Mediterranean Interior Style Colors
Mediterranean design reflects the rich collision of the cultures that thrived off the Mediterranean coast. Homes decorated in this motif emanate an atmosphere that feels both clean and rough, a sun-warmed ruggedness that pervades the stucco finishes and stone walls. The style's color palette consists of three sets: the sea, the earth and the blooming countryside. These colors evoke the Greek, African and Southern European cities inhabiting the Mediterranean shores. Does this Spark an idea?
The Sea
Exuding light, the sea colors are the contributions of Greece. They consist mainly of the bright blue of the Mediterranean Sea and the glistening white foam of the waves as they crest and crash. These colors may as well mirror the sky's clear blue expanse and its white clouds. In Ancient Greece, the similarity of the sky and the sea represented man's union with the divine. The country's flag even features this blue and white contrast. To this day, the houses along the shoreline of Greece employ this color combination with their white-plaster facades and blue accents in the form of roof finishes, window shutters and even staircases. A Mediterranean-style home may gain the quality of the sea colors through the use of stucco, plaster and whitewash. Blue accents in vibrant hues such as teal and cyan will complete the depth and harmony of sea and light.
Sand and Earth
This color palette belongs to the Mediterranean region verging on the African continent. African colors hum with earth tones, in hues of red, brown, tan and yellow, carrying the golden warmth of the deserts and savannahs. Blue also shows up on this palette through important rivers such as the Nile. All these complement the vivid blue and sun-scrubbed white of the Greek colors. The texture of walls in Mediterranean homes also imitates the natural roughness of the warm African earth and its rocky mountains. This set of colors may also feature Moroccan patterns, although technically Moroccan design has its own attributes.
Blooms
Representing the Southern European shores comprised of France, Italy and Spain, the color palette for the Provence suggests lush vegetation, bunches of flowers and the fragrance of fruit. This set of colors completes the Mediterranean style, with the Greek and African colors mixing and matching with those of the European Old World. Green of any tree's hue is pleasing to the eye and shades of lavender and purple not only bring to mind the patches of blossoms in the countryside, but also add a touch of romance to the home. Iron, red bricks, terra cotta and cobblestones combine with genuine wooden panels, accenting the earth tones and clean, faded colors of the rest of Mediterranean design.
Tags: color palette, African colors, earth tones, Greek African, Interior Style, Interior Style Colors