Modern Bohemian home decor has a look that is more hip and less hippie. While the 21st century's "Boho-chic" movement ascribes to a more-is-more philosophy by layering color, textures and textiles, it also borrows clean lines from the minimalistic movement, says Tamarra Younis, founder of Union of Art, a design firm with offices in New York City and Los Angeles.

"Today's Bohemian design in the home looks different than it did in the 1970s," Younis says. "There's very much of a midcentury modern influence, with a glamorous worldly mix of items from well-traveled individuals."

The term "Bohemian" was popularized in the 19th century and used to describe the nontraditional lifestyles of artists, writers and musicians in European cities. The Bohemian lifestyle, as it relates to decor, is about creating a layered, flowing energy in a home that is colorful and highly personal, Younis says.

"The Boho-chic design aesthetic also describes my own personal sense of style," she says. "With an English mother and Moroccan father, Boho-chic comes naturally to me and, at its core, is a marriage of styles, much like my parents' union."

While there can be a fine line between being cluttered and creating a classic Bohemian design, the key is to make sure the space is relaxing and inviting. "The Bohemian look is on the opposite end of the spectrum from a monochromatic, minimalistic design," Younis says. "Clear away nonessential items and choose something you can't live without in the space. Often, that will be the focal point, and design can easily flow from there."

Meaningful artwork, an heirloom piece of furniture or a colorful rug can serve as a Boho-chic base that anchors a room and serves as its design foundation. The basis of Boho-chic design is to invest in pieces -- chairs, lamps and pillows -- that can look at home anywhere within the house.

Open Space

The Boho-chic concept is about being open -- not only in terms of the physical space -- but also in terms of how the space is used.

"The energy just flows more freely in a home without walls," Younis says. "In a Bohemian home, it's not about defining a living room, a dining room, a family room. These communal rooms are meant to be open to use in whatever way best suits the need at the moment."

Colorful pillows aren't just made for sofas, they might also double as comfortable cushions on the floor. Chairs should easily move in order to create inviting and intimate spaces for conversation or collaboration.

Color and light

In a departure from the harvest gold and avocado green popularized in the 1970s Bohemian incarnation, the chic 21st-century version is not only simple, it's more sophisticated.

"Walls should be painted white, cream or gray," Younis says. "Neutral walls don't compete with the interesting layers of color and texture in a space."

A bright tip that illuminates a Boho-chic style home is to invest in task lighting. Younis says colorful lamps or hanging light fixtures will shed light on good design. Gold-colored accents are not only warm, but are also priceless in terms of creating a rich design palette.

Furnishings and artwork

The Boho-chic layering effect is built from the ground up through the use of graphically dynamic or richly textured rugs. "A rug can set the stage for what's happening in a space and can unify a color theme," Younis says. "A rug also provides comfort underfoot, which is essential in a Bohemian home."

While walls are painted in neutral tones, Younis invests in pillows and linens that have atomic oranges, cool blues and verdant greens. "There is a relaxed elegance and refinement in the details, such as trim fringing, tassels and macrame," Younis says. "These finishes connote both refinement and accessibility."

Back to Nature

The Bohemian looks to nature for design inspiration. The modern Boho-chic style incorporates natural elements layering wood, metal and stone. Bright and airy interiors invite natural light into a space through windows, skylights and doors.

Creating an environment that encourages outdoor living while also bringing the outside to the inside of a home is the epitome of the Bohemian way of life. Rooms literally come alive with green plants in macrame hangers or little succulent gardens in planters.

Well-traveled

Because this style is highly personal, there is no absolute Bohemian blueprint for design. A family heirloom, a worn Turkish rug and a one-of-a-kind, original artwork can live together in a Boho-chic home, and each piece has a story to tell, Younis says.

"A Boho-chic home embraces the unexpected and, at its core, is a reflection of those who may lead an unconventional life," she says. "Using intention and surrounding yourself with items you love -- whether it be from your travels, your family or a secondhand shop -- is the Bohemian way of transforming a house into a home."

