Mexican Style

By Shelagh Duncan

We all like to add a touch of our own personality to our home décor. Sometimes it is not easy to know how to focus that creativity.  Selecting a particular theme is one of the easiest ways to achieve this. 

This month we are looking at MEXICAN STYLE. It works really well with our tropical homes and you will often only need a few well chosen pieces to make a difference. 

Here are some ideas of how to add that touch of Mexico to your home. 

Mexican interior design, with its dark or honey-toned pine cabinets and armoires, sturdy tables, colourful accessories, and iron hardware has become more and more popular along with the southwest style. Mexican pine furniture, traditionally viewed as the poor cousin of sturdy maple, oak, and mahogany European-inspired pieces, has come of age. Mexican interior design is identifiable by its rustic lines, its intricate carved details, vibrant colours and its use of dark iron hardware and detailing.

MEXICAN ELEMENTS

Natural materials such as grasses, reeds and rush, fieldstone and clay are frequently used in Mexican interior design. Inlaid ceramic tiles and mosaics are used to give the sold pine furniture a festive and playful air, and are often seen on decorative table tops. Heavy metal hardware and delicate stenciling are also popular elements, as are colourful woven rugs, blankets, and pottery.

Fruit and flowers are common themes in Mexican art as is the pre-Columbian Mexican Sun Face.

MEXICAN FURNITURE

Pine is the wood of choice in Mexican furniture, but mesquite and alder are also used. Sturdy, antique pine pieces – both authentic and reproduction – carry with them the rich history of Mexican colonial days. Furniture design is influenced by other cultures and peoples that once called Mexico home. It borrows heavily from the Spanish and early mission-style settlements, as well as ancient Aztec and Mayan designs.  When we think of Mexican furniture today, it is a rustic blend encompassing the rich ornamentation and iron scrollwork of Spanish Colonial days, adorning roughly constructed, chunky cabinets and tables that reflect Mayan design influences. In additional to the warm, natural honey tones of pine, some are stained dark and other Mexican pieces are brightly painted, usually in exciting colours, such as red, orange, and blue, mirroring the celebration of life that is Mexican culture.

THE COLOURS OF MEXICO

The warm tones of the desert are reflected in Mexican interior design and in Mexican furniture. Warm sand-coloured pine combines with earthy mustard, khaki, terra-cotta, and sienna hues. Finishes tend to be rustic: textured stucco, or colour washed walls, and rough, unpolished terra-cotta tile floors are popular. In contrast to this backdrop, accent pieces tend to be bold, colourful and expressive. Talavera tiles and pottery are colourful, hand painted masterpieces that immediately bring a room to life, and tin mirror frames and lights reflect the colours in festive Mexican rugs, baskets, pottery and vibrant art. Artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo being two of Mexico’s most famous. 

Mexican interiors are typically casual, and provide a warm and welcoming feel. You don’t have to live in Mexico to enjoy this colourful and friendly design theme. Everyone can embrace and enjoy the Mexican style. 

Please join me next time for a look at The Psychology of Colour.