Decorating a Tuscany style kitchen? Read hints and tips to get the look - here. Discover ideal Tuscany colors, fittings and fixtures, for your ultimate in kitchen style.
Learn how to create your own Tuscan kitchen. Decorating a kitchen in Tuscan style will bring a rustic mood into your home, and a relaxed Mediterranean feel. Think good wholesome food, the smell of olives, wine and fresh crusty bread. Feel the beautiful Tuscan landscape surround you, as you recreate a Tuscany style kitchen in your own home.
The most important aspect for decorating a Tuscany style kitchen, is to get the color choices right. The ideal colors for Tuscan kitchen decorating are warm earthy colors - that give a rustic feeling to your kitchen.
Use golden yellows, terracottas and burnt orange. Mix these with browns and burgundy, or go for olive greens, or Mediterranean style sea-blues. Do not use very fresh, bright or pastel tones. Always choose a muted or weathered looking tone of your chosen color.
If possible, apply your paint colors to walls which are textured, and not smooth. A real Tuscan farmhouse kitchen would be roughly plastered.
If your walls are smooth, you have several options to try. Try adding some more, rough plastering, as a base for your painting. Use textured paints, such as a suede effect paint, or add a little builder's sand to your paint. You could also try a faux paint finish of cracked antique plaster, to add real Tuscan kitchen decorating style.
Natural materials are important for decorating a Tuscany style kitchen. Use stone, slate, granite, marble or limestone. It would be ideal to use these for counter tops in your Tuscan kitchen. Consider creating the effect with faux painting techniques.
Use similar materials for flooring. Stone, slate, granite, marble and limestone are all good choices for Tuscan kitchen decorating. Also consider terracotta for flooring - to give a quintessentially Tuscan feel - or slightly distressed wooden floorboards.
Mosaics and colored tiles are a widely used effect for a Tuscan style kitchen. Keep to the warm Tuscan colors - and use on table tops, counter tops, splash backs, or even flooring.
Using picture tiles with a Tuscan theme will really help you to get an authentic feel when decorating your Tuscany style kitchen. An oven splash back is an ideal spot for a stunning Tuscan style mural. Choose a view of a Tuscan village landscape, vineyards, rustic farmhouses, wine or grapes and other fruit.
Your furniture should be rustic, and old-fashioned in feel. You may be able to get some great second-hand bargains here. Choose chunky wood furniture, with a distressed finish, or with plenty of chipped and old paint.
Create your own distressed wood effect. Rub a little wax on places on your wood. When you paint it, the paint won't adhere properly in these places. When the paint is dry, rub back the paint a little with sandpaper, to create an aged, distressed effect. Try to concentrate the wax and rubbing in areas that would receive wear naturally - like corners and edges. For an unusual effect, instead of wax, try an undercoat of a contrasting color paint, and rub the top coat down to show a little of the other color.
Look out for old wooden cupboards, especially with fabric insert, or chicken-wire doors. If you can't find exactly what you want, re-vamp some old furniture yourself. Cut the inside of the doors down, leaving a frame of wood a couple of inches thick around the edge of the door. Then, fit fabric or chicken wire inserts into the gap, stapling or gluing to the back of the cupboard door frame.
Mix in plenty of wrought iron - in furniture, or accessories such as candelabras and wall sconces. Think about using wrought iron, particularly for your lighting - central chandeliers or wall lights. Also consider wrought iron wine racks and plant stands for decorating Tuscany style kitchens.
Other accessories which will give a fantastically Tuscan style kitchen, are ceramics and terracotta. Choose rustic style pottery bowls, pitchers and jars. Keep proudly on display, in your Tuscan kitchen.
Add lots of decorative bottles and jars, filled with speciality oils, or preserved peppers, olives and citrus fruits. They are very attractive to have on display in your Tuscan kitchen, and will give an authentic feel.
Also add strings of garlic, or hang small bunches of scented herbs up in your kitchen to dry.
You may want to consider using stencilled motifs for decorating your Tuscany style kitchen. Use motifs of grapes and grape vines. Position them over doorways, or around cupboards, for a genuine Tuscan feel.
When you have finished decorating your Tuscany style kitchen, make sure you sit back and relax, with a home-cooked meal of Tuscan fare, and a well deserved glass of red wine.
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