Mediterranean Home Design

Mediterranean Home Design is popular because it offers diverse and creative options for homeowners. You can choose from some of the Mediterranean countries for authentic inspiration:

• Italy
• Greece
• Spain
• Southern France
• Morocco

Mediterranean architecture has very unique features and each country has a variation of the basic elements. You can incorporate several for dramatic and romantic ambiance.

The arched porchways along the exterior walls serve as an asthetic and functional purpose by providing shade in the warmer months. Porticos are typically made of stucco with tiled flloors.

As an exterior and interior feature, archways soften the doorways with a sensual curving that draws the eye up and then down to the tiled floor. Use an archway with a decorative pair of columns. Morrocan archways have a pointed top while Tuscan archways remain curved. Decide on a style and use it throughout your home. You can repeat the archway in furniture and mirrors. Dome roofs are also used, especially in Greek architecture.

A lush courtyard is a romantic elements of a Mediterranean design, often found as entryways. Many times you cannot tell there is a courtyard until you enter through what you believe to be the front door of the home. This surprise is part of the allure of this design. Some Mediterranean homes have a courtyard in the center of the home creating an inner sanctuary.

You can create an outside room in your Mediterranean courtyard.

• Create a plush lawn area bordered by a tiled patio.
• Don’t forget the | fountain. The size of your courtyard will determine the size of your fountain.
• Select flowering shrubbery for exotic tropical aromas to perfume your courtyard.

The choices of finishes for a stucco wall range from smooth to several types of texture. Stucco and rock walls are not just for the outside, but make perfect interior wall finishes. You can use a faux paint to give different appearances to your stucco walls. You can also use a misture of stucco and rock.

• Spanish and Italian stucco homes use warm yellows, golds and tans.
• Greek stucco homes are typically white with bright blue trim around the windows. The use of blue is a remnant of an ancient superstition. People believed that by painting their door and window trims in blue, they could keep vampires out of their homes.

With the inner courtyard feature and outer porticos, your privacy can be assured even in a modern neighborhood where lot sizes may be smaller than older subdivisions.

If you have an active social life this style of home lends itself to great interior and exterior entertaining with all the possible outside rooms and areas. If you are seeking a retreat within your home, then this design is perfect.

There are advantages beyond aesthetic beauty in this style of home. With a Mediterranean home style, you can easily use green technology and leave a smaller carbon footprint with your home choice.

• Solar gain and dispersing it throughout the home is achieved with the use of stone and tile.
• For the summer months, the use of porticos allows for a natural cooling and protection from summer heat.
• Any wood choices for the interior of your Mediterranean home can be from a renewable resources such bamboo.

Choosing how to decorate your Mediterranean home can be fun with endless possibilities in themes. You can go with a wrought iron look or a dark wood with heavily ornate appearance.

Mediterranean furniture is typically substantial in size. Oversized stuffed leather chairs in rich wood finishes of dark to medium stains will complement this style of home. You can opt for traditional, dark, ornately-carved Italian or Spanish furniture styles or go for the more decorative and elaborate Morrocan created with intricate mosiacs. You aren’t limited to using just one style found in a particular country. You can mix and match to create an interesting and richly appointed décor.

Choose a bold color like red or dark burgundy or maroon for your wall colors to give a warm cozy feel to your room. You can still have lighter colors and maintain an elegant ambiance with a mellow color like gold. Different hues of green repeat the colors found in a vineyard with woodland browns and bronze.

One of the best design elements of a Mediterranean home is the use of tile. There is a wide range of choices from traditional to modern.

• Terra Cotta
• Brightly colored blues, yellows and reds
• Marble

Rich colored textures of various patterns including tapestries help create the comfort of a Mediterranean décor. Don’t forget to use velvets and leathers with dark wood accents in your furniture. Ornate and hand-carved details add authenticity to your home design.

Some of the accents you can use:

• Wrought Iron
• Marble statues, especially in the garden
• Metal and iron wall hangings and motifs
• Fireplace screens will add a rustic feel, especially if it has intricate grillwork.
• Wall tapestries are a great addition and help to give a focal point to any room.
• Grapes and vineyard motifs are excellent for the kitchen.
• Large farm tables
• Farm sinks
• Area rugs
• Pottery in various heights and finishes
• Iron light fixtures
• Bread bowls
• Wine racks
• Large candle holders and candles
• Rosemary and other herbs in the courtyard garden
• Columns and archways inside and out
• Fringe and beads on pillows and bedding

If you can obtain some authentic or replica artifacts from one of the Mediterranean countries, you can mix these with more modern accent pieces for a well blended Mediterranean home design.

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• Interior Paint Color Combinations

• Country French Style Basics
• Common Themes for Teenage Bedrooms
• Designing for Small Spaces
• Basics of Color Design
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• Old World Style Interior Design
• Tuscan Kitchen Design
• Bamboo Chic
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• Mediterranean Style Interior Design