Woman in Real Life

Bedroom ideas for a teen boho neutral look, with a coveted platform bed from Wayfair

It has been interesting seeing the changes in my daughter's design aesthetic as she matures. In some ways I think she has followed a pretty typical path. She started out with this very pink bedroom with lots of flower wall decals and other flourishes, plus beaucoup de stuff - toys, wall art, accessories and a Justin Bieber poster. As a 10-year-old, she decided on purple walls, a simple desk and more fashion-focused decor. You can see that version of her room in this earlier post.

About a year ago, we began to transition her bedroom to a teen girl's look - with a comfortable mattress, neutral bedding and tributes to her musical interests, in the form of a guitar and a ukulele mounted on the walls. Her most coveted item to get the minimalist boho chic vibe she sought was the popular platform bed. (I've seen many a gorgeous bedroom on Instagram featuring all styles of platform beds, from those made at home from pallets to more elaborate, store-bought platform beds.) We turned to Wayfair Canada to source the perfect platform bed. We have found so many beautiful home decor items there in the past for our home, and Wayfair has a remarkable variety of platform beds on offer too.



My daughter and I poured through the platform beds on Wayfair's site and found so many temptations (as well as bedroom ideas via the lovely styled photos). Ultimately what she wants her room to reflect is a more minimalist but still warm, decorated vibe. It's kind of an eclectic boho style, with blankets, pillows and wall hangings, plus greenery in the form of plants, but with more neutral colour choices and a pared down amount of stuff. (She has spent a lot of time decluttering clothes and unwanted stationery, books and accessories.)

We started out by saying goodbye to those purple walls. Her dad painted the bedroom a vibrant white that immediately made such a big difference. She gets a lot of light streaming in her windows in the morning and it's really refreshing yet calm now as it greets the white walls.


The next step was to install the platform bed that we finally chose after reviewing the options at Wayfair. We went with the South Shore Lilak Storage Platform Bed. It's really cool because it doesn't have a headboard so it lends a minimal look, but it has nine under-bed cubbies for storage. The other awesome thing is that the remaining under-bed area is fully enclosed so you don't need to get under there with a vacuum to clean it!

My daughter would like to remove her dresser from the room completely and have a garment rack out in the open for clothing (as well as her closet for more storage). I don't know how realistic that's going to be in the long run so we'll probably squeeze the dresser into the spare room until she sees how it goes. In the meantime, the bed's cubbies offer great storage space for books, extra bedding, school supplies and even clothing. The Lilak platform bed comes with two beautiful wicker baskets that fit the cubbies beautifully. You can order more of the Storit rattan baskets if you like. We also bought some inexpensive wire baskets in the decor section of our local grocery store.

Boho chic bedroom ideas

• Incorporate earthy, warm tones like brown, tan and green.
• Combine different textiles and textures - silky scarves, rustic wicker and cotton throws. 
• Speak to global influences, preferably with finds from your world travels (like the Eiffel Tower memento at my daughter's bedside that my husband brought back from Paris)
• You can't go wrong with a macrame wall hanging, either homemade or store-bought.
• Add beautiful, chunky knit throw blankets and cushions to neutral bedding for comfort, texture and visual interest.
• Mix patterns. (For example, we have a chevron-patterned throw blanket and a DIY fruit- and flower-covered filing cabinet together in this bedroom.) 
• Fringe is good.
• Indulge your green thumb. Add plants, even if they're fake (for areas without sunshine, like the platform bed cubbies). 
• Incorporate aged materials and vintage finds.
• Add sparkle with mini lights. 
• A Himalayan salt lamp creates a soft glow in the evenings. 

My daughter fell in love with this gorgeous Mistana Derek Cotton Throw from Wayfair. It's 100% cotton, with a beige and ivory chevron stripe, shaggy fringe zig-zags, sequined circles for a subtle shimmer and a knotted fringe along the hem.


We have a ways to go still with my daughter's teen bedroom decor. (It's been a very gradual process.) We plan to replace the carpet in her bedroom (and all the others) with sturdy laminate flooring that's a bit more rustic than the hardwood we have on the main floor. Plus, my daughter has plans for a curtain of mini lights on the wall behind the bed, and new window coverings - possibly simple blinds rather than curtains. In the meantime, though, she's very happy with her new platform bed and her more minimalist decor.

Boho minimalism?

At first glance, the cozy, relaxed and often colourful vibes of a boho style bedroom may seem the opposite of a minimalist aesthetic, but I believe that the two decor styles can work together. To start, a platform bed - particularly without a headboard - has a minimal look, especially combined with neutral grey and white bedding. And you can certainly start your room makeover, as my daughter did, by paring down the clothing you don't use and the superfluous items that aren't either useful or bringing you joy. In my opinion, both boho and minimalist decor styles speak of relaxation.

Questions for you

What boho bedroom ideas can you share? Do you have/want a platform bed? Do you go for boho chic, minimalism or a combination of the two bedroom decor styles?