Italian Decorating Tips and Ideas

If you have been tempted to catch the next flight to Italy after you watched Under the Tuscan Sun for the fifteenth time, then you may want to consider Italian style decorating ideas for your home. Italian home décor can have the rustic beauty of a country home or the sleek sophistication of a Roman villa. These very different styles are both beautiful.

If you decide that Italian home decorating styles that have the sophistication of a Roman villa are right for you, then you will want to look for elegant, deceptively simple pieces or beautifully made antiques. Yards upon yards of a light colored fabric for draperies will give an opulent look without darkening the room. When you are choosing textiles for beds, chairs, or tables, you may also want to go for white and tan colors. However, when you are shopping for accessories, don’t be afraid of color. Choose vibrant shades of gold, green, red, and blue that reflect the beauty of nature’s palette.

If you prefer the wine country look, then your furnishings will be heavier and will have the slightly weathered appearance of well used pieces that have been lived with by several generations of hardworking farm families. With this style, a massive kitchen table is essential, as are the very practical wardrobes and cupboards that provide so much farmhouse storage.

No matter which Italian style you choose, you can’t go wrong with walls that are painted to resemble the mellow tan of aged plaster. Green, blue, golden yellow, or red colors are also appropriate. Most Italian interior decorating styles also favor artistic finishes. Faux treatments and playful trompe l’oile elements are right at home, as well.

Flooring choices should always reflect nature. Natural stone or wood options are ideal for rustic decorating styles. The more sophisticated Roman styles can have elaborate tile mosaics or sleek marble tile floors that are covered in elegant Persian rugs.

Since Italy’s different decorating styles all embrace the colors and materials found in nature, it makes sense to emphasize large French doors or big windows. If you don’t have these features, consider faking them. A painted mural of open doors leading into a courtyard on one wall or a wallpaper mural of a similar scene will help create the illusion that your space is simply part of a larger area that includes a courtyard or garden.

To accessorize a room with a more rustic theme, look for simple, functional items, like large jugs and bowls in brilliant colors. More sophisticated styles look great with gold accessories, such as candlesticks or vases, ornate chandeliers and elegant blown glass pieces.

Once you are done decorating your home to reflect the easy elegance of the Mediterranean lifestyle, don’t forget to take some time to sit and enjoy it. Combine that lovely new room with a nice selection of good cheese, your slightly worn DVD of Under the Tuscan Sun and a glass of wine, and you’ll feel like you are actually in beautiful Tuscany.