Lighting Collection for light fixtures in shades of slate, latte, rust, pine, ochre, and linen.

4. Rope & Macrame

Another simple way to customize existing fixtures with boho lighting ideas is to add a rope macrame weave over the cord. If you’re a crafter or passionate DIYer, you can buy your own rope to knot around the cord and add a playful and whimsical touch to any existing design. 

You can find plenty of inspiration for using rope when you explore the cottage-core looks of the Coastal Grandma style, or the down-to-earth elegance of rustic aesthetics. Both of these use natural materials in a slightly different way so you can mix and match those lighting ideas that fit in with your preferred style best.

5. Nature-Inspired Silhouettes

While some boho lighting ideas are all about subtlety that explores nature through hue and material, you can always approach your lighting design with a bolder perspective. Nature-inspired silhouettes, like leaf-shaped shades or floral accents, are strong, obvious choices for bohemian light fixtures. You can take this idea even further with chandelier pendants that have branching arms — just like a tree. Topping a brushed copper chandelier with a natural woven shade is a stunning and playful modern boho lighting idea.

6. Globe Lanterns

boho living room lighting and decor ideas

Bohemian decor has always been defined by the layered, eclectic look of treasures you’ve collected over time. Even if you haven’t had any far-flung travels, you can always recreate outdoor bazaar or tea house vibes with just a few simple pieces. 

A classic plug-in pendant with a painted paper globe shade is an easy boho lighting idea that allows you to explore simple DIY projects that personalize your decor with one-of-a-kind lighting. You can also look at glass globe shades to bring in a bit more of a retro look, as well as raw metal cages for something more industrial.

7. Animal Inspo

Of course, the animal kingdom is obviously part of the boho vibe. A lot of people choose to maximize this part of the aesthetic by adding animal print fabrics in the form of upholstery, rugs, and curtains, but you can lean into the more audacious boho lighting ideas by adding an actual animal figurine to your bohemian light fixtures. It doesn’t matter which animal you choose, making it look the part depends on how you layer it with the rest of your decor. 

While you can find ready-made animal fixtures, we like to take the personal approach by choosing and incorporating our own design into our favorite piece. 

You can follow our lamp makeover tutorial to learn how to rewire a table lamp or sconce with an animal figurine inside it for a unique modern boho lighting idea. We highly recommend buying a plastic figurine from your local toy shop and repainting it in neutral or metallic hues to fit in with your theme. 

8. Prioritize Unique & Creative Materials

If pendant lights with globe shades and classic natural materials don’t fit in with your current decor, you can DIY your own shade with creative materials that add visual texture to your space. Instead of rattan, rope, and string, opt for feathers, draped fabric, or bamboo.

Feathers

One of our favorite modern boho lighting ideas is to use feathers – they’re already a staple of the bohemian style! Instead of using them in other accent pieces, create a covered chandelier with soft and fluffy feathers in natural, neutral hues.

Bamboo

Another unique material you can use to create a bohemian light fixture is bamboo. It’s a sturdier material with sharper edges that acts as a counterpoint to the softer textures in your space. Use overlapping bamboo twigs for a DIY lampshade when most of your space is already full of velvet, fur, and silk.

Draped Fabric

While fabric isn’t necessarily a unique material, how you use it is key to making it stand out in a new way. Instead of a basic fabric shade with a rigid structure, drape a naked bulb flush mount with fabric to create rounded shapes with scalloped edges. Affix the fabric to the ceiling with swag hooks or hidden nails to develop a graceful and sophisticated look around the light fixture.

We recommend choosing just one or two of these boho lighting ideas for your space to keep the look eclectic vibes in a way that feels inspiring and not too cluttered.

9. Make It Sculptural

Bringing the “modern” element into your boho chic decor isn’t as complicated as you think. Add a contemporary twist relatively easily through sculptural shapes that still prioritize natural materials, like wood beams

Explore some of the more abstract shapes by looking for light fixtures that incorporate sweeping curves and whorls into the design. Consider how amazing a sculpted wood floor lamp would look with contrasting frosted glass globe shades?

10. Add Tassels

If you’re wondering what type of accents immediately transform any decor or light fixture into a bohemian piece, tassels are the answer!

Do you have a bare bulb pendant you just don’t know how to incorporate into your bohemian decor? Glue some neutral tassels onto a geometric bulb cage to invigorate the design and seamlessly blend it into your room.

Turn to Color Cord Company

boho-entryway-lighting-decor

At Color Cord Company, we can help you completely transform your home or just one room with brand new lighting, or enhance your existing fixtures with boho lighting ideas with minimal effort.

Browse our selection of light fixtures or customize your own for the ultimate boho design! You can also explore our DIY articles for inspiration and instructions that cover all types of lighting styles.

From boho-chic to mid-century modern-inspired lighting, we’re always thrilled to offer lighting ideas that help your space feel more authentic and inspiring. Need a little more inspiration? Check out our gallery to find unique lighting ideas by room.

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