Tuscan interior style and its typical features

The Italian phrase “la dolce vita”, or the sweet life, is no exaggeration at all, because Italians simply know how to live. Their Tuscan style of home design shows this perfectly, filled with the scent of sunshine, herbs and homely comfort. Take inspiration from Italian interior design and keep sunny Tuscany within easy reach.

Let Tuscany into your home

Authentic Tuscan style covers a range of looks, from rustic to ornate, depending on whether we are talking about a humble country farmhouse or a majestic medieval castle. It celebrates timeless beauty as well as the tradition of centuries-old Italian culture, known for its stone houses with terracotta roofs, sunflower fields, lush olive groves, pine forests and vineyards.

The Tuscan colour palette contains earthy, warm shades: sun-warmed orange, yellow and red. The houses have dark wooden ceiling beams and rust-coloured tiled floors, and they are typically furnished with dark wood furniture, iconography (religious pictures) and paintings of curvaceous female forms that appear on everything from fittings to lampshades.

Typical features of Tuscan home style, inspired by nature

Today, when interiors are dominated by Scandinavian light woods and minimalism, lovers of classic Italian style can still enjoy it by adding some of its key features to bring the essence of the Tuscan countryside into their homes. Which features are typical of Tuscan home style?

A rustic base

In a rustic Tuscan-style farmhouse bedroom, heavy dark wooden beams, window frames and a tiled floor contrast with bright white (or yellow) walls and gently curved metal bed frames. In rooms for relaxing, it is best to follow these design rules:

1. Choose decorations and accessories in olive green and brick red shades.
2. Decorate the walls with tiles, plaster and stucco, as well as wallpaper in suitable colours.
3. Leave the floor unfinished, either stone or tiled.

Art accessories

Although Tuscany is known for its rustic simplicity, it is also shaped by a love of classical art (sculpture, paintings and handmade decorations). It is no surprise that collections of the greatest Italian works of art are found in Florence, the capital of Tuscany. 

Traditional Tuscan homes are decorated with oil paintings, gilded or painted mirror frames and all kinds of decorative objects passed down from generation to generation. You can bring a sense of history into your interior by adding antique pieces bought at a flea market or online, creating a space that looks as if time has stood still. Be sure to use items with a patina. It makes them less perfect, but that is the essence of old-world charm.

Main material = stone

Surprisingly, Italian marble should not be the first material that comes to mind when furnishing your interior. Genuine Tuscan bathrooms use rustic tiles and stone instead. A simple bathroom needs nothing more than floor-to-ceiling tiles, a rustic freestanding bath and a pedestal basin to create a pleasant space that will never go out of fashion. Varnished panelling and a painted ceiling in white and creamy beige add a light, fresh touch. Other commonly used materials traditionally include wood and brick. The walls are most often finished with terracotta tiles and stucco, not to mention exposed brick.

Light but warm shades

Tuscans love to refresh the look of their homes by lightening the colour palette while keeping heavy ceiling beams in white and other neutral shades, creating a more airy effect while preserving the character and charm of the place. Antique furniture is beautiful but quite uncomfortable, so swapping it for an upholstered version with classic lines that offers comfort works well with traditional Italian accessories such as a curved mirror, an old wooden ladder or a farmhouse stool used as a coffee table. In these semi-modern spaces, Tuscan colours are added in smaller doses through cushions and other textile accessories. Small accessories also help create a modern country home style.

“Outdoor” living

Tuscan homes often have covered terraces or verandas for dining outdoors, which also provide shelter from direct sunlight. You can take inspiration from lush greenery in colourful terracotta pots (for example indoor palms) and wooden or metal chairs and tables that take on a weathered look over the years, especially if you live in a “harsher” climate.

Colours typical of Tuscan home style, shades born of Italian tradition

The Tuscan colour palette is mainly warm. Adding cool shades brings balance to the palette. The warm colours of Tuscan style reflect golden fields and rustic walls. Blue skies and fresh greenery add the perfect refreshing touch to the colour scheme and “shake up” the classic look.

#1, benjamin Moore Firenze

Benjamin Moore Firenze is a warm, rustic colour reminiscent of brick red, perfect for decorating the “main walls” of a Tuscan-style home. Firenze is great as a feature wall, but it can also warm up a kitchen, dining room or front door frame.

#2, sherwin-Williams Honeycomb

The stunning golden colour Sherwin-Williams Honeycomb, reminiscent of sunlit fields and honeycombs, is ideal for feature walls or furniture in a Tuscan-style living area. Try it with cream upholstery and dark wooden furniture, for example in a dining room.

#3, behr’s Serene Sky

Behr’s Serene Sky shines alongside fiery orange and is one of the “complementary” colours of the Tuscan scheme. The vast blue sky of the Italian countryside attracts many visitors. The coolness of this sky blue colour makes it a perfect choice for painting the ceiling of a room where you want to create the illusion of plenty of light.

#4, valspar’s Brazilian Brown

Valspar’s Brazilian Brown has the quality of dark, weathered wood common in Tuscan interior decor. Interior designers use this colour on a feature wall to create a sense of drama, or as a backdrop behind a fireplace, even behind a faux fireplace in the form of wallpaper.

#5, valspar Sunny Bordeaux

Tuscany is a region of wine and grapes. At harvest time, the Tuscan wine colour (burgundy) contrasts beautifully with the gold of sunlit grasses. Valspar Sunny Bordeaux offers a pleasant break from the intensely warm colours of Tuscany, while complementing this unique colour scheme very tastefully.