Get The Mediterranean Interior Style
Now that the summer months are here, my thoughts turn to travel, especially to those countries near water. One of my personal favorite interior design styles was popularized overseas, and is just as relevant along the Northern California coastline: The Mediterranean style originated in countries north of the Mediterranean Sea, such as Spain, Italy, and Greece. Let’s take a look at what makes this style so enduring.
![View over the romantic whitewashed buildings and blue roofs matching the deep blue water of Santorini, Greece, lapping around the coastline in jewelled greens.](https://kimballstarr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Kimball-Starr-Interior-Design_Mediterranean-Style_Santorini-View-580x363.jpg)
When we talk about Mediterranean style, you may think of whitewashed buildings high atop steep cliffs above Santorini, the city lights of Monaco, or fields of Tuscan wineries. I imagine white sand beaches and bright blue waters along the Turkish coast, and colorful tapestries hung in a Moroccan market.
![Image of arched doorways into a Moroccan market, with patterned walls, a hanging lantern overhead, and boxes of colorful wares alongside the walkway.](https://kimballstarr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Kimball-Starr-Interior-Design_Mediterranean-Style_Moroccan-Market-Tapestry-Arch-via-Mercari.com_-580x759.jpg)
Furniture in the Mediterranean style ranges from formal to functional, with ornately turned legs and feet. Furniture hardware can often be heavy and include burnished metal details.
![Furniture in a hallway, with a dark wood sideboard dressed with a lamp, family photos and white coral in a vase. The sideboard displays delicately turned feet and legs, while the drawers have keys hanging from the locks. Curved metal seats flank the sideboard, with leather seats.](https://kimballstarr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Kimball-Starr-Interior-Design_Mediterranean-Style_Med-Hallway-Furniture-580x528.jpg)
Mediterranean colors echo those of the sea and sky, and, depending on the region, can also include terra cotta, lavender and yellow. Mosaic tile designs embody the colors of the Med, and blend easily with many design styles. Bring tiling designs into your home on flooring, a kitchen backsplash, or on something you can take with you if you move, like a mirror frame or a tabletop.
![Three types of Mediterranean tiling by Artistic Tile, side by side. On the left is a red brick background color, with tan field and black and gray geometric shapes, in a pattern that repeats, so you can join the tiles next to each other. The center tile is also a repeating pattern, this time a tan field with dark green patterning. The third example is a lighter color off-white field, with two shades of blue forming geometric patterns and plant or floral shapes.](https://kimballstarr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Artistic-Med-Tile-2-580x193.jpg)
Another popular Mediterranean style accent is exposed wood beams, often paired with gleaming white marble floors or white walls.
![View of a mostly white living room with high ceilings painted white around exposed wood beams, a tall white chimney coming down to a brick fireplace flanked by built-in bookcases, chairs and a loveseat in white fabric on white tiled flooring, and open arched glass doors leading to an outdoor patio space.](https://kimballstarr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Kimball-Starr-Interior-Design_Mediterranean-Style_Exposed-Beams-via-Decoist.com_-580x382.jpg)
People of the Med adore their outdoor spaces, so make sure your interiors flow easily into an exterior dining area or patio, and you can’t go wrong. Arranging your outdoor seating around a water feature is also a popular approach.
![An outdoor courtyard surrounded by white walls with dark metal decorative railings over doors and windows. To the right is a long rectangular swimming pool, flanked by large potted plants. Long low seating offers multi-colored throw pillows to relax in front of the tall white outdoor fireplace on the left.](https://kimballstarr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Kimball-Starr-Interior-Design_Mediterranean-Style_Palisade-Beach-Road-via-Decoist.com_-580x383.jpg)
The outdoor lifestyle of the Med often includes a veranda or an open interior courtyard, to optimize for the warm, sunny weather. This is another place you’ll see colorful geometric tiling, or sometimes even pure white, and plenty of healthy plantings, so that’s an easy way to get the look, by layering in plants and tiling.
![A private interior courtyard in this Folsom Street San Francisco home looks like you’re actually somewhere in the Mediterranean or Morocco, with an intricately tiled water feature in front of a high wooden privacy fence, hung with multiple planters. The ground is covered in a coppery oversized tile, and a round table and blue chairs sits next to a plain grey wall, topped with a vase of flowers. In the foreground, an orange seat peaks through, while to the left we can just see a lime green, turquoise blue and brown geometric patterned indoor-outdoor rug.](https://kimballstarr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Kimball-Starr-Interior-Design_Mediterranean-Interior-Style_Folsom-Courtyard-580x761.jpg)
Here’s a Med-inspired courtyard deck I designed for a San Francisco SOMA loft. The stunning water fountain imported from Morocco features an uplight for dramatic nighttime scenes. It’s surrounded by large-scale textural floor tiles in multiple colorations, and a stylized patterned outdoor polypropylene rug that resists fading, which can be hosed off for easy maintenance. The entire space is dotted with easy-care live plants, including the succulent wall hangings on the trellis behind the water feature. An LED sconce will light the space for 50,000 hours before it needs changing. Durable outdoor furniture withstands the weather and remains welcoming, making this truly an outdoor living room.
Do YOU have a Mediterranean-style project that wants to be realized? Kimball Starr Interior Design can help with a consultation. Contact her today!