Tuscany is one of the most beautiful and historical regions on earth. It is no wonder that Tuscan inspired home décor is incredibly popular. The region is called the birthplace of the renaissance. It was home to Leonardo DaVinci, Michaelangelo and Dante; and some of the most iconic buildings in all of Europe, like the leaning tower of Pisa and the Duomo cathedral. Tuscan home décor can evoke dreams of a beautiful place or be used to bring back memories of a wonderful vacation.

Colors

The palette of Tuscan home décor is centered on earth tones. The land in Tuscany is fertile and rich brown, planted with olive trees, crops and evergreens. These colors of brown, olive, and dark green comprise the basics. Accent colors include brick red and beige mottled like old stucco. Paintings and other accessories in Tuscan style are often simple landscapes depicting this natural beauty.

Architectural Inspiration

Beginning in the fourteenth century, European architecture began to change. Italian architect-artists like Giotto and Brunelleschi learned how to make buildings taller, covered them with wide domes, and supported them with the most slender columns. They loved symmetry, heavy ornament, scrolling ironwork, and floor mosaics. All of these principles inspire Tuscan home décor.

Furthermore, since Roman times Tuscany has been a place for travel and trade. Tuscan designers have been influenced by foreign styles from Egypt to India. In that vein, Tuscan home décor often features chairs or stools on an X-shaped base, or planters on pedestals just like those from ancient Greece.

Tuscan style furniture often includes many architectural elements. Chair and table legs are carved like columns. Table stretchers and chair backs are often carved exactly like the arches on renaissance buildings. It is a style that is geometric, yet full of movement and ornamentation.

Pieces of Tuscan home décor are often covered with mosaics: little pictures made of colored tiles or pebbles cemented into a tabletop or floor. These mosaics are directly inspired by the floors of Tuscan cathedrals, which themselves took inspiration from Roman mosaic floors.

The masterpieces of Tuscan architecture may be made of solid marble; while the humbler, more functional buildings were built from brown stone. Both of these textures have a major place in Tuscan home décor. Walls can easily be painted to mimic the range of colors of Italian marble. If the budget allows, real marble accessories like countertops might be used. Stacked stone in the yard or a rustic stone fireplace make the décor feel even more authentic.

Perhaps you have a home near the beach, or perhaps you live in a cold climate, but love tropical locations and want to decorate your home in that way. Whatever the reason, you have decided that a tropical home décor would nicely compliment the look of your home. Fortunately, there are many ideas to choose from when it comes to tropical home décor options.

Tropical Home Décor Idea #1: Plants

The most common thing that people do when they decide to implement tropical home décor into their home is to get one or more tropical plants. Tropical plants are a wonderful way to give any home a tropical feel, and look best when they are placed near a window.

While you can purchase real tropical plants, be sure that you do not have allergies to them in advance. Additionally, the temperature in whatever room you intend to keep the plant in must be rather balmy, as that is the only way the plant can thrive. If you find it difficult to care for a live tropical plant, then there is always the option of purchasing a fake one.

Tropical Home Décor Idea #2: Seashells

What better way to evoke the feeling of a tropical location than some seashells? If you live near the ocean, then simply take a walk by the beach one day and pick up several. If you do not live near the beach, check a local specialty store, or purchase some online.

Depending on the size of the shell that you purchase, the shells can be used as a table centerpiece, or they could be attached to the wall. There are many items that are made out of seashells, like lamps, so be sure to investigate all of your options, because they can only enhance your tropical home décor.

Tropical Home Décor Idea #3: Vibrant Colors

If you have ever visited the Caribbean islands, you might have noticed how many of the hoses are painted unique colors, such as bright orange, green, and pink. This serves a practical purpose, in that brighter colors deflect sunlight and keep homes cooler.

Regardless of whether or not you wish to enact some temperature control in your home, why not piant the walls of you home a tropical color? Not only will it make the room appear larger, but if you live in a climate where there is a lot of dreary weather, the bright colors will be a nice contrast to that.

Your Own Getaway

These are but some of the many ways you can use tropical home décor to give your house a festive feeling all year long. With patience and creativity, you are sure to turn your home into a wonderful tropical getaway.

You don’t need to be a very outdoorsy person to appreciate rustic home décor. You can be very an urban, city girl and still like a few accent pieces of rustic décor in your home. Or you could be one of those people who live for camping trips and hiking in the wilderness. You would trade a log cabin for a hotel any day. Then, your love for rustic décor would reflect in your home and other belongings.

You need not make your entire home look like a cabin in the woods, but if rustic home décor interests you, you could have fun with that in just one room or area of your home. The powder room or guest room could be a good idea to display your love for the outdoors because you don’t see these spaces everyday and therefore it has fewer chances of getting overbearing.

A Rustic Guest Room

You could paint the walls – or just one accent wall- a deep shade of forest green or burgundy to go with the theme. You can then buy a quilt with a tree or bear motif for the bed spread. If your budget allows, you could have a bed frame fashioned out of wooden logs to give that cabin feeling even if you are on the 26th floor in upper Manhattan!

Window treatments can be purchased at stores or even fashioned yourself with fabric going along with your theme. Some framed art or perhaps pictures of you and your family on a particularly exciting or hilarious camping trip can adorn the walls. If you look for rustic home decor items online, you will easily find towel hangers, clocks and everything in between with bear, deer or tree themes. The sky is the limit, which can be an inspiration in itself if you would like to paint the ceiling like a night sky so as to give the feeling that one is sleeping outdoors.

Rustic home décor is not the latest fad that will pass away with the season; the greens, reds and browns that it has become so famous for will be evergreen and so you need not worry about your room feeling dated very soon. You can opt for wooden or metal fixtures and accents based on your preference and budget. Whatever you do choose, keep it as a reminder for you to enjoy the outdoors once in a while, even if you are in Manhattan!