Most people feel that one of the most beautiful places in the world is Tuscany. Since we can’t all live in Tuscany one of the best ways to experience that kind of beauty every single day is to decorate our house with a Tuscan flair.
The most basic idea in making your house appear as if it would be right at home in Tuscany is to bring as much of the outdoors indoors. You should hardly notice a change when you step into a Tuscan style house. The way you create this look is by using large amounts of stone in your decorating, creative use of a coloring, and some old fashioned trial and error.
Choose Your Favorite Color Scheme
The first stage in making your home into a Tuscan retreat is to choose a basic color scheme. The colors you use want to create an illusion of warmth and intensity. Colors that are often incorporated into a Tuscan design include vivid yellows, gold, terra cotta, brilliant russets, pinks, and lots of chocolate brown.
Pick a Stone
Now that you have selected your color scheme, you are going to need to choose the type of stone you would like to use. The rooms where stone is most prominently displayed in a Tuscan style home are the bathroom and kitchen, although it is not unusual to see Tuscan influences in other rooms, especially if you have fireplaces.
The types of stone you are most likely to see in a Tuscan style home include granite, marble, and limestone. The one thing that you should keeping mind is that even though it looks nice, marble isn’t well suited for use as a counter top or floors. If you like the appearance of limestone you should use it in sections of your house that don’t get large amounts of traffic. Don’t use limestone in your kitchen because the stone stains easily.
The Use of Metal in Tuscan Decorating
Since most of Tuscan decorating calls for a natural earthy look the idea of using metal in your interior design might be a difficult concept to swallow. The truth is that metal, when it is cleverly incorporated looks very natural in a well designed Tuscan home. He key to incorporating metal into your Tuscan design is to stay away from metals that are shiny and look new. Instead you should look for metal that looks like it has been around for awhile. Pewter, iron, and copper are excellent choice when you are looking for a dramatic effect or are trying to accent one of your homes features.
The beautiful Tuscan archway at the top of this post comes from Allegra Ricci’s photostream.
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