5 Modern Mediterranean Home Design Ideas to Embrace Laid-Back Coastal Living

Mediterranean-style homes were popularized in the United States in the 1920s. Architects and interior designers drew inspiration for this architectural style from the seaside resorts and houses along the Mediterranean Sea in European countries like Spain, France, and Italy.

Mediterranean homes were (and still are) most popular in warm destinations like California and Florida and generally feature simplistic, elegant spaces that will always stay in style. Keep reading to learn about modern Mediterranean home design ideas including the most common features in a Mediterranean-style home and our best tips and tricks for modernizing this timeless design!

What Are the Hallmark Features of Modern Mediterranean Interior Design?

Modern Mediterranean interior design borrows elements from the two classic styles of Mediterranean homes — Italian Renaissance and Spanish Revival.

This style emphasizes the indoor-outdoor living spaces and spacious, open floor plans common in most modern home designs. However, modern Mediterranean architecture often also includes subtle nods to the classic Mediterranean design, like rounded arches, arched doorways, columns, and low-pitched roofs with beam ceilings.

Modern Mediterranean Home Design Ideas to Embellish This Sun-Drenched Coastal Style

Are you ready to incorporate the best elements of stunning modern Mediterranean interiors into your home? Consider these design ideas from our professional decorating team:

1. Functional and Family-Oriented Kitchen

The kitchen is known to be the heart of most homes, but this is especially true in Mediterranean-style architecture. Meals and family time are important in Spanish, French, and Italian cultures, so naturally, this would be reflected in the kitchen and dining room design.

Mediterranean-style kitchens often lack cabinetry or storage (again — it’s all about simplicity!), so finding fashionable and functional space-saving solutions, like open shelving, is essential. These modern kitchens are all about natural materials, like wood and stone, so consider incorporating a stylish backsplash into the design for a pop of pattern and color.

2. Clean Lines and Symmetry

Mediterranean interior design is clean, simplistic, and timeless, so symmetry is fundamental to this style. Try to use pairs whenever possible — pairs of chairs, pairs of light fixtures, and pairs of nightstands, for example — and consider how to incorporate symmetry in the furniture layout, too.

Another way to focus on clean lines and symmetry is to use the same paint color palette for the walls and the same flooring throughout the whole house. This creates a cohesive design and allows visual space for bold and exotic patterns on tile, fabrics, and decor that give the modern Mediterranean interior design its unique and inviting personality.

3. Seamless Indoor-Outdoor Living

Since Mediterranean-style homes are typically located in warm, sunny destinations like California and Florida, it’s no wonder that indoor-outdoor living is such an emphasis in their design!

Ideally, incorporate a large sliding or stacking glass door in the living room leading to a patio, courtyard, garden, or outdoor entertaining space. This makes it easy to slide open the door when guests arrive, welcome the sunshine inside, and come and go from the outdoor space quickly and often.

Glass doors are also an easy, functional way to maximize natural light in these homes that often have low ceilings and small windows.

4. Eye-Catching Exterior Elements

A modern Mediterranean house typically features a red terracotta roof, white brick or stucco, stone details, and iron or metalwork on doors, windows, and balconies. These exterior details can easily be carried into the interior to emphasize the seamless indoor-outdoor design.

For example, consider maintaining the crisp, white stucco exterior by painting white walls inside. You can also carry the aluminum-clad iron or steel windows (as opposed to wood, vinyl, or fiberglass windows) inside, as well as an eye-catching contrast to the white walls.

5. Earthy Tones and Natural Textures

Natural materials like wood, stone, brick, and linen, and the warm, neutral colors that complement them, like rich browns, creamy whites, and light tans, are excellent choices for modern homes following a Mediterranean interior design scheme.

Since a light color palette is usually used on the walls to create light, breezy interiors, consider using rich, dark woods, like mahogany or walnut, for tables, cabinets, and even the ceiling to create an eye-catching (and appealing!) contrast. As an alternative or complement to wood, stone walls and other stone details can be incorporated effortlessly into kitchen or bathroom design.

Accent neutral colors with earthy, neutral tones, like terracotta red, sage green, and dusty blue, for a “pop” of color. Accentuate minimalist surfaces with varied textures and patterns (think gauzy curtains, patterned tile backsplashes, and vintage rugs) to add character and visual appeal,

Incorporate Modern Mediterranean Design Elements into Your Dream Home with THE STAGING COMPANY

Are you ready to embrace the warm, welcoming, and simplistic elements of Mediterranean-style interior design to transform your home into an inviting indoor-outdoor oasis?

If so, our team at THE STAGING COMPANY would love to make this dream a reality. Our team is based in Florida — one of the country’s hottest destinations for Mediterranean homes — so we are well-versed in styling homes to match this aesthetic. Whether you’re selling your home and need some help with home staging, are furnishing a gorgeous vacation home to put on the short-term rental market, or want to spruce up the interior decorating in your own home — we can help!

Reach out to us to get a quote. We look forward to hearing from you!