Our Guide to Modern Mediterranean Interior Design
Achieve this chic seaside style.
Modern Mediterranean interior design uses contemporary silhouettes, natural textures, and laid-back coastal aesthetics to create a relaxed, yet refined home. Taking inspiration from the homes that line the Mediterranean sea, these spaces feel calm, inviting, and stylish. Modern Mediterranean homes like to blur the line between indoor and outdoor, and though these spaces often use neutrals, they aren't afraid to incorporate bold accent colors. Keep reading to find ways to bring this easy, seaside-inspired style to your home.
What Is Modern Mediterranean Interior Design?
How to Create a Modern Mediterranean Home
What Is Modern Mediterranean Interior Design?
With plenty of soothing earth tones, natural materials, and relaxed fabrics, Mediterranean homes are best known for their light, airy ambience. This design style takes its inspiration from the regions on the sunny coasts of the Mediterranean Sea so that you can channel that seaside charm even if you aren't nearby. Key characteristics of Mediterranean design include exposed wood beams, white plaster walls, organic shapes, and plenty of natural light.
Modern Mediterranean interior design adds a contemporary twist to this timeless style, often including sleek silhouettes, open-concept spaces, and a less-is-more approach to decorating. Though it takes a more minimalist route, modern Mediterranean homes still apply key characteristics of the traditional Mediterranean style like neutral palettes, indoor-outdoor living, and natural materials.
How to Create a Modern Mediterranean Home
You don't need to live beside the sea to capture the lived-in style of modern Mediterranean interior design. Here are some of our ideas for creating your own modern Mediterranean interiors, including tips on choosing tile, finding an alfresco dining set, and breathable bedding.
1. Focus on Neutral Hues
Modern Mediterranean homes are light, airy, and unfussy, so the color palette mostly consists of warm neutrals inspired by the natural landscape. Think white, sandy beige, cream, terracotta, green, and brown. Incorporate pops of bright color here and there to really capture the eclectic feel of Mediterranean design. Shades of blue are a great option to complement the warm earth tones and bring a bit of the sea inside.
Tile is a fun way to give your home that modern Mediterranean feel. Go for classic shapes or colors, such as a square ceramic tile or a terracotta tile in an earthy orange hue. Or try a tile with a geometric design to add some pattern to minimalist spaces. These tiles are great for adding interest underfoot or installed in a kitchen or bathroom for a graphic backsplash.
Whether you're picking pieces for your living room or your patio, choose furniture with pared-down appeal. Go for contemporary silhouettes with clean-lined shapes and form-meets-function practicality, such as a soft cotton sofa or a durable teak patio set. The simplistic designs will help you achieve the elegant yet relaxed aesthetic that's associated with Mediterranean design.
Because Mediterranean-style homes tend to drift between indoor and outdoor spaces, an outdoor dining area is ideal for entertaining and sharing a home-cooked meal. Pick a dining set with a streamlined design to match the minimalist feel of the indoor spaces, and lay down a patterned outdoor rug beneath to anchor the space and add some softness underfoot. Now all you need to do is find recipes for your favorite Mediterranean dishes.
Refreshing your bed linens can make you feel like you're always on a coastal vacation. To really capture that Mediterranean feel, look for bedding that keeps you cool all night. Opt for lightweight, breathable fabrics made from natural fibers like cotton or linen. These fabrics are durable, sweat-wicking, and soften with each wash.
With their emphasis on nature and movement, organic shapes add character to modern Mediterranean homes. You can introduce these shapes through curved furniture, live wood edges, or patterned tile. Using the image above as an example, we love how the neutral tile adds texture and visual interest to the bathroom. Plus, the rounded shapes are echoed in the mirror and shower bench for even more continuity.
Mediterranean homes furnish the outdoor spaces as carefully as the indoor spaces. Think about low-maintenance materials, such as durable wicker and performance fabrics, to ensure your outdoor living room lasts a long time and always feels fresh. Use textiles like an outdoor rug or a set of outdoor-approved throw pillows to add a pop of color. In the photo above, we love how the muted blue accents pair with the black patio set.
Modern Mediterranean interiors lean into minimalism so that your space feels relaxing. To cut down on clutter, find storage solutions that feel stylish. Large wicker baskets are great for corralling items and sorting them by type. They come in plenty of sizes and styles to suit your needs – plus, the natural texture fits perfectly with modern Mediterranean aesthetics.
Greenery is a key element in modern Mediterranean interior design because it blends the indoors with the outdoors and connects the space to the natural landscape. If you don't have much of a green thumb, faux olive or fig trees are an excellent way to incorporate Mediterranean greenery without the maintenance. The planter pots bring an organic and structural element, and the leafy green branches add height and dimension to your space.
Find pieces to complete your modern Mediterranean home.
