 When it comes to decorating small spaces, having a style to work with can be incredibly helpful and usually amazingly inspirational. It provides a sense of purpose as you strive for a particular look and search for items to make your interior work.
There are many different styles from which to choose, most of which are drawn from various times and places. Some of the most popular contemporary styles relate to areas in and around the Mediterranean Sea. These include a French Provençal style which draws its imagery from the homes of Provence, on the coast of France near Marseilles; a Tuscan style that is based on the traditional ambiance and look of Italian homes in this area around and about Florence; and a more general Mediterranean style that is really more Greek than anything else.
If you’re going to be decorating a small kitchen in Tuscan style then you’ll be following the Italian version of a so-called Mediterranean look. The question is how to interpret it within your own personal confines.
When it comes to décor, we usually base our interpretations either on what existed in an area historically, or how interior decorators have subsequently followed the style. We learn about the many different styles by watching movies and reading books, and if we are lucky enough, by travelling to the places of origin. If you’ve been to a place like Tuscany, you will probably appreciate how seeing, smelling and feeling things for yourself makes all the difference in the world when you want to absorb and then copy a style for your home.
While the origin of both French and English country style relies on gracious homes and at least a hint of wealth, there are those who argue that Tuscan style homes in general – and kitchens in particular – rely on the more lowly country kitchens in Tuscany for their authenticity. They argue that it is the foreigners visiting Tuscany who have bastardized the look and made it into a wealthy person’s paradise.
One of the great designers who has moved into Tuscany (if only for holidays) and made it her own is Trisha Guild, founder of Designer’s Guild in Britain. Her restored farmhouse in Tuscany is an inspiration to anyone wanting to see how Tuscan style can work in a contemporary situation. While using her own bold colored and patterned fabrics, and exploiting every color in the rainbow, she has created a look that honors the Tuscan landscape and pays tribute to the people of Tuscany.
Created at the end of the 20th century, and shared within the pages of her glorious book Trisha Guild’s Painted Country, a small, contemporary Tuscan-style kitchen comes to life. Even though it contains every modern convenience and labor-saving device, this kitchen clearly has the feel of the old country, with its tiles, wood and stone. Floors are made of old terracotta flagstones while all the chairs have rush seats. Like the table, the chairs and some other items of furniture have been painted with glorious colors and then given distressed finishes to age them in a sympathetic way.
Beneath counter tops, units have wooden doors, picket style, that are painted dark green. There are no wall-hung units, and only rustic shelving, with big wooden hooks, ading to the general storage needs. The table is set in the centre of the room, and above it is a great big hanging galley for storage baskets and cooking pots. Ropes of garlic and herbs add to the picture of homeliness and care.
Like Trisha Guild, if you’re decorating a small kitchen in Tuscan style, you will consider displaying bottles of cold-pressed olive oil and other bottles and jars filled with mouth-watering fare produced from the vegetable garden (not necessarily yours). Add flavored oils and different colored vinegars, dried pulses and different shapes of pasta.
One thing that the successful Mrs. Guild realized when she did her renovations, is that the true heart of the Tuscan home is the kitchen. This is, after all, where true Italian hospitality begins.
But we aren’t all lucky enough to find a dilapidated country house in Tuscany that we can afford to buy, renovate and enjoy. Instead, most of us have to take what we have in the heart of London, New York, Sydney or Cape Town, or possibly somewhere in the country of a country, and try to transform the kitchen into what we perceive to be a little bit of Italy.
Start with the floor. Terracotta tiles and clay brick paving will both work, or if you have a concrete base, screed it with an ochre-hued plaster made by mixing cement, sand and water together to form a good strong mortar. Otherwise use a proprietary cement-based product already tinted for effect.
In the country kitchens of Tuscany you’re likely to find fireplaces that are still used for cooking. While this certainly adds to the aesthetics of the décor, it is in fact more of a practical consideration. In the small kitchen you aren’t likely to have sufficient space for a cooker and a fireplace. But you can store pots and pans above the cooker to emulate the Tuscan look.
While Trisha Guild loves color, and introduces it all over her Tuscan farmhouse in fabrics and with paint, her kitchen walls are remarkably subdued. Like the timber ceiling, they echo shades from the earth. If you are decorating a small kitchen in Tuscan style, follow this lead and use nature as your inspiration.
Window coverings are kept to a minimum in the true Tuscan kitchen, and in the Guild version there are simple internal wooden shutters, painted dark green like the window frames and cupboard fronts. When they are thrown open, there is a light, airy feel to her kitchen, with lots of herbs, garden flowers, fruit and vegetables showing their faces.
Concentrate on making your small kitchen a warm and inviting place and you’ll begin to believe you also live in Tuscany. Cook some good old fashioned Italian dishes and drink some good quality Italian wine, and you will believe it!
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