Bring Italy Home with Tuscan Kitchen Decorating
In Tuscany, the northern region where sunshine envelopes the area with a warm glow year round, this is especially true.
You can bring the inviting warmth of Italy into your home with some simple Tuscan kitchen decorating ideas. Creating a room that inspires thoughts of Italian hospitality is not difficult and can be quite fun.
When approaching a Tuscan kitchen decor theme, it is always important to realize that Italian kitchens are well lived in, a room that is the hub of the household. The kitchens of Tuscany have that worn, comfortable look, so shy away from modern styling in stainless and leathers, and go for sturdy hardwoods for your furnishings.
Better yet, if you can find a sturdy, antique oak kitchen set, with strong ladder back chairs, in natural tones, just clean it up and it will suit the bill. You may even pickle or you a colored stain to enhance the wood, just make sure to let the natural grain show through for that old world charm.
Accessories for Tuscan Kitchen Decor
Italian kitchens consistently display the tools and implements used for creating the culinary masterpieces that draws everyone to the center of the home. Pasta bowls, cookware and glass jars with infused olive oils are usually visible.
With Tuscan kitchen decor, you have the opportunity for your cooking implements to also be your accessories enhancing your Tuscan kitchen decor. Terra cotta trivets, bottles of wine in a wrought iron rack and storage pottery will all enhance that Italian flavor to your decor scheme.
Look for ceramic and pottery items with painted grapes, vines, tomatoes or olives. Select artwork for wall spaces that depict the Italian countryside, or perhaps some eggplants and zucchini. Italians love food, and food items are also great for accessorizing.
Glass, airtight jars in varying sizes containing Italian pasta favorites, such as fusilli, farfalle, pastina, fettuccini and rigatoni will add that special Italian touch to your countertop.
Unlike most other decorating themes, a little clutter in Tuscan kitchen decor themes actually adds to the Italian ambiance. Like any room that is constantly the center of the household, the kitchen should appear well lived in and consistently the meeting place of the home.
Tuscan kitchen decor color palettes
The colors of Italy are warm and inviting. To bring authenticity to your Tuscan kitchen decor theme, use brick reds, terra cotta, deep blue, and charcoal with added touches of yellow, olive green or gold. Consider covering the backsplash wall completely in terra cotta or hand painted ceramic tiles.
A bricked island with a marble top that the entire family can sit around is a typical feature in Italian old-world kitchens. Use your palette in your selection of linens, stoneware and accessories. Select two or three colors to create your palette and then stick to them, using for palest shade as your base or wall color.
Incorporate your selected color theme into window treatments. Border paper that has vines, fruits or even bottles of wine can add an Italian feel to your Tuscan kitchen decor them while enhancing your color scheme. Perhaps a mat by the back kitchen door or in front of the sink will provide you an opportunity to embed your selected palette into the room. Flooring in an Italian Kitchen
Terra cotta, flagstone, brick and marble are typical flooring finishes for Tuscan kitchen decorating, however plan, old weathered wood will also work well. Steer clear of wall-to-wall carpeting, not only does it not go well with your theme, but it is not an appropriate finish for a well-used kitchen.
Linoleum can give off an old world charm, as long as the pattern is within your color palette and is not too modern in design. The same holds true for vinyl flooring. Select a vinyl that mimics ceramic, terra cotta or bricks. The look to go for is an old, well-worn, and consistently cooked in kitchen.
Italian Kitchen Cabinetry
Although some cabinets will have solid doors, it is typical in most Italian kitchens to have a preponderance of open shelving, racks or glass fronted cabinets. The tools of creating marvelous meals are a source of pride to be displayed in your Tuscan kitchen decorating. Pasta bowls and platters should be visible, and there is nothing wrong with cookware hanging from a wrought iron ceiling rack.
Glass fronted cabinets providing a glimpse of hand painted stoneware can actually add just the right touch to your decor. Various bottles of oils and balsamic vinegars on a kitchen shelve will create the love of food feeling shared in many Italian homes.
In Tuscany, the family's life revolves around the kitchen. It is where they meet, talk, eat and cook together on a daily basis. Most familiar company and guests will come to the kitchen of an Italian home. The sitting room is reserved for strangers or business. The kitchen is where friends meet. This is why Tuscan kitchen decor themes have become a favorite with people everywhere.
It is that cherished, warm, homey family feeling that is being sought out. With ceramics and pottery as great accessories, it is a style that can be inexpensive to attain. Older items are better, so no need to replace that older oak kitchen set, just refinish it.
Even food products such as pasta, fruits, vegetables with oils, vinegars and wine are accessories that will rotate and change as you use them in your cooking. If you're looking for a truly homey environment, then a Tuscan kitchen decor theme may be your answer.
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