For our design inspiration today, we have a California Mediterranean residence with interiors completed by Suzanne Tucker of Tucker & Marks. This gracious newly built Spanish-style residence stands on an oak-studded hillside in the Carmel Valley overlooking the Monterey Bay. With a classic 1920s Mediterranean vernacular in mind, Tucker used strong Spanish-style elements – terracotta floors, reclaimed hand-hewn beams, plaster walls, steel doors – and a scattering of Moorish details to create a suitable backdrop for the owners’ furnishings and collections.

The designer employed a mix of old and new to give the house immediate age and character, from the glazes and finishes to the hand-hewn beams and selected antiques. She custom-designed fireplace mantels for the living room and library, inspired by seventeenth- and eighteenth-century designs, hand-carved abroad and aged on site. Eighteenth-century doors from Spain retrofitted and refinished, punctuate the passageways and give a significant sense of classic architecture throughout.

CALIFORNIA MEDITERRANEAN DESIGN

Nineteenth-century Spanish carved oak doors frame the living room passageway to the library. The palette of pale warm tones carries seamlessly through from each room. Reclaimed rustic beams and custom steel doors throughout maintain the authentic California Mediterranean feel.

“A polished mix of fine antiques, richly sensual textiles and beautifully designed accessories provide the foundation for a timeless home.”

The custom hand-forged front doors showcase Veronese-inspired grill-work. They open to the perpendicular entry gallery with its enfilade of groin vaults and handmade terracotta tile floor. The classically proportioned gallery forms a gracious artery through the house and provides a backdrop for carefully selected antiques. Rare eighteenth-century Spanish Vargueños anchor both ends of the gallery vestibules.

“I adore the details of design.  They are intriguing surprises for the careful observer, and give a room often understated but intricate complexities.”

A pair of rare antique Spanish tooled leather armchairs group with a seventeenth-century Spanish carved walnut table beneath an eighteenth-century Spanish repoussé mirror.

William Bradley’s Cypress Point, Pebble Beach rests on a spectacular eighteenth-century Spanish Vargueno desk.

“Our design work is highly detail oriented. We attend to our clients’ every need and desire – from designing custom furnishings and sumptuous upholstery, to procuring specialized lighting, finely detailed linens, and beautiful accessories, and curating exceptional art and antique collections.”

On axis with the front door, the massive cascading antique stone fountain provides a captivating view straight through the interior.

In the dining room, chunky rock crystals dangle from the chandelier creating the effect of a shimmering waterfall. An exceptional pair of mid-nineteenth-century American hurricanes adds another layer of flickering light to the tabletop.

At the heart of the house, the kitchen is cool and serene in muted shades of café au lait and olive green. Hand-glazed tiles from Tunis add a quietly patterned reflective shimmer that contrasts with the soft painted glaze finish on the cabinetry. Skylights tucked in between the beams bring in natural light. Stained and waxed walnut planks on the floor lend a casual hacienda feel to the kitchen.

The carved marble shell of the basin inspired the powder room details, including the scalloped arch. Reclaimed floor tiles form a pattern echoed in the stenciling on the vanity. A deep hand-troweled pimiento-colored plaster covers the walls.

In the upstairs gallery, a nineteenth-century Chinese bamboo altar table sits beneath a gilded eighteenth-century Spanish Colonial mirror.

Bleached ceiling beams, exotic window grilles, and walls upholstered with a large-scale bird-and-vine toile create a treetop aerie effect in the master bedroom. A tall, Moroccan-inspired custom-made headboard balances the room’s height. The color palette of soft greens and creamy neutrals speaks to the nearby California Live Oaks.

The sculptural oak outside the guest bedroom window influenced the undulating tobacco tones, fabric-covered walls, and textural elements of vintage textiles, inlays, and bamboo.

“My passion is for design, and for using all the elements of design and the decorative arts to create homes that are personal portraits of my clients.”

That concludes our California Mediterranean design inspiration for today, my friend.

“We specialize in comfortable high-end residential interiors that are tailored to each individual client.”

Be sure to see my other posts on beautiful interiors by this leading design firm:

Relaxed Traditional Style: Pacific Heights

Contemporary Classical Interiors: San Francisco

California Mediterranean Design by Suzanne Tucker

Tucker & Marks, Inc. is an interior design and decorating firm based in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1986 by Suzanne Tucker and Timothy Marks, the firm has grown to be one of the largest of its kind on the West Coast, designing luxurious and elegant, extremely comfortable and inviting homes.  Tucker believes that by surrounding ourselves with what is beautiful, we enrich and enhance the quality of our lives. With that in mind, she has launched Suzanne Tucker Home, an extraordinary array of beautiful home furnishings, exquisite fabrics, dinnerware, and more.

“For 30 years, our mission has been one and the same: To create personalized living environments that our clients are proud to call home.”

Today’s California Mediterranean residence is featured in Suzanne’s second beautiful book Suzanne Tucker Interiors-The Romance of Design.   In this book the designer presents the best of the West Coast, featuring opulent Napa Valley estates, glamorous penthouses on San Francisco Bay, and art-filled apartments. All are united by an attention to detail where the designer’s hand is evident in every tile, molding, railing and finish; Suzanne Tucker redefines the notion of the truly custom home.

Interior Design: Suzanne Tucker/Tucker & Marks

Architecture: Jock M. Sewall & Associates Architects

Landscape architecture: Bellinger, Foster and Steinmetz

Photographer: Matthew Millman

Let me know what you think of today’s California Mediterranean: Enchanted Oaks. I look forward to reading your comments.

Thank you so much for reading along with me today!