Tips to Decorate Your Sunroom in an Italian Style

When I vacationed in Italy, one of the things I marveled at was the décor adorning the hotels and cafes in which we visited. Quaint rooms filled with ceramic vases, wrought iron tables and ladder-back chairs, were surrounded by walls displaying colors of orange, yellow, turquoise, and olive green. The shuttered windows opened to intoxicating views of beautiful hillsides and picturesque villages. I thought how wonderful it would be to have one room with Italian style décor to retreat to at the end of a long hard workday. A good room that could fulfill that idea would be a sunroom. Here are a few tips to help you make the right choices.

Windows - Most Italian homes have shuttered windows, with the shutters located on the outside. Obtaining this look may be a hard thing to accomplish with a sunroom, as you do not want to change the overlook or even part of the outside of your house. Put accordion style shutters on the inside of the windows. If you do not want to cover the whole window, put half shutters on the lower part. These shutters will also help save on cooling costs in the summer by blocking out the heat from the sun.

Ceilings and Walls - Cover walls with rough plaster or stucco, and paint them with colors of golden pear, mellowed orange, red, or turquoise. Use rustic looking beams on the ceiling or decorate with decorative tin tiles. Include a ceiling fan that matches your décor.

Floor - Natural materials of limestone, marble and sandstone work well to create an Italian looking floor. Choose a luscious color ranging from burnt terracotta to a dark rusty red to cover the floor.

Furniture - Add a wrought iron table with a marble or stone top, and ladder-back chairs. Try a ladder-back bench against a wall with wrought iron end tables. If you want a something a little more comfortable, try a leather easy chair or love seat in a dark color. Include a mahogany or dark wood bookcase and an old wine barrel or chest in a corner. Nothing says Italy like a fountain, so have a small one installed. Surround it with potted plants and marble statues.

Accessories - Accent the room with brightly colored and intricately designed ceramic pieces such as vases, plates and figurines. Choose those with colors of cobalt blue, tomato red, sunflower yellow and olive green. Adorn the walls with wrought iron or marble sconces and framed artwork depicting countryside scenes from Italy.

Decorate your sunroom with the tips above and you are sure to have a warm and welcoming Italian sanctuary to escape to after a long stressful day at work.

Sources: Personal experience, touchofclass.com, artfilledliving.com