Italian Interior Design Style. Mediterranean Richness

Italian style in the interior (many designers consider it the main concept that influenced the Mediterranean style) absorbed the warm sunny tones of the peninsula. By nature, it contrasts with the hot mentality of local residents. The sophisticated restraint and tradition of the Italian interior evoke a feeling of tranquility, coziness, and pleasant home comfort, so important in the modern world. Light, neutral shades, natural materials, and a variety of accessories – it’s not all with what classic interior of the homeland of olive oil charms its connoisseurs. Let’s speak a word about what is and what hallmarks have Italian interior design style. Mediterranean richness definitely deserves your attention as many people consider this style the most refined one.

Contents:

• Features of the Italian interior
• Color spectrum
• Furniture
• Kitchen
• Bedroom
• Living room
• Bathroom
• Summing up

Features of the Italian interior

Modern experiments in the field of interior design made a small impact on the traditional Italian style. But new materials, the choice of any color range and furniture, made it possible to realize the most unusual ideas in this direction, bringing new comforts to the Italian classics. When creating an interior in the Italian style, designers must take into account its characteristic features:

• Furniture from natural wood. Lacquered oak or pine are primarily used species. Antique furniture is no alien to the Italian style – old, richly decorated sets with expensive elegant upholstery that will always be relevant for a luxurious living room.

• Wall decoration. Habitual wallpapers are almost impossible to see in the Mediterranean interiors, where the walls are decorated with exquisite Venetian plaster, mosaic, or wall paintings. The design is developed individually for each interior and is created by hand, which ensures its effectiveness – the renovation is carried out under the strict supervision of the author of the project in order to comply with all the subtleties of design.

• Organization of space. A distinctive feature of the Italian style in the interior is arched openings. These elements can be either real or “fake”, made in the form of wall murals, but it should necessarily be combined with the wallpaper. The integrity of the room is reached with the help of a floor consistent in the same style – listen to the designer’s advice to choose the perfect and harmonious “floor-wall” pair.

• Warm colors. Italian style in the interior involves the use of beige, yellow, orange, pale pink shades, while the walls can be dirty white or snow-white. One special trick of combining a couple of colors will make the room lighter when the selected areas are highlighted with a brighter shade. The illusion of solar spray has reached a mixture of terracotta and golden ocher.

• Lighting. To create an Italian interior, several luminaires located in different zones of the room are used. This can create diffuse, soft light, which is very important to observe in the bedroom – your cloud of comfort.

The Choice of Colors for the Interior in the Italian Style

Correctly chosen colors are of immense importance for the interior in the Italian style. Here, preference is given to light and warm tones with small “blotches” of bright colors.

The main or background color is most likely:

• cream;
• beige;
• ivory.

They are easy to supplement with olive, terracotta, blue, and lavender accents, creating a unique atmosphere of comfort and character in the room.

Italian or can be very different. In the classical version, it is represented by an abundance of light. The alternative option presupposes the domination of more saturated and even colder colors.

The Italian style can receive additional piquancy with the help of contrasting accents. And the more expressive the contrast, the more interesting the interior will look. The only thing to remember when choosing the right color combinations is balance. That is, decorated in warm colors, the room should be supplemented with curtains, furniture, or accessories of cool shades. However, if the background of the room is a “chill” tone, it should be necessarily dilute with the heat of ocher and terracotta.

Furniture in Italian style

The Italian style is always natural and solid frame furniture in the color of dark wood. As a rule, its facades are decorated with light wavy patterns and wrought-iron handles. No complex geometry, simple shapes, and no glazing – these are the basic rules of choice for frame furniture in the Italian style.

Cabinets and sideboards in many ways resemble country chests. Tables with massive worktops, soft chairs with high thin backs, comfortable sofas and armchairs, poufs and refined benches, clocks in beautiful carved or forged frames are obligatory companions of Italian styled rooms.

The upholstery of the furniture should be exclusively textile. Its color can be:

• light;
• bright and rich;
• variegated

The texture of the upholstery fabric also plays an essential role:

• for warm shades choose a fleecy fabric, giving the chosen color depth;
• cold and mottled color solutions correspond to dense and smooth fabrics that emphasize color saturation.