Boho-chic Style

For design inspiration, visit Union-of-Art.net.

Architectural details rise to the next level in a home's staircase. Whether sweeping or simple, the stairway not only serves an important function in a multilevel home, it should also have great form, says Jimmy Coltharp, a vice president with L.J. Smith Stair Systems, a 133-year-old company based in Bowerston, Ohio, that designs and manufactures staircases.

"As lot sizes get smaller in new home developments, builders are constructing houses upward," Coltharp says. "The staircase is a natural focal point in the home. Visually, it takes your eye upward and can create a grand entrance as you walk into a home."

The design of a home's staircase depends on the style of its construction and the materials used. In a new home, the staircase should be an integral part of its design, not an afterthought that merely connects the floors of a house.

"A home's staircase is the most intricate and fanciest piece of furniture built into a house," Coltharp says. "There's a lot of geometry that goes into building a proper stairway, and both builders and designers must meet strict building codes."

Stairs must not only be safe and easy to climb, they should also be aesthetically inviting. A staircase's general design fits into three categories:

-- A straight stringer. A straight-flight staircase is the simplest form that connects two floors without any twists and turns.

-- A curved stairway. The shape of this staircase is in the arc of a circle. For a grand effect, steps at the bottom of this staircase might also be larger and flared at the edges.

-- A spiral stairway. This system has steps that are supported by and rotate around a center pole, and is manufactured as a singular piece when assembled. When made of metal, a spiral staircase is weather-resistant and can be used to step down from a deck or private room onto a patio or pool area.

Straight and curved staircases are comprised of horizontal steps (or treads), vertical risers (the rear face of each step) and stringers (the structures that hold the treads and risers in place on each side of the stairway.)

The handrail system also steps up the luxe look of today's staircase. Also called a banister, a handrail system can be comprised of newels (larger vertical posts most commonly seen at the beginning and end of a handrail system); balusters (smaller, more numerous vertical posts, supporting the handrail between newels); and, of course, the handrail itself.

In new home construction, carpenters or woodworkers often build many stringers to specifications on-site, Coltharp says. Then, factory-manufactured staircase components are built to specifications, shipped to the building site and installed.

"The staircase is a serious piece of engineering," Coltharp says. "There are building codes that dictate tight tolerances to reduce the risk of injury."

While there is an International Residential Code for staircase specifications, there might also be local building codes that must be followed. Building codes dictate everything from riser height and tread width, to handrail graspability and width between balusters, which is often a gap that is no wider than 4 inches.

For those wanting to update or restore a tired existing staircase, Coltharp says a custom-made look can be as easy as swapping out wooden balusters for wrought iron ones, replacing carpeted treads with stained hardwoods or fashioning a new, custom-made handrail.

"We are often asked to replicate a broken baluster or newel post in older homes with grand staircases," Coltharp says. "This is done in our factory on a copy lathe, much in the same way one has a new key made from an existing one."

While the median price for a staircase in a starter home is around $2,500, prices can escalate to tens of thousands of dollars when treads are made of exotic hardwoods or stone, Coltharp says. Vertical balusters might also seem out of step, as horizontal cables are strung tightly between newel posts in many modern staircases. L.J. Smith Stair Systems has also developed ready-to-install metal panels with horizontal lines, which makes assembling the handrail system even easier.

Seasoned staircase contractors walk the line between designing a technically correct, built-to-code stairway and one that is also a welcoming focal point of the home. "Homeowners often hang pictures on the wall by a staircase as a personal gallery of sorts," Coltharp says. "A staircase that makes a statement is just inviting and can make a house feel like home."

In Step

To help design your home's staircase, go to LJSmith.com, and click the "Stair Designer" tab.

An ancient Japanese philosophy has found a devoted following in today's home design. Wabi-sabi, centered on impermanence and rooted in Zen Buddhism, elevates perfectly imperfect details. Loosely translated, "wabi" means simplicity, and "sabi" is an appreciation for the old and faded.

