Mexican Décor Ideas – How to Design Mexican Style

Looking for a home improvement project or a creative way to change your home? Need Mexican decor ideas for how to decorate a new space? Want to completely redesign your house this spring?

Interior design inspired by Mexico’s rich cultural history is both beautiful and unique. If you’re considering Mexican style house decor, you probably know how special the country is. The rich traditions, delicious foods, and colorful customs make the country into the perfect inspiration for home design.

Here are some Mexican decor ideas to get you started on your home interior upgrade.

Elements of Mexican Style Home Decor

When it comes to home decor inspired by the country, there are some key elements that will make your home decor look cohesive and bring back memories of the country. Here are some of the key things you should consider when working on your home’s interior design.

Many houses here are painted with bright colors, so a Mexico-style home decor needs to incorporate these colors.

Wall Color

Mexico is the home of bright colors. Many cities across the country are filled with brightly painted houses in pink, teal, orange, and yellow. In order to make your home feel like a Mexico paradise, you’ll need to incorporate some of these colors.

If the idea of a hot pink house isn’t for you, don’t worry! You can use an accent wall to add a splash of color without overwhelming the space. Some colors to choose from are mint green, rust orange, canary yellow, and vibrant blue.

If you can’t or don’t want to paint, that’s okay, too! You can use some of the other elements listed below to bring in color to contrast white, creme, or tan walls.

Rugs can range in color from bright blue to brilliant yellows and reds. 

Textiles

Among the many things that the country is known for are textiles. Teotitlan del Valle, a town in the south, is known for weaving beautiful rugs. Throughout town vendors sell rugs of various shapes and sizes. Most are colored naturally and many stores offer tours explaining the creative process involved.

Even if you can’t make it to Teotitlan del Valle, there are plenty of places to buy handmade rugs. These can of course be used on the floor or hung on the wall as additional decoration.

In addition to rugs, you can create Mexico style home decor by incorporating curtains and blankets. A thin woven blanket can be used for curtains, and plenty of wool blankets around the living room can make your house feel like a cozy cabin in the mountains of central Mexico.

Furniture tends to be made of wood or wrought iron, often paired with brightly colored cushions.

Furniture

Home decorating also includes furniture, of course. Furniture is often handmade and embraces imperfections. When I think of typical Mexico furniture, I think of wood and wrought iron.

Rustic furniture with plenty of wood can pair nicely with some of the bright colors that characterize Mexico art. Many couches in Mexico are made of wood and decorated with brightly colored cushions.

If you want a more classic feel inspired by the Spanish presence in the country, you can find pieces made with wrought iron and marble.

Growing up, my family had a large marble table with wrought iron legs from a town called Tres Marias. The table was the centerpiece of our house and matched the iron bars around the windows and door.

Many buildings here are built with arches or domes. 

Architecture

If you’re just redecorating your home, there probably isn’t much you can change about the architecture. However, I wanted to include this as an essential element of houses.

Mexico architecture has grown from a blend of influence, from Spanish, Aztec, and even British in some areas of central Mexico. Many homes have large doorways and windows to let in sunlight and create airflow during the hot summer months.

Many homes are designed around a courtyard or patio, and for Mexican design decor it’s just as important to decorate the outside as the inside of the home.

Other elements of such architecture are Spanish-style domes, arches, and even towers.

Mexican art is stunning and easy to find across the country. Think flowers, Aztec designs, and animals. 

Wall Art

Wall art is one of the easiest elements to nail when it comes to Mexican home decor. There are many celebrated artists, among the most famous are Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, and each have unique styles that would look good on any wall.

Another way to get Mexican wall art is to find some in artesanal markets. Each region of the country has its own style of art. If you’re thinking of decorating your home in this style, it’s likely you have a connection to a city or region of Mexico, and you can find art local to that place.

You have endless choices when it comes to wall art. There are many styles of paintings, including paintings done on canvas or wood. You can also find interesting art made of painted tin or ceramic which can be hung on the walls to emphasize the theme of your decoration.

Mexican pottery can be both useful and decorative. 

Knick-Knacks

Finally, you can fill shelves with figurines and other decorations from Mexico. This is a great way to display your souvenirs.

We have hanging box shelves which we fill with our home decor, but you can also scatter them on a bookshelf, line the edge of a windowsill, or create shelves specifically to display your collection.

Some of my favorite decorative pieces from Mexico are black pottery, glass figures, and alebrije, which are brightly painted wooden animal figures. You can also find decorations made of marble, jade, and other stones, as well as interesting wooden carvings.

Mexican Home Decor Themes

Now you know what elements to look for in decorating; it’s time to choose a theme. Mexico is a large country with many regions and hundreds of different cultures. If you travel around the country, you’ll find common elements, but you’ll also find differences across each state and even city.

