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Designer Summer Thornton Looks to Traditional Mexican Textiles to Create a Dazzling Retreat in Cabo San Lucas

Defined by a bold palette, vibrant artworks, and collectible design, this home stands out for its spirited use of color and texture

By Kathryn O’Shea-Evans Photography by Annie Schlechter Styled by Mieke Ten Have
Ocean view terrace with dining table, colorful flowers, cactus, fruit, and mountain in the background.
In a vacation home in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, designed by Summer Thornton, the dining terrace overlooks the sea. The custom table by Mestiz is surrounded by R Worthy Collections chairs with cushions in a Dedar fabric.

Some designers would argue that a home with a megawatt ocean view requires decorative restraint. Summer Thornton certainly does not fall into that camp. Her design for an escape in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, leans heavily toward the kaleidoscopic. “I’m a ‘more is more’ gal,” says the Chicago-based interior designer.

The homeowners enlisted Thornton after seeing photos of her own vivaciously colorful Mexican getaway, the pink-walled Casa Rosada, in Sayulita. Their Cabo property had the views and amenities they longed for but was mired in blandness, a developer’s blank canvas that was primed for 14,000 square feet of renovation. Instead of merely decorating the residence, Thornton and her team stepped in before the planned finishes were completed. That gave her studio the opportunity to entirely reimagine the interiors of the structure, which was built by Grupo Aro.

Woman in floral outfit holding a straw hat, lounging on a wooden bench against a tropical-themed beige wall.
Thornton perches in the main hallway; the wall’s custom plaster mural, with its tropical motifs and built-in sconces, was made by Casci.
Hallway with red and beige striped walls, two wall lamps, a console table with decor, and a pink abstract artwork.
In the guest hallway, artwork by José Lerma complements a custom plaster wall treatment by Willem Racké Studio.

The resulting home feels less like a pristine show pony and more like a conch shell bewitchingly arisen from the sand. Rooms are adorned with handcrafted surfaces, stripes, murals, embroidery, tile, raffia, plaster, and art—and yet somehow the sea remains the undisputed star. “It is the most joyful expression of a vacation house: a place to let loose, socialize, and have fun,” Thornton says.

Stylish hallway with round table, green foliage in a vase, modern blue artwork, large pendant light, and wooden door.
A Sheila Hicks artwork adds a chromatic splash to a vestibule set with a woven Twenty One Tonnes pendant and a custom Hauvette & Madani table.
Vibrant room with blue walls, colorful chair, bookshelves, potted plant, and artwork, creating a lively atmosphere.
An artwork by Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato hangs over a Roman and Williams Guild credenza in the office. The vintage Spanish chair from Morentz was covered in a Namay Samay fabric.

The vibrant interiors amplify the landscape and nod to the artisanal hand of the region. Influenced by the colors of the sea in Cabo San Lucas, Thornton gravitated toward strong shades of blue. In the office, for instance, the plaster walls and curtains are in cobalt, complementing the view from the room’s glass doors. The effect is immersive: “You feel like you’re sitting in the ocean,” Thornton says.

It’s a place to let loose, socialize, and have fun”

Summer Thornton

For inspiration, she looked to the blanket-like serape, celebrating the Mexican shawl’s strong colors, patterns, and textures in the home’s interiors. That spirit translates most vividly in the kitchen, where an arched opening embellished with hand-painted climbing vines frames a workspace sheathed in cobalt, turquoise, and cream tiles—the textile’s graphic energy manifested in ceramic. “This is truly my fantasy of a Mexican kitchen,” Thornton says.

Colorful tiled kitchen with wooden chairs, blue floral arch, hanging lamps, and cookware displayed on shelves.
Cobalt, cream, and turquoise zellige tiles from Mosaic Factory and Exquisite Surfaces bring a festive feel to the kitchen. The archway was custom painted by Willem Racké Studio.

Elsewhere, color schemes emerged organically from materials sourced in Mexico and other parts of Latin America. The designer visited stone yards on the Baja California peninsula, where Cabo San Lucas is situated, choosing slabs of fantastically veined onyx for several of the home’s many baths. “I love nothing more than a Mexican stone yard. That’s my happy place,” Thornton says. “We just went wild.”

The designer collaborated closely with Wiley Fine Art Advisory to curate works in dialogue with the home’s design. “It’s a fun art puzzle,” she says of the results, which include pieces by Sheila Hicks (an inky-blue linen composition that delivers a saturated jolt in the vestibule of the primary suite), Shelley Reed (whose aloe study lends botanical elegance to a hallway), and Paul Feeley (an oil-based enamel on canvas from 1962 that brings a graphic cadence to the home office).

Interior with woven walls, colorful rug, wooden table, vases with branches and flowers, and a framed painting in the background.
Plaster pendants by Anne Jacquemin Sablon illuminate the foyer, where the table is custom, the bench is by Luteca, and the walls are covered in a custom textile by Txt.ure.
Framed abstract painting on a patterned wall with a decorative eye-shaped lamp above and wooden bowls below.
A Nana Zaalishvili wall lamp and Ramón Enrich canvas overlook the bar in the family room.

Handmade objects also lend individuality and further celebrate craft. An African rug outside the primary suite was selected for its artisanal character. In the hallway of the guest wing, Willem Racké Studio—which also devised the kitchen’s mural—hand-painted stripes in shades of burgundy, ocher, and blue, a combination that once again references Mexican serapes. “We went through something like 12,000 color samples to get this,” Thornton says. “We wanted it to feel warm, not garish.”

Elegant bedroom with patterned wallpaper, a bed with orange throw, white dresser, blue sofa, and landscape artwork.
In the primary bedroom, walls clad in an oversize botanical embroidered fabric by Pierre Frey give the space a garden feel. A custom Ironware bed is dressed in Coqui Coqui linens, the bench is by Casamidy, the nightstands are by Paolo Moschino, and the ottoman is by Orior. The home’s artwork, including this painting by Eleonore Koch, was sourced by Wiley Fine Art Advisory.

The home’s more subdued moments retain that sense of playfulness. The client, tired of cookie-cutter retreats, had asked for a bedroom with a lively energy. Thornton rooted the design of the space in a serene array of warm neutrals and navy—and then pushed it further by swathing the walls in fabric embroidered in a pattern of luxuriant palms. “It’s like you’re camping in this beautiful tropical jungle,” Thornton says.

Elegant bathroom with marble countertop, wicker baskets, and round mirrors, featuring warm tones and natural elements.
Claude Home mirrors hang above an onyx vanity in a guest bath, where the fittings are by Waterworks and the walls are in a rosewood-framed custom raffia.
Oceanfront terrace with striped seating, colorful pillows, and a pool overlooking the sea on a sunny day.
The sofa cushions on the outdoor terrace are in a Kravet pattern, and the side tables are by BZippy.

That ebullience extends beyond the interiors and into the smallest details that bring a house to life. Thornton even gave the residence a custom sun logo, designed with Javas Lehn Studio, and had it emblazoned on gear for guests. It’s all available in the boutique-like mudroom—pickleball paddles, golf hats, golf shirts, visors, and more. “It puts people in a party mood,” Thornton says, “and it’s so extra, which I appreciate.” In the end, the house proves that living beside the sea doesn’t require white-wall banality. Sometimes a view looks even better through a kaleidoscope.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Fall Issue under the headline “Blanket Statement.” Subscribe to the magazine.

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