"Particularly in the West, there can be a culture to create spaces that are very seductive visually, but these projects can be missing a soulful expression," says Joshua Aidlin, architect and founder of Aidlin Darling Design in San Francisco. "For those who are aware of the Wabi-sabi philosophy, the aim in architecture and design is that there is an expression of the hand that created it."

The Wabi-sabi aesthetic can be described as one of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. Specific characteristics of Wabi-sabi design include surroundings that are simple, modest, asymmetrical and austere. Above all, there is a great appreciation of natural objects and materials, Aidlin says.

"Humans are innately imperfect, and people can have an instinctive response to seeing a space that doesn't hide the beauty of organic imperfection," he says. "There is an elegance in a humble piece of stone or wood."

While the Wabi-sabi aesthetic emphasizes the beauty of organic imperfection, this philosophy is not an endorsement for slipshod construction, Aidlin says.

"We are not talking about poor craft," he says. "Construction must still have tight tolerances and adhere to building codes. Rather, it's knowing when to let the organic and hand-quality craftsmanship come through."

Windhover, a contemplative center at Stanford University, is a public display of a natural space that engages in Wabi-sabi principles, designed by Aidlin Darling Design. The building's construction was meant to contribute to a visitor's contemplative process, as one is guided alongside the building with only glimpses of the interior revealed. Elements including weathering steel, rammed earth walls, stone, glass and water are all brought together to create a beautifully balanced atmosphere.

"The use of rammed earth walls is a process of mixing earth, concrete and aggregate to provide a stratified, tactile wall. This process of compacting the earthen mixture results in a naturally imperfect construction," Aidlin says. "The final result is a soulful and tranquil natural oasis."

Fashioning a Wabi-sabi retreat at home is about creating a place with stripped-down surfaces, natural textures and handmade objects, says Dayna Isom Johnson, trend expert with Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade items based in Brooklyn, New York.

"In life, as well as in home decorating, I firmly believe in keeping it real, which is a tall order in the age of pervasive Instagram perfection," Isom Johnson says. "With an emphasis on organic materials, softly textured fabrics and natural shapes, Wabi-sabi is all about embracing authenticity -- it's the anti-retouching."

While "Wabi-sabi" is trending online as a top search in home design, Isom Johnson has noticed the commoditization of wood with rough-hewn finishes and metals with factory-made patinas. "Wabi-sabi can be the yin to the yang of the super-modern minimalist home with highly polished surfaces that doesn't look like anyone lives there," she says. "In a home with a Wabi-sabi philosophy, we're talking about having hand-thrown ceramics, wrinkled linen sheets and gently gnarled wood."

Creating a Zen-like zone at home amongst imperfections isn't about living in cluttered chaos, Isom Johnson says. "In a Wabi-sabi home, possessions are pared down for their functionality and beauty," she says. "Objects or design attributes in a home that ascribe to the Wabi-sabi philosophy are deliberate. Showcasing an imperfection is intentional, not something achieved through neglect."

Homes with a Wabi-sabi aesthetic have natural materials that make the space hospitable and comfortable. Uncluttered, yet not overtly austere, imperfect objects make the space more inviting. A home with a color palette that mimics nature -- greens, grays, blues and earth tones -- creates a tranquil atmosphere.

In the bedroom of a home that ascribes to the Wabi-sabi philosophy, the walls may be exposed concrete, with weathered floorboards and sumptuous, wrinkled bed linens that invite rest and relaxation. In the kitchen, hand-thrown ceramic bowls and plates can be put on display and used to serve a meal. Natural design inspiration is as simple as placing a single stem in a unique, asymmetrical vase.

A treasured piece of artwork in Isom Johnson's Brooklyn apartment is a framed picture drawn by her young nephew. "I see the perfection in this childish drawing, and it's not home to me without having it on the wall," Isom Johnson says. "A Wabi-sabi approach to home honors the beauty of embracing your truest self -- and the reality of the space you live in."

Promoting the Perfectly Imperfect

-- Aidlin Darling Design, AidlinDarlingDesign.com or 415-974-5603

-- Etsy.com, search "Wabi-sabi"