Style your home like a Mediterranean oasis with Stay Casita

We all need a place to escape.

Whether it’s a quick weekend getaway or a week-long retreat, holidays help reinvigorate our bodies and minds for whatever life throws at us. But what if you could achieve that holiday feeling in your home all year long?

In her most recent renovation project, The Life Style Edit Founder Heidi Albertiri teamed up with husband Douk Konstantaras to transform an original 90’s brick home into Stay.Casita: a gorgeous Mediterranean-inspired retreat on the NSW South Coast. We spoke to Heidi to get her expert tips for channelling those coastal holiday vibes in the comfort of your very own home.

It starts with a feeling…

From coastal retreats to vineyard chateaus, all Mediterranean holiday homes share one thing in common: they evoke that distinct ‘holiday feeling’. This isn’t by coincidence. In fact, every design choice in these spaces is deliberately curated to instil a certain mood.

When styling your home, step back from the details and focus first on the feeling you want to have when stepping inside, says Heidi.

“I think it’s important to think about how you want people to feel when they are in the space. For us, we wanted Casita to feel like they can drop their bag in their room and instantly switch into relaxation mode.”

Inspire holiday vibes with different textures and tones

It may be tempting to jump straight into painting walls blue and hanging up beach-themed wall prints — but resist the urge, says Heidi. In luxe holiday homes like Stay Casita, it’s the textures and tones that instil a distinct sense of time and place.

“We went for a Mediterranean feel for the house. Even though the walls, floors, furnishing and finishes are neutral, they are all different tones and textures that blend together,” says Heidi.

Start with the feeling you want to evoke with your home. Create a moodboard of the spaces, themes, and textures that are synonymous with that place or style, then use this to draw inspiration for your choice of material and colour. We love how Heidi brought in touches of the Mediterranean in Casita through earthen tones and textured tiles.

Create places to make memories with loved ones

Holidays are about making memories with good friends, good wine and good food — and a true holiday-inspired abode should celebrate these shared moments through its design. With two living spaces and an outdoor entertaining area, Casita offers something for every mood. And the cornerstone of this, Heidi says, is the seating.

“Make sure there is a piece of furniture to sit on for however you are feeling. Our sofa and love seat are the perfect space to end up in the evening chatting with friends.”

In the lounge, Heidi has opted to create a social setting using the Bronte collection in Italian White, complete with the Bronte 4 Seat Sofa, Bronte Love Seat and Bronte Ottoman.

"We wanted the sofa to be stylish, comfortable and cleanable. The Bronte sofa’s clean lines lend themselves to the slick interiors but the linen softens the feel, making the room more approachable and lived-in. It was important to us that our guests could lie around and hang out without the interiors being too pretentious. The amazing thing about Bronte is that the covers are washable so we aren’t so worried about keeping it clean. It ticks all the boxes for us and our guests agree: we get so much feedback about how much people love the sofa!" Heidi adds.

When styling a cozy living space like the one in Casita, Heidi also recommends keeping it uniform to achieve maximum impact. 

"With Casita, the lounge room is quite small so keeping everything matching felt like the right direction to go. It made the sofa the focal point of the space," she says.

"We deliberately selected the 4-seater as it took up the entire length of the wall, its pride of place, and calls for attention. Because the space is open, it leads to the dining area where we have introduced a statement chair to add another area of interest."

Embrace purposeful design

One thing that all holiday homes have in common is that they're carefully curated. If you want to channel the peace and serenity that comes from staying at a holiday home, start by being considered when purchasing items for your space.

You don’t need to fill your abode with items, but what does feature should be there for a reason: to be purposeful, beautiful, and inspire joy. That’s the philosophy that Heidi and Douk used when styling Casita: from the largest pieces like the bathroom mirror and the seating to the smallest of details, like vases and kitchenware, everything has its place.

“Each piece in the house is functional but beautiful. It was important for us to provide everything that is needed without overcrowding or having too many things around,” says Heidi.

Find opportunities to be adventurous

Your home should be an escape from the daily grind, and there's no better way to achieve this than to create spaces that whisk you away to another time or place.

Loved a quirky coffee table but didn’t feel like it fit in with your home’s aesthetic? It might be just right for a sitting area in the entryway. Want to play with a bold feature wall or incorporate patterns that you’ve always loved, but never found an opportunity to use? Try to feature these in that unused corner of your home or in the home office.

If in doubt, make a statement with an accent chair like the Coco Chair, says Heidi.

"Sometimes those hard-to-style spaces are actually crying out for an accent chair like Coco. It draws you in to use a space that might otherwise have been a bit of a void."

"Coco has a great texture to her and the lines for the chair fit perfectly into the space. Where the chair is located is also perfect because when you are seated there, it connects you to the garden for a little daydreaming time, and it's close to people in the dining room or the kitchen. It has truly turned out to be such the perfect addition to the space,"

Love this look? Shop the products featured in Stay Casita below.