Tuscan Kitchens: Bring the Look of Italy Back Home
Tuscan kitchens have always been a popular design style because of the warmth and comfort this look conveys. As we know, the kitchen is the place where so much family activity occurs.
A kitchen with a well-worn comfortable atmosphere makes everyone feel welcome and at ease. A Tuscan kitchen creates this style effortlessly through the use of natural materials, vibrant color, and creative patterns according to Better Homes & Gardens.
What are Tuscan Kitchens?
If you have not yet had the pleasure of visiting this gorgeous region of Italy, you may well wonder what this location has to do with kitchens. Tuscany is one of the twenty regions of Italy and is located in the northern central area along the west of the country.
Most of the countryside of Tuscany is covered in mountains and rolling green hills which are dominated by olive groves and vineyards. The love and rich culture surrounding food cannot be understated in Tuscany.
The architecture of Tuscany features elements that are sturdy and simple. This is visible in the exterior of Tuscan homes but the interior areas like kitchens as well. You will notice elements including terracotta, travertine, exposed wood, decorative metal, and fireplaces. You do not have to have all of these elements to have a Tuscan inspired kitchen. Instead, use these elements to help your home feel more comfortable all with the relaxed elegance for which Italians are so famous.
Tuscan Kitchen Details
Not every Tuscan kitchen design will include all the same elements of design, but there is a general look and feel that all Tuscan style kitchens share.
Use of Color
Italy is known for its brilliant sun-washed color choices to match the brilliance of the Italian sunshine. Tuscan architecture is no different. In Tuscan kitchens, and in other architecture, you see an abundance of colors including terracotta, warm ochre yellow, and sea-inspired blue and greens. Painted wood is a common theme in Tuscany kitchens as well as the use of colored tile and glass.
Lived-In Look
An authentic Tuscan kitchen is one of the most well-used spaces in the home. So, a Tuscan themed kitchen should look well-used as well. This might include wooden countertops that are nicked and scratched or rough stone floors.
Tuscan kitchens have such sturdy materials as their foundation that you do not need to fear that this well-placed wearing will make them vulnerable to decay. Instead, it just makes your room more comfortable.
Tile Backsplash
Tuscany is well known for both its terracotta and ceramic tiles. You can create a colorful Tuscan style using Moroccan inspired designs that were brought to Italy by Venetian merchants.
Mixed Natural Elements
All Tuscan style kitchens have an earthy and textured appeal. From the walls to the floor and ceiling, there are ways to incorporate and layer natural materials. Consider terracotta tile floors to bring in deep earthy red tones to the kitchen.
You could also use natural stone like slate or travertine tiles to incorporate an earthy element that is more subdued in color. Add in other textural elements like dark wooden furniture and exposed beams.
Tuscan Style Cabinets
Traditional Tuscan kitchen spaces have dark wood cabinetry, sometimes painted but often left natural. The cabinet doors will sometimes have a raised panel style door with decorative accents like carved embellishments, ornate corbels, edge twists, ornate vent hoods, and glass fronted or open shelving either in free-standing or fixed cabinets.
Wrought Iron and Other Details
It is the little things that are sometimes the most important when it comes to creating Tuscan kitchen decor. Tuscan kitchen style utilizes wrought iron in many ways including to create pot racks, detailing on furniture, or a dramatic chandelier.
Decorate your walls with other details like stenciling which was a common feature in Tuscan kitchens. If you have the opportunity to enlarge or create another opening in the kitchen, create an arch and line it with a brick facade to give your room a more Tuscan style.
Wall Art
Tuscany is the home of wonderful wine and food, but it is also the origin of many amazing works of art. Display wall art to add some extra color into your kitchen. Focus on landscape and still life art for a more authentic Italian style.
Varied Tuscan Kitchen Design Styles
Whether you want to go “all-in” with your Tuscan kitchen design or just dabble around the edges, there are ways to bring home the comfort of Tuscan design to different types of kitchen designs.
Modern Tuscan Kitchen
One amazing quality of the Mediterranean Tuscan kitchen style is that it does not have to be all or nothing. So if the full-blown look is too much for you, you can mix certain elements with sleek modern styling to create a contemporary kitchen with some rustic edges.
This Mediterranean kitchen from Taylor + Taylor is the perfect example. They begin with creamy Tuscan wall tile, rustic natural cabinets, and free-standing hutch. Then, they blend them with contemporary forest green cabinets and modern style vent hood. It creates a sleek contemporary kitchen with a comfortable and timeless feel.
Rustic Tuscan Kitchen
Some Tuscany kitchens feature more details that have a simple and rural quality. This rustic Tuscan kitchen from Ryan Street Architects builds this kitchen around details like rough exposed beam ceilings, stone walls and a whitewashed backsplash.
They contrast these elements with the elegant pendant lighting and raised panel cabinets. This use of mixed materials and styles gives the kitchen an aged and comfortable look that remains very much on-trend with current styles of design.
Small Tuscan Style Kitchen
If you don’t have a palatial home, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have a Tuscan inspired kitchen if you desire. This small kitchen designed by Nice Home Barcelona uses a Tuscan tile flooring to create their biggest impact in the kitchen.
Nice details like the butcher block countertops and the sky blue painted trim complete some of the Tuscan style decor in this small kitchen design.
White Tuscan Kitchen
Many traditional Tuscan kitchen designs feature dark cabinets and colorful decor. But more contemporary Tuscan kitchen styles have changed to meet the “all white” look that is common in modern kitchens.
Lissa Lee Hickman designed this modern white Tuscan style kitchen using key Mediterranean style notes like rustic wood beams and tiled backsplash and mixed them with all white cabinets and decor.
Tuscan Kitchen with Marble
Marble is not a common element of Tuscan kitchen style, but it looks right at home as part of this transitional Tuscan kitchen design. Cornerstone Architects used common Tuscan design features like dark wood floors, colored tile backsplash, and the wrought iron light fixture and combined them with the waterfall marble island to create a kitchen style that is trendy yet warm.
The Timeless Style of Tuscan Kitchens
Trends come and go and Tuscan style kitchens are no exception. The heavy and ornate Tuscan kitchen styles do look dated, but there are ways that designers are reinventing this style to make it work with modern homes. They use many of the organic textures, natural materials, tiles, and colors associated with Tuscan style to create contemporary style kitchens that feel authentic and timeless.
Tuscan kitchens have a warm and comfortable style that we all crave in our family spaces. While not everyone wants to embrace all of the Tuscan kitchen decor to the full, it is easy to use elements like terracotta tiles, natural stone, dark wood accents, and splashes of color to enliven any kitchen style.