Kitchen Design in Italian Style

Italian style is ideal for decorating a large kitchen. Its highlights are:

• natural finishing materials for walls and floors. Preference is given to the stone and wood,
• comfortable kitchen furniture made of natural wood, painted in light colors or the color of dark wood, and stylized “antique”. A variety of combinations of different types of wood and textures can effectively play around the space.

• Large windows framed with textile curtains. They provide the presence of a large amount of daylight and allow you to admire the beautiful natural scenery;
• a lot of open shelves for kitchen utensils, as well as specially designated places for storing spices;
• beautiful dishes, neatly laid out on the shelves of the sideboard;
• a spacious wooden table, which is usually placed in the center of the kitchen, leaving space along the walls for all kinds of bedside tables, lockers, shelving;
• forged large chandeliers located above the dining area;
• clay pots, vases, and paintings used as decorative elements.

Almost all home appliances in the Italian kitchen are stylized to a cute country style, which allows you to create a special atmosphere of warmth and comfort.

Interior of the Bedroom in Italian Style

The Italian style bedroom project also involves the use of natural finishing materials. Here, the main place is given to the decoration of the walls, which can be decorated with large stucco moldings or paintings habitual to citizens of the Mediterranean landscapes.

The properly designed and decorated “Italian” bedroom can be recognized by:

• the specific arrangement of furniture. Beds are placed in the center of the room, sometimes even diagonally. Next to it, in a necessary order, is placed a beautiful carved or forged bookcase with a table lamp, on the front, there is a neat dressing table, and along the walls, there are cupboards and chests of drawers for storage;
• quiet pastel colors, diluted with bright color accents. For bedrooms in the Italian style most often choose light shades;
• the design of windows. The window of the Italian bedroom will never be decorated with blinds or roller blinds. It is “dressed” in a light and elegant organza;
• wooden floor. The color of the floor in the bedroom can be either light or dark, but necessarily wooden and warm. Often it is decorated with a small fleecy rug placed near the bed.

Living Room in Italian Style

The living room decorated in Italian style looks always fashionable and expensive. This style of interior is literally out of time, remaining always relevant.

So, the classic Italian styled sitting room is:

• necessarily bright walls. Less often you can find the decoration of the walls in a delicate olive, lavender, turquoise or blue color;
• high ceiling-vault, decorated with stucco or painting;
• absence of interior doors;
• large luxurious chandeliers, wall sconces, floor lamps or table lamps with textile lampshades, installed on special coffee tables and shelves, giving a soft lighting;
• comfortable soft sofas with textile upholstery and armchairs;
• beautiful expensive curtains on the windows;
• trimmed with tiles and polished to a shining floor;
• fireplace, being the center of the room;
• decorative elements, whose role is played by vases, figurines, and even large houseplants.

 

Bathroom in Italian style

The Italian bathroom is a boudoir in which there is room not only for a shower, a comfortable bath, and wash basins, but also for dressers, cabinets, armchairs, chairs, poufs, and floorboards.

Another feature of the room, made in the classic Italian style, is the location of the bath itself. It is installed in the middle of the room, enclosing a circular shutter of white or gray.

The bathroom is finished in the usual light and warm colors. For walls and floors, it is preferable to use tile. For the ceiling, painting is the ideal option. The Italians do not like a bright light in the bathroom, so the preference is given to wall sconces with the textile lampshades placed on both sides of the large mirror.

Important Little Things

Classic Italian design would not have been completed without successfully selected colorful accessories. The kitchen can be complemented by a large wicker vase with fruit, decorative bottles for spices and oils, clay flower pots. The living room will be decorated with a picture in an antique frame, small statuettes made of Murano glass, bright pillows, and heavy curtains in tone.

Summarizing, the Italian interior design provides complete freedom in terms of accessories: luxurious soft furniture can coexist with cute knitted napkins and an old chandelier with a simple floral veil. When creating an apartment or a house in the Mediterranean style, experts think over every detail to make your home a real cozy place, reminiscent of warm sunny Italy.