The basis for a knockout Spanish Mediterranean decor is the flooring. Dated wall-to-wall carpeting and plush rugs drown out the rustic design elements, earthy colors and vibrant accents that evoke Spanish Mediterranean style. You can redo all your home's flooring, or just add details and floor coverings reminiscent of Spanish beach resorts, colonial haciendas and old-world European estates. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Gather inspiration from hotel brochures, travel guides, decorating magazines and architecture and design websites. Spanish Mediterranean flooring may be natural and basic or elaborately finished and ornamented with borders and trims. As you consider flooring styles, take into consideration your lifestyle, as well. Homes with young children or elderly residents should not feature large areas of slippery marble. Likewise, softer wood floors do not work well with heavy furniture or metal feet and frames.
2. Sketch a plan for adding Spanish Mediterranean flooring. You can cover an entire room with distressed wood for a rustic Spanish feeling or use marble or tile. You can also opt for floor mats comprised of bamboo or wood. You might add a tile detail to an entryway, porch, patio or deck to evoke the Spanish coastal design technique of making outdoor spaces more aesthetically pleasing and livable.
3. Utilize a bold and earthy Spanish Mediterranean palette in flooring choices. Terracotta tile is a classic choice, especially if it has a slightly rough texture or distressed surface. Accent tiles that border floors or line baseboards may feature indigo against sunny yellow and antique white, or cobalt blue and bottle green. Other popular color choices include pumpkin orange, deep olive green, violet, deep brown and soft poppy seed black.
4. Add faux finishes or distressing techniques to lend your wood flooring a timeworn look. You can use crackle paint or rag painting to make painted wood floors show layers of colors or textures. On a dry painted surface, use fine grain sandpaper to gently wear away the edges and corners of floors.
5. Incorporate accents into your Spanish Mediterranean flooring design scheme. You might add bright tile accents in corners or create a centerpiece of engraved or embossed tile in the middle of a room. You can use borders and trims that match flooring to extend up part of the wall and around door frames.
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