A Feel for Tuscan Architecture
When remodeling your kitchen in the region’s style, take your inspirations from Italy’s nature, art, and the region’s architecture. Keep in mind that the concept of antiquity and adornment are ingrained into a Tuscan kitchen. The images depict the area’s architecture in Florence that embodies favored colors, stonework, and tile details that influence the Italian decor.
The Tuscan Color Palette
The style draws its color inspirations from nature’s lush greenery, the sun’s bright yellows, the sky’s calming blues, and the earth’s comforting reds and ochers. The Ponte Vecchio, shown here, is a bridge over the Arno River in Florence. The worn facades of the buildings can be used as a springboard for choosing the basic colors of Tuscany. We’ve pulled out the ochre, blues, and yellows that might inspire an old-world European kitchen.
A Tile Backsplash
A well-designed tile backsplash behind the stove is often a hallmark of a Tuscan-style kitchen. This backsplash, made of tumbled travertine tile, is crafted for visual drama. A thick frame of bronze listels creates a frame around diagonally set tiles with coordinating inserts.
Tuscan-Inspired Cabinets
The element that will primarily define your kitchen is the cabinetry. Cabinets occupy a majority of your kitchen’s wall space. Because woodwork is so vital in Tuscany, this is your place to spend a little extra on cabinets that shine.
Tuscan-Style Tile Flooring
Use terra-cotta or travertine tiles for your flooring to give it that European look. Terracotta tiles are true Tuscan products, with sienna clay being mined and processed in that area, as well. Terracotta tile is a manmade product. Travertine is a natural stone product. With its variegated surface and imperfections of pits and veins, travertine has the perfect old-world look for Tuscan-style flooring.
Rustic Wood Flooring
Another way to bring the look of old-world European styling into your home with distressed wide-plank flooring. Wide planks are typically at least 6-inches wide to 12-inches wide or more. Wide planks are usually distressed, which means the surface is artfully nicked to make it appear antique. The planks shown have a tongue-and-groove design with a rich amber stain over walnut that evokes the feeling of an Italian kitchen, especially when paired with a stone oven and walls.
Small, Modern Wood Tuscan Kitchens
These two kitchens, located in the city of Siena, Italy, may not be as ornate as fancier Tuscan kitchens. But they both contain two key Tuscan-style elements of Mediterranean home decor. The kitchens are small, streamlined, and more modern with white cabinetry than old-world European. The two kitchens incorporate lots of wood and natural light, which are both important to the region’s residents.
Traditional Stone Walls
The walls of a traditional Tuscan kitchen, and its oven, would typically be built from rough-hewn stone. Using manufactured stone veneer is a more practical way to bring your renovation as close to the style as possible.
A Stone Archway
If you do want an old-world touch of Tuscan architecture in your renovated kitchen, consider a stone archway. An elaborate arch between a kitchen and dining room shown here is composed of stone veneer.
A Stone Wine Cellar
Another stunning use of stone veneer is shown here in this wine cellar that looks like it could have been built in a home nestled in the hills of Tuscany. Beautiful and durable, this stone veneer is enhanced with a wood and glass door that adds luxurious detail to this home.
