Modern Nest Tulum House

Get a more in depth look at the Tulum House

Welcome to Collected. A journal by Modern Nest.

Here we are with our first project post sharing our Tulum House in full detail. We know this project was completed last year, but we still receive so much love for this home and quite honestly, we’re not done talking about it just yet! We’ve also never really had a place to share all details regarding the home, so we’re excited to have this journal space to do just that.

Tulum House Behind the Scenes:

As the video mentions, this home was inspired by the aesthetics of Tulum, Mexico. Our goal was for this home to have a comfortable, casual, lived-in feel while featuring natural elements such as reclaimed woods and stones. To balance the earthy elements and comfortable feel, this home contains clean modern lines and luxury amenities.

Material selections were a key design element that helped us stay true to the Tulum aesthetic. We used natural stones in the kitchen such as limestone and quartz, paired with rustic woods on the ceiling and shelving. This combination of elements brought a sense of the outdoors inside. Carried into the bathrooms throughout the home, natural stones and woods can be found balanced by modern lighting and plumbing fixtures.

To soften the walls in several spaces, we applied a Portola Roman Clay finish. This textured detail creates a subtle softness whether used in a dark color or a lighter shade. We used the Roman Clay finish on the walls in the main bedroom/bathroom, the office and the powder bath. Some of our favorite Portola shades that were used in this home are Charleston, Rustica and Piano Room.

Another element in the home that helped us achieve the feel of Tulum, Mexico are the large slide system doors used in the main living space as well as the media/flex room. We worked with LaCantina to design the doors in this home so that we could open up the spaces and create a true indoor/outdoor living experience.

As mentioned, it was really important for us to feature natural materials throughout this home. We covered the 17 foot ceilings in the main living space with reclaimed tongue and groove wood paired with hand hewn wood beams all the way from a barn in Pennsylvania. Covering the entire ceiling with wood created a sense of dimension and warmth in this large space, while also lending us a hand in concealing the structural steel used to carry the weight of the roof and the sliding door systems – which we’ll cover in much more detail in a later journal post.

The last element of design that helped us really achieve our goals for this home was the furnishings and finishing touches. This was the very first spec home we designed and built where we were able to furnish the entire home with pieces from our very own retail store, Market by Modern Nest.

Probably the best part of completing this home was being able to furnish the space with pieces we truly loved and sourced ourselves. We selected unique pieces that really complemented the overall design aesthetic and for the first time ever, we’ve created a Look Book catalog so that you can special order some of the pieces seen in this home. Everything from sofas, to dining tables, to outdoor furniture and art, it’s all included in the Tulum House Look Book and available for special order.