What it is: Tuscan style evokes the spirit of the Italian countryside: inky cypress trees, weathered farmhouses, vineyards backlit by floral sun. Built on rural customs and native materials, it whispers of heart, history and homeyness.
Why it works: The Tuscan strategy has grown in popularity in the last few years due to its unpretentious atmosphere, solid warmth and focus on relaxation — and possibly due to a tiny book named Under the Tuscan Sun. It provides us an alluring a flavor of a lifestyle that few people will live but all people can dream about.
You will love it if … Sunflowers have captured your heart. You dragged your spouse on an Italian farm remain. You’re able to determine every form of pasta from the culinary canon. You never miss a Fellini movie showing. You want to be Frances Mayes on your life.
Don Ziebell
Style Secret: Outdoor Spaces
With an al fresco spot to choose the sun, sip a cappuccino or tend a pot of basil is a vital part of the Tuscan way of living. If you’re building a Tuscan-style home from scratch, do not neglect to add such a space in the programs. If you’re retrofitting, however, remember it doesn’t have to be a protracted loggia or glorious portico — even a little patio out back, concealed in stone or stucco and filled up with pottery urns and creeping vines, creates the identical effect.
Bella Tuscany: Water, usually in the form of a little fountains, leaves a natural companion for Tuscan style. The trough along the primary stone wall of this courtyard serves a similar function and creates a focal point amid the richly textured surfaces.
Vanni Archive/Architectural Photography
Style Secret: Shuttered Windows
You won’t commonly find drapes or shades in a Tuscan home. Rather, install wooden dividers which you are able to throw broad to allow natural light and breezes flooding in. Leave the timber for a rustic look, or paint and discomfort it in a sun-washed colour for a little subtle shade. If you do use draperies, stick with simple panels and make sure you could pull them widely enough apart that they won’t obscure the panes.
Bella Tuscany: Add into the airy feel with simple casement-style windows which open and shut at will. Bonus points if you’ve got a view like the one displayed here, but otherwise, consider a trellis with climbing vines or a row of tall cypress trees to fake a rural landscape.
Rob Sanders Designer – Custom Home/Remodel Design
Style Secret: Balconies
Technically, Romeo and Juliet have been in un-Tuscan Verona when they steamed up the balcony. However, this architectural component is a pitch-perfect piece of Tuscan style as well. And it’s not just for the outside — it’s a lovely crowning touch in an atrium, a foyer or another space with a soaring ceiling.
Bella Tuscany: Like many Mediterranean countries, Italy is noted for its usage of wrought iron ornamentation. Cordon off a balcony with a decorative railing, possibly bearing on a curlicue or filigree design, to produce a look that is ready for your “Wherefore art thou?” moment.
Sennikoff Architects, Inc..
Style Secret: Textural Walls
Sandstone, stucco, plaster — tactile wall treatments instantly convey the impression of a farmhouse that’s stood intact on the land for centuries. Allow the beauty of natural stone glow through, but stucco and plaster come alive with a tiny paintbrush sleight of hands. Pick a number of shades of a hot, neutral color, such as ochre, tan, faded apricot or lotion, to coating onto the walls to get visual interest.
Bella Tuscany: Complement textured surfaces with both textural — but nevertheless simple — cloths. Natural fibers such as linen, cotton and muslin are on stage. Eschew thick layers of pattern, which can feel too formal and fussy with this look.
Jenni Leasia Layout
Style Secret: Handmade Pottery
Tuscany is known for its ceramics cottage business, from dishware to enormous garden planters and sculptural vases. Elect for ceramic pieces which reveal a similar look and feel, and bulk them in the most suitable spot: a patio, an open shelf, a mantelpiece. From the kitchen, they look just right when they’re stuffed with wooden spoons and cooking utensils; in the bedroom, then use them to hold new wildflowers.
Bella Tuscany: Accessories such as this can give an area a twist spin even if its bones are less obviously Italian. Pottery in this kitchen hutch, that has a simple, clean design, glows against the dusky green and infuses a Tuscan aura.
RTA Studio Residential Architects
Style Secret: Wooden Beams
Rough-hewn wooden beams crisscross the ceilings of traditional Tuscan homes, lending not only structural support but also a graceful architectural element. Leave them unfinished to weather gently, or stain them in a medium or dark color that still lets the natural wood grain show through.
Bella Tuscany: The signature colors of contemporary style amplify the warm undertones in timber and make it look doubly dramatic. The red notes from the beams and woodwork in this space select up the orangey gold of the wall shade to get an unrestrained glow.
California Cabinets
Style Secret: Mild Colors
The Tuscan palette attracts land and sky: temperate green hills, brick-red earth, blue sky, golden sunlight. Pick shades of terra-cotta, tawny yellow, soft gray-green and faded blue. Colors should look like they have faded from the hot sunshine; paint gains a pleasing patina and thickness from a bit chipping or cracking.
Bella Tuscany: Earthy tones cloak this kitchen and add an irresistible coating of invitation. The terra-cotta flooring mirrors the colors of the ceiling brick therefore the entire space feels wrapped in coziness.
Vanni Archive/Architectural Photography
Style Secret: Capacious Kitchen and Dining Tables
The kitchen is the heart of the home, we’ve all heard — but nowhere does this hold truer than in Italy. Family meals provide the heartbeat of household life. Even if you’re a party of three or two, add a very long farm-style kitchen or dining table which looks like it could hold a few generations.
Bella Tuscany: Tuscan spaces are normally uncluttered, and this is no exception. The owners allow the simple furnishings make their own quiet statement without feeling the need to overfill the space with bric-a-brac.