Tuscan Decor In Your Home

How to achieve the Tuscan look in decorating for your home. What are the main elements that define Tuscan style in terms of colors, textures and materials.

The foundation of Tuscan style is the use of earthy colors such as ochre, brick and olive and deep green. These colors depict the life of Tuscany, with the rich farm fields of deep earth, the olive trees and poplars, and the stucco colors of the buildings. In Tuscan design, deep colors such as this are mixed with muted beiges and yellows to form a lovely variegated palette. The paintings that depict the area will have beautiful terraces of green fields, lined with poplars and sprinkled with small Tuscan farmhouses in the earthy tones of the region.

The roots of this style are from the fourteenth century, when a great shift in European architecture occurred. Giotto and Brunelleschi, architects of that era, learned how to build buildings that were taller and stronger. Because of this strength, they could be topped with beautiful domes, even though they seemed to be supported by the most slender of columns. Ornamentation, symmetry and elaborate ironwork became symbolic of this style. Mosaics were used extensively to reflect the Roman roots of the area. A typical Tuscan villa would have incorporated all of these elements.

Tuscany was at a crossroads in the Roman world, and therefore a center of trade and commerce. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Tuscan style encompassed touches of style from many different regions. Egyptian and Indian influences can be seen in many of the designs. For instance, stools may have bases shaped like an X, which is a hallmark of the more eastern style not known before in Europe. Some of the planters or pedestals for vases show decidedly Greek influence in the way they are made.

What has become known as the Tuscan style is really a mixture of many different styles from the ancient world. Furniture especially reflects the influences of Greek and Roman architecture mixed with Renaissance style: legs of tables and chairs that are made like columns, with backs of chairs carved more in the Renaissance style. The geometric lines of Gregor-Roman design mixes easily with the ornate touches of ornamentation and curves that the Renaissance is known for.

Many times, a Tuscan design will include a top made of mosaics. Table tops, floors and walls may include a design that depicts a scene, but it is executed in stones, or small pieces of glass or pottery. The influence for this is from Tuscan cathedrals which, in turn, were inspired by Roman places of worship that Had wide use of mosaics.

Another important element of Tuscan design is texture. Marble, rough hewn stone and other similar materials abound. The colors of these elements is particularly popular, with beige and tan marble colors, or clay stone colors used extensively. Accessories such as counter tops or tabletops made from real marble add an authentic though expensive touch, as does a fireplace made of rough hewn stone, or a stack of stones arranged artistically in the yard.