Holiday Vibes: Meet Our Modern Mediterranean Style

by Carlisle Homes

Evoke the relaxed yet luxurious feel of your favourite Mediterranean retreat at home with our irresistible decorating theme.

Feeling the holiday blues? You don’t have to – with our beautiful Modern Mediterranean decorating theme, you can enjoy those sun-soaked, getaway vibes at home all year round.

Taking its cues from your favourite destinations along the European coastline, our Modern Mediterranean interior style blends natural timbers, whitewashed furniture, sumptuous fabrics, and evocative artworks to create a look that’s warm, sophisticated, and effortlessly relaxed. With its focus on simple finishes and robust materiality, you’ll find this style is child- and pet-friendly too, making it perfect for busy family homes.

See the Modern Mediterranean theme brought to life in our beautiful Kensington Grand 40 display home at Botanical Estate in Mickleham.

Ahead of your visit, here’s how to recreate the look in your own home.

A light-enhancing colour palette

Set a classically Mediterranean tone with walls in crisp white with a hint of blue-green, such as Dulux Brume, paired with swathes of soft beige and pale grey across your upholstered furniture and soft flooring.

Add depth and a contemporary edge to the look by introducing a few accents of deeper tones, such as navy velvet dining chairs, framed coastal vistas featuring oceanic blues, and matt-black cabinetry handles, wall lights, and furniture frames.

Natural timber & whitewashed finishes

Embrace the signature Mediterranean look with raw, natural timber finishes and whitewashed furniture.

Use a warm, richly grained timber finish, such as Laminex Avignon Walnut, for the cabinetry in your kitchen and bathrooms, paired with simple, whitewashed stools, benches, and picture frames in your living spaces, bedrooms, and entry area to make your interior feel open and relaxed. Supplement these with a handful of pieces in a weathered, wood finish, such as a coffee table or décor items, for a dash of beachy style.   

Feature lighting

Intricately crafted Mediterranean-style lighting, such as a handmade clay beaded Koralky pendant at Beacon Lighting, creates a striking focal point wherever it hangs, while its matt, earthy finish sets a sophisticated, coastal tone.

Consider hanging a pair of pendants either side of the bed, or an oversized beaded chandelier above the dining table, set against a wall in a contrasting colour so the shape of the fixture really stands out.

Complement your beaded pendant with rustic, woven light fixtures in simple shapes and a darker colour, such as charcoal, in adjoining rooms.

Sumptuous stone

Textural stone in a mix of pale hues and rich, slate-like tones adds a rugged, natural edge to the Modern Mediterranean aesthetic. Think light stone floor tiles in your hallway, kitchen, and living/meals area, such as Beaumont Tiles’ Everstone Everquartz tiles in Crystal White, and tactile, dark grey tiles running from floor to ceiling in your ensuite and bathrooms.

For kitchen benchtops, consider a pale and luxurious stone with soft-grey veining, such as Caesarstone Calacatta Nuvo, contrasted with robust, concrete-look Caesarstone Rugged Concrete benchtops in your bathrooms.

These finishes are also easy to keep clean, making them practical and low-maintenance choices if you have children or pets.

Arched lines

Arches are an iconic feature of Mediterranean design, and they’re perfect for bringing a graceful, old-world charm to your interior. Seek out consoles and bedside tables with arched door inserts, arched mirrors, and curvaceous ceramics to introduce the classic architectural motif into your home.

Touch-me textures

Rattan-backed chairs, beautiful mosaic tiles, and a chevron-topped coffee table are all guaranteed to inject personality and warmth into your Modern Mediterranean look. Complement these with a medley of tactile, natural soft furnishing fabrics and floor coverings, such as plump linen-covered sofas, velvet dining chairs, loop-pile carpet, and hardy, cotton cushion covers with fine stripes and checks for a modern edge. 

Add cosiness with a fabric-covered, feature wall or two in colours inspired by the ocean, such as a cosy silk wallpaper in a stormy grey in the study, and a deep, denim-blue textured wallpaper behind the bed in your master suite.

Soft sheers

Breezy, white linen sheer curtains speak to the textural theme, while gently filtering the light in true Mediterranean style. Run them right from floor to ceiling to create a sense of laid-back luxury.

Lush indoor plants

Complete the airy and inviting look, while emphasising your home’s indoor-outdoor connection, with an abundance of indoor plants, arranged at different heights throughout your home. For example, a dainty string of pearls trailing off a shelf in your living room, a mini citrus tree in a curvy, Mediterranean-style pot brightening up the corner of your meals area, a lush, hanging fern in the bathroom, and a cluster of little succulents on the coffee table.

And just like that, you can enjoy luxury holiday vibes every day of the year!