These are just a few design ideas that are popular for home decoration and easy to follow. There are many, many ways to bring some flair into your home, no matter where you live.

Hacienda

When the Spanish colonized the country, they created large estates called Haciendas. Haciendas often include a large house and lots of land used for farming, keeping livestock, or mining. The style of a Hacienda-themed house is very rustic and warm.

Start by finding warm colors like reds and oranges. Many Haciendas had white walls and red tile roofs, with iron decorations in the windows and large, intricate doorways. For this look you want to keep the living space as open as possible and emphasize windows.

Bring in plants like cacti and succulents potted in terracotta pots. You can choose to use either wooden or wrought iron furniture, but you don’t want to overcrowd the space with too much furniture. Patterned blankets are a great touch to add to a Hacienda-style home, and black pottery is one of my favorite decorations for this design.

Black pottery is made in a town called San Bartolo Coyotepec in Oaxaca.

Colonial

A Colonial-style decoration will be similar to the Hacienda. However, a Colonial look is less rustic than the Hacienda. For this style, you’ll want wrought iron furniture and elements of marble throughout the house.

You can also begin to bring in some cooler colors to this style. Talavera pottery comes from the city of Puebla, though it can be found around the country and originated in Spain. Talavera is typically blue and white, but can be found in many colors as well.

Colonial style houses also tend to have bright white walls and large, intricately carved wooden doors. If you can’t get a new door to match the decorations, you can find carved decorative pieces to place around the house instead.

Talavera is a painted style of pottery which originated from Puebla.

Southwest

When people think of Mexican style decoration they often think of Southwest art as well. This style of design comes from the southwestern regions of the United States and is influenced by Native American art as well as Mexican.

For a Southwest look, think adobe bricks and stucco. This desert theme leaves plenty of room for cacti, succulents, and pottery. Wooden furniture will look best here, along with plenty of textiles.

You can choose to find rugs from Mexico or Native American rugs, or a combination of the two. For a Southwest style home, you can incorporate lots of color and patterns. My favorite colors for this look are turquoise, coral, and hints of yellow.

Use pottery to blend the influence of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States and Indigenous groups.

Artistic

The Artistic style of home decor is one of the most fun, and perfect if you’ve been wanting a way to bring more color into your home. This style can take inspiration from artists like Frida Kahlo, Jose Clemente Orozco, Rufino Tamayo, and countless more artists.

This style embraces Mexico’s culture and color. For this style of home decorating you want a bright accent wall, bright textiles, and plenty of wall art. This is also the perfect theme to include alebrije. These brightly painted animals will draw guests’ attention no matter where you place them around the home.

For an Artistic style of decor you also want to bring in plenty of plants. Of course cacti and succulents are always a good choice, but you should also try to incorporate painted and live flowers. Balance the many decorations with minimal large objects and simple handmade wooden furniture.

Alebrije is an art form that involves carving wood to look like plants or animals and painting them in bright patterns.

Oceanfront

The country is home to plenty of coastland. You can easily create a seaside oasis no matter where you live. The Oceanfront style of decorating also uses plenty of color. You can stick to cooler colors like blues and greens or add in pops of yellow and pink to inspire thoughts of beach sunsets.

For your furniture, you want to move back toward rustic looks and weathered wood. For a beach-inspired house you want simple but comfortable furniture. Consider bringing in a hammock or hammock-chair for a touch of authenticity and some beach vibes.

In addition to the hammock, an Oceanfront style house can have many hanging elements. Consider hanging plants, woven wall art, and homemade windchimes. Decorate with carved wood, blown glass, and seashells.

Hanging a hammock in your living room can instantly transport you to a beach paradise.

Mountain Cabin

The final decorating theme is the Cabin style home. Although people often think first of Mexico’s beaches and desserts, the country is also home to the Sierra Madre mountain range. Mountain towns can be cold and foggy, but with incredible views on a clear day.

To create this style, you want to focus first on textiles. Instead of brightly colored patterns of woven blankets, you want to head to the mountains to find handmade wool blankets. These thick blankets are thick and warm and often come in blues, greys, and browns.

Match the blankets with thick rugs, curtains, and blocky furniture you can sink into on a cold day. Arches and brick go well with this theme, and you can use pottery to decorate as well as dried herbs, chili peppers, and strands of garlic.

Using decorative pots for plants can be a great way to incorporate Mexican style into your house.

As I mentioned before, there are many more themes fitting to Mexican style house decor. This is a country with hundreds of indigenous groups, each with special customs, traditions, and art. Your house can focus on one region or style or be a mix of many places and cultures across the country.

The transformation will be bright, colorful, and refreshing. With small changes in your decorations, furniture, and color palettes, an upgrade to Mexican decor can be affordable and much easier than you think. What are you waiting for? It’s time to turn your house into a memory of the country.