Mediterranean Interior Design
August 27, 2024

Mediterranean Interior Design: Warmth & Elegance from Southern Europe

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8 min read

Summary

Mediterranean interior design is a timeless style rooted in the natural beauty and cultural richness of Southern Europe. It emphasizes warm, natural color palettes, organic materials, classical architectural features, sturdy furniture, and handcrafted elements. Modern designers are updating this classic style by blending traditional Mediterranean influences with contemporary design elements, making it both enduring and relevant.

Reflection Questions

  1. How can you incorporate elements of Mediterranean interior design into your current living space, even if you don’t live in a Mediterranean climate?
  2. Which aspects of the Mediterranean lifestyle, such as indoor-outdoor living or the use of natural materials, resonate most with you, and how can you apply these to your own home?
  3. How do you balance modern design trends with timeless styles like Mediterranean interior design in your own spaces?

Journal Prompt

Reflect on a specific place you’ve visited or a space you’ve seen that embodied the essence of Mediterranean design. What elements of that environment made you feel most connected to the culture and lifestyle? How could you bring that same feeling into your home?

Write Journal

The Mediterranean region, encompassing countries like Italy, Greece, Spain, and their neighbors along the Mediterranean Sea, has long been a hub of cultural influence. The sea inspires artists, the abundant crops inspire chefs, and the region’s architecture serves as a rich source of inspiration for interior designers. What is at the heart of Mediterranean interior design? Quoting Jeff Andrews in an article for AD, Katherine McLaughlin writes that “light naturals, bold pops of saturated color, and natural materials that evoke seaside landscapes are the base of this interior design style.” From Paula Navone to Marilyn Katsaris, the beloved Mediterranean style is receiving a fresh update, blending its timeless appeal with modern elements made for contemporary living.

Hallmarks of Mediterranean Interior Design

Natural Color Palettes with Vibrant Accents

In a Mediterranean-style home, natural color palettes reign supreme for good reason! They evoke a sense of indoor-outdoor living. Designers often utilize warm neutrals complimented by deeper, richer colors. Popular shades include terracotta, sandy beige, and soft browns, with deep blues, olive greens, and rich reds as complements. 

Additionally, a Mediterranean color palette will include bright, vibrant accents. Popular accent colors include turquoise, coral, and mustard yellow. It is important to remember that the Mediterranean aesthetic calls for a sparing usage of these colors to maintain a sense of naturality. 

Organic Materials and Textures

When considering the materials to use in Mediterranean homes, clearly understanding indoor-outdoor living is essential. These homes use natural elements and materials such as natural stone, wood, wrought iron, and ceramics – things that can be found in nature. 

In keeping with this design concept, plaster walls have a slightly uneven and rustic texture. Stone walls are often common in more modern Mediterranean designs. Ceramic or terracotta tiles are common, as are intricate patterns and designs on them. Hardwood floors are also a popular flooring choice.

Classical Architectural Features

Mediterranean architecture contains a lot of arches, columns, and beams. Most of these elements in this interior design style are rounded and used as framing for arched doorways, windows, and hallways. Exposed beams on ceilings are another popular hallmark, adding a rustic feel to the space. 

Outdoor spaces such as courtyards and patios are important aspects of Mediterranean homes and are often integrated into the design. This creates a seamless transition from indoor to outdoor, and emphasizes a connection to nature.

Simple, Sturdy, and Timeless Furniture

Furniture designed and selected for Mediterranean-style homes is often robust and functional, typically made from wood or wrought iron. These materials not only add to the aesthetic but also serve as a key defense against weathering, which is essential in homes that emphasize blending the outdoors with the indoors. Durability is a central value in Mediterranean furniture design.

When considering Mediterranean décor for a space, antique furniture pieces are often a unique way to add character. They bring a timeless charm to an otherwise neutral room, and antique chairs are often accented with Mediterranean hues.

Handcrafted Elements

Adding small, handcrafted items is an important way to personalize your space. Many Mediterranean-style homes utilize hand-painted decorative tiles as well as pottery. Ceramics are also a key feature, which leads many Mediterranean kitchens to embrace open shelving. Wrought iron is also a common detail in light fixtures and railings. 

Modern Mediterranean decor prioritizes light, airy fabrics in their design. Because of the indoor-outdoor lifestyle, most Mediterranean people embrace, these fabrics breathe better in the summer months. Fabrics like linen and cotton are frequently selected for curtains and upholstery. If patterns are used, they are likely to include stripes, florals, intricate patterns, or geometric designs.

Lots of Plants and Greenery – Inside and Out

Plants and greenery are among the most important hallmarks found in Mediterranean-style homes, as a tribute to indoor-outdoor living. The concept stems from how this region often entertains, with open French doors and windows and a seamless flow from kitchen to patio, essential for family gatherings and other hosting opportunities.

Indoor plants often include olive trees or lavender but can consist of anything native to the region. Small indoor herb gardens are also famous because this region also prioritizes fresh produce and has a rich culinary tradition.

Warm Natural Light

In modern Mediterranean-style homes, natural light is a high priority. Doors and arched windows are often large (or oversized) to maximize the ample sunlight that can come into the home. Sometimes, wrought iron window frames are a substitute for blinds or curtains. 

In Mediterranean interiors, lighting fixtures need to be warm. Often, instead of a major overhead fixture, these homes embrace soft lighting from chandeliers, sconces, and floor lamps to create a cozy atmosphere. It is moody yet natural.

Accessories and Art Based in Surrounding Cultures

Marble female figure, Marble, Cycladic
Marble female figure, Cycladic, 4500–4000 BCE

In conjunction with handcrafted elements, decorative accessories add a personal touch to these homes. Pottery and ceramics are often used to incorporate this hallmark of Mediterranean interior design.

