Tips for Decorating with Tuscan Decor

Tuscan decor is charming, warm and inviting and is a wonderful way to bring the "old world" into your home. You can go all out and decorate in a full blown Tuscan theme, or you can just add Tuscan style accents and colors to your rooms to help give your home a sense of Tuscany. Here are some tips for decorating with Tuscan decor to get you started.

One of the main elements of Tuscan decor involves the colors that you choose. The colors are the rich, saturated colors that you can find in nature. Warm, earthy tones like rich yellows, tans or browns are very popular in Tuscan decor. For accent colors use the colors that you might find in the produce department of your grocery store like eggplant, lime, lemon yellow, or olive green.

One of the best places to start when implementing Tuscan decor in your home is with the walls. Venetian plaster is a popular wall treatment that gives and old world feel. Venetian plaster is essentially plaster mixed with paint and applied with a putty knife to your walls. Recently most home improvement stores have started selling Venetian plaster pre-mixed so that you can just buy it and apply it without needing to mix it yourself. Choose Ventian plaster in a warm, rich earthy shade and you will be well on your way to setting up your room for a feel of Tuscany.

Next, choose artwork for your walls that has rich colors. Popular Tuscan style paintings usually either features scenes of Tuscany in rich, saturated colors or a still life painting of fruit.

Wrought iron accents are wonderful for Tuscan decor and can be anything from vases and planters to wrought iron scroll work used in a creative way. Try bringing in wrought iron vases, wall planters, or candleholders to help increase the old world feeling in the room. Tall wrought iron vases with a large bouquet of flowers or greenery at the top - similar to topiary - are great for Tuscan decor.

For additional accents in your Tuscan decor consider using brightly colored Italian pottery in shades of blue, red, yellow and green. You may also want to bring in some terra cotta pots and plant them with rich, green plants.

Mosaics are another wonderful element to bring into a Tuscan decor and can usually be made from old pottery or colorful plates that you can buy at your local thrift store. Just break the plates using a hammer (be sure to wear safety glasses) and glue the pieces down on whatever surface your are adding the mosaic to using tile adhesive. Allow the adhesive to dry and grout the mosaic for a great feeling of old world charm.

Shop at antique malls or flea markets to find beautiful, broken in items that you can use in your décor such as dressers, tables or old chests that could be used as tables. Putting out a bowl of fresh fruit can be the perfect finishing touch for a Tuscan themed room.