Adding an Italian Touch to Your Kitchen

Have you always dreamed of taking vacation to Italy? It's hard to think of Italy without automatically thinking about food - especially all the amazing foods that are so distinctive to Italy. Even if you can't go to Italy, you can bring Italy to your life by using Tuscan kitchen designs in your home decorating.

Tuscan kitchen designs focus on bringing the warmth and comfort that is a part of Italy into your home. You can accomplish this easily by thinking of the colors and textures that are so common to Italy, especially the Tuscan region.

First, a central theme of Tuscan kitchen designs is to focus on light.

The Tuscan style starts with warm colors and plenty of sunlight. Italian kitchen color basics include colors such as sienna, terracotta, sepia, and golden sun colors. If you have a large kitchen window, you'll want to leave it uncovered by window treatments to allow as much natural light in as possible. Another great option is to consider carefully placed sky-lights.

Italy is also the land of amazing pottery, ceramics, statues, and terraces. When you bring these elements into Tuscan kitchen design, your kitchen becomes a welcome center of the home. You can add these Tuscan touches by including mosaic tiles, wrought iron, textured plaster walls, ceramic, and Italian styled dinnerware.

Another element of Tuscan kitchen designs is casual elegance. Tuscan kitchen designs incorporate a great deal of natural wood, like a dark stained oak or natural pine. In Italian kitchens, you'll find some open cabinets, hanging pot racks, and large family tables. Sometimes the kitchen table is weathered with lots of scratches and nicks. This doesn't detract from the beauty of the table, rather encourages the perception that the kitchen is the center of the family - used for discussions, projects and of course, those all important family meals. Scratches give the wood an antique look which is so common with Tuscan kitchen design.

One technique that combines some of the standard elements of Tuscan kitchen design and kitchen color basics is to consider having your kitchen walls plastered with a tinted glaze. The plaster builds that traditional Italian plaster look, while the colored glaze adds warmth to the walls. A glaze will look different at various times throughout the day and reflect the sunlight throughout the kitchen.

When it comes to fitting your kitchen with fixtures, think about items like a marble sink or a farm sink. Ceramic or terracotta tiles add warmth, or hardwood floors are another option to make that traditional Tuscan feeling.

Tuscan kitchens encourage a family to gather together in the kitchen and enjoy the warmth and comfort of the kitchen. It's a beautiful and popular look for today's kitchens.

By James J. Mahoney