Artwork is another valuable element used more sparingly than other design styles. Any artwork reflecting the surrounding Mediterranean coast, landscapes, or cultural phenomena is prized for such homes.

Five Stunning Mediterranean Spaces to Inspire You

This Space by Lambs and Lions Berlin and Annabell Kutucu

This space is an excellent example of a Mediterranean home made almost exclusively of naturally occurring materials. From the beams and woven ceilings to the modern carved wood furniture, every textile feels like it can quickly belong outdoors and indoors. The use of wrought iron for not only the light fixtures but the artwork is a unique way to incorporate a staple of the Mediterranean interior design style into the home.

The white walls are also an important choice, as this color choice can effectively work to keep the home cooler. Additionally, the natural lighting seems to comprise most of the light in the home. With the doors and windows open and trees bringing color to the living spaces, indoor-outdoor living is clearly thriving in this space. 

This Space by Olenka Interiors

While the first space was a beautiful example of the modern Mediterranean interior design standard, this home is a more playful take. The fireplace made of decorative tiles is a perfect way to incorporate soft blues into the area. Stone countertops also indicate the earthy vibe these homes often bring. 

Painting the kitchen wall black is the perfect way to embrace the modern Mediterranean style, but there are still many hallmarks of the classic style – the patterned tiles for the floor, the wicker barstools, and the pops of color found in the artwork and vase.

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This Beach House by Studio Chloe Negre

From the outside, this house looks more modern than the Mediterranean, but the inside tells a different story, one with a hint of Spanish colonial design. One unique design choice that pays off in the space is using stone and wood for railings instead of wrought iron, bringing rustic elegance in an inventive way. The Mediterranean living room, with its glass sliding doors, is a valuable way to maximize natural light, especially since it faces a gorgeous beach view. 

However, textiles and fabrics do much of the work in the bedroom and bathroom. The soft furnishings, striped linen headboard, stone floors, and rattan-patterned wardrobe doors tie the space together well, and the bathroom tiles are an excellent way to tie in a pop of color. 

This Villa by Interior Design Laboratorium and Desypri Misiaris Architecture

This open, airy space is another excellent example of indoor-outdoor living. Most of the home uses wood and stone, with various plants throughout. The light fixtures sitting low in some spaces add modernity to the room.

While this house is not as bold in color accents as the others, the seafoam green accent cushion among the layered pillows is a more subtle nod. The artwork is either white or indicative of the region with earth tones, which is an excellent example of how to incorporate Mediterranean elements even if the intended outcome is more subdued.

This Minimalist Monolith by Kapsimalis Architects

This Grecian home is both minimalistic and modern, favoring sharp angles and white or stone walls. The exterior of the home, using natural finishes and pale stone, with a mustard yellow canopy, is a masterclass in exterior design. Succulents and other plants also add pops of color outdoors. 

Minimalism is even more at play, with a staircase containing white walls, one window, and nothing more. The bathroom is almost completely stone, referencing the natural materials used in Mediterranean-style homes. It is impressive to witness how the materials used almost exclusively showcase the genius of their work.

How Today’s Designers Are Modernizing Mediterranean Interiors

#1 Patricia Urquiola

Patricia Urquiola is a Spanish designer based in Italy. While known for her innovative and eclectic interior design, her work often incorporates Mediterranean influences – the perfect blend of traditional and modern. She has done fantastic work with her rustic furnishings that incorporate native materials into art pieces. More recently, her work at the Six Senses Hotel in Rome is innovative and unique, especially the artwork that appears as if built around the arched doorway.

#2 Paola Navone

An Italian designer and architect, Paola Navone is another eclectic designer inspired by Mediterranean influences and even different styles beyond the region. This Mediterranean influence is primarily seen in her use of naturally occurring textiles. Her hotel work at 25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino blends Mediterranean seaside colors and textures with thoroughly modern elements. She often features a mix of textures, materials, and patterns that bring vibrance. 

#3 Zege Architects (Zege)

Founded by Greek architects and interior designers Elias and Elina Zaloni, Zege Architects have mastered the art of decadence in modern Mediterranean interior design. The sophistication of their designs comes from their ability to mix Mediterranean textiles with contemporary sensibilities. Their Varibobi house, with its luxurious chandeliers and a stunning stone wall with a fireplace in the living room, is a pristine example of upscale Mediterranean style.

#4 Marilyn Katsaris

Marilyn Katsaris, a designer based in Athens, Greece, is known for a unique fusion of styles, colors, and materials. In her “PS2” house, she used Mediterranean style design but incorporated chrome fixtures instead of wrought iron, the balance of old and new. She has mastered the art of balancing softness and minimalism, often working from white walls and neutral colors. 

#5 K-Studio

Founded by Dimitris and Konstantinos Karampatakis, K-Studio is a master of architecture. One&Only Aesthesis Resort in Athens is a perfect example of what this duo can bring to a design project – they bring natural elements such as stone and wood indoors, with a reflection pool and water features outdoors. The wood-paneled doors in this project are a clever way to allow natural light to pass through while still allowing privacy. Noteworthy projects include Olive Grove Villas, Grove House, and Villa Mandra. 

Final Thoughts: Why Mediterranean Design is Still Timeless

When considering why the Mediterranean look has stood the test of time in homes worldwide, it is impossible to ignore the value of utilizing naturally made elements, the indoor-outdoor culture, and the calmness of the neutral colorways. Stone, wood, and wrought iron stood and stood firm throughout time, meaning the home lasted through generations. The surrounding landscape is inspirational and art-worthy, as are its deep roots and ancient culture. This design style, though modernized at times, will continue to stand the test of time. 

By Jessica Collins.