Azure, cool greens, and the neutral white palette decorate the exterior and interior of the home, as well as the warm color palette reflected by the choice of gold, earthy terra cottas, and bright yellows. This potpourri of color choices ties the climate of the Mediterranean region with its artistic and eclectic design choices resulting in a truly unique architectural style.
Indicative of the mild and sunny climate of the region, the home's exterior is enhanced by the addition of elaborate landscaping both in terms of complex (heavier design elements such as pavers, stone, rocks, and courtyards) and soft scape (vegetation such as trees, shrubs, and flowers). In addition, enormous courtyards, swimming pools, outdoor living areas, and an abundance of covered porches or open decks are popular additions to the home's exterior.
While the design you end up choosing will be all yours, some vital architectural features are found in most floor plans, and they include:
It's easy to see how the styles can be confused, but there is a difference. The most significant difference between the two styles can be found in the level of ornate design elements added to Mediterranean-style homes. On the other hand, while open and airy, Spanish-style houses are much simpler in design and have an added luxury level.
Building a Mediterranean-style house costs anywhere between $350,000+ to more than a million dollars. The wide range in cost is, of course, due to the variety of factors it takes to build a home, including materials, laborers, seasonality, and location of the house.
To get a closer estimate of the cost of building your dream home, we offer a Cost to Build Report on all of our designs that factors all of these items into a straightforward document.
Because of the focus on detail and luxury around every corner, it should be no surprise that Mediterranean house plans are more expensive to build than other, more traditional, or contemporary home plans. However, the luxurious style can be scaled down to a smaller floor plan to build a beautiful home within a budget.
Modern Mediterranean homes keep the Mediterranean style's light, airy and natural elements and discard some of the heavier Spanish Colonial and Italian Renaissance elements from the design. Instead, think of big windows and spacious rooms, natural.