Here are some of my favorite ways to use wrought iron in the dining room:

Lighting: Every dining room needs a chandelier. But instead of opting for a Victorian-style crystal confection, why not choose wrought iron! There are a number of great looks available in wrought iron chandeliers, including candelabra styles, designs with glass globes, and more. Wrought iron wall sconces are also a great way to infuse a more traditional Tuscan style into your dining room. They look great flanking a sideboard or even a piece of art and can help create a focal point in the space.

Décor: Wrought iron is the perfect choice for decorative plate racks, candleholders, and other finishing touches for your dining room. Available in truly limitless designs, wrought iron accessories can help round out the style of your room without detracting from its Tuscan feel.

Furniture: Tables, chairs, and serving pieces can all be found in fantastic wrought iron designs. For that truly authentic Tuscan ambience, opt for wrought iron furnishings with marble or wood tops (glass tops are too modern for most Mediterranean-inspired dining rooms).

No matter how you choose to use wrought iron in your Tuscan dining room, its sturdy construction and old-fashioned appeal are sure to generate a traditional Italian vibe that makes you feel as though you’ve just stepped into a Tuscan villa!

Tuscan Home Décor & Design is your online marketplace for fine Tuscan-inspired accents and furnishings at a great price. Visit us today to check out our great selection.

Mismatch furniture: A matching dining room set can be lovely, but a china cabinet, buffet, table, and chairs that all match can quickly make your space feel staid and restrained rather than time-worn and welcoming. If you feel the need to coordinate your Tuscan dining room furniture, opt for pieces in the same wood tones to create a slightly eclectic look that isn’t too matchy-matchy. Even better, combine painted and wrought iron pieces with different stain tints for a dining room that feels like the furnishings were collected over time.

Casa Cristina Dinnerware Set

Skip the table linens: Nothing says stuffy faster than an overly ornate tablecloth. Leave the rich wood color of your tabletop bare for all to see! Or, if you feel that table linens are a must, skip the brocade and damask patterns and instead choose a more rustic look. Cotton prints or simple linen weaves are both great choices.

The first step in creating the right mood for your Tuscan dining room is simply being aware that Americans tend to consider the dining room a formal space. Break free from rigid formality and use the laid-back feel of the Mediterranean countryside to create a welcoming, informal space in your Tuscan dining room. From an eclectic variety of furniture to bright dinnerware and simple table linens, it doesn’t take much to make your dining room look and feel cozily Tuscan!

Get your Tuscan décor accessories and furnishings at Tuscan Home Décor & Design, a leading online retailer of all things Tuscan!

All Things Italian

Peppers, garlic, olives, and more: Traditional Tuscan foods do more than just taste great. Many are also a fantastic way to create an eye-catching accent in your kitchen. Jars of olives and vivid red Italian sweet peppers look fabulous grouped together on windowsills, counters, and shelves. Braids of garlic and onions can be hung on walls and from cabinets for a rustic Tuscan look (and easy access when you’re cooking). By using these iconic Italian foods as decorative touches throughout the space, your Tuscan kitchen will not only come alive with the look of an Italian villa, it will also be permeated by the smells and tastes of the Mediterranean.

Wine: And don’t forget about the wine! Open wine racks are a great way to display Tuscan vintages and create a little visual texture in your Italian-inspired kitchen. Once you’ve enjoyed a bottle of your favorite wine, you can even use the empty bottle as a decorative candleholder or other décor accent!

From hanging some of your vibrant pottery serving platters and plates on the wall to grouping decorative bottles of olive oil on the counter, these Tuscan kitchen accessories create a sense of lived in, cozy style. And with your kitchen décor centering on food, the whole space will practically make your taste buds tingle. So forget about bland, colorless kitchen style. Spice up your kitchen and your life with beautifully decorated, tastily accessorized Tuscan design!

For Tuscan décor accessories large and small, don’t forget to visit our online retail shop, Tuscan Home Décor & Design. Your resource for fabulous Mediterranean-style accents and furnishings at great price, we’re sure to have some of the accents you need for your Tuscan kitchen.

Across Tuscany, kitchen tables and dining rooms are set with pottery dishes decorated in gorgeous, colorful patterns. Drawing their inspiration from the flowers, fields, and flora all around, the decorative motifs on Tuscan earthenware range from simple sunflowers to intricate geometric borders and flourishes. And with color schemes incorporating all of the hues of the Tuscan palette, the vivid golds, creams, reds, olives, and azures of these dishes add concentrated splashes of color to any meal.

You can get this same great look for your modern Tuscan kitchen whether your home is in Florence or Florida. Tuscan-inspired earthenware is becoming increasingly popular, making it easier than ever to find the right options for your family, home, and needs. From commercially manufactured pottery plates to hand-thrown bowls, the options are virtually unlimited!

Traditionally, plates and bowls in Tuscany were earthenware dishes made by hand, but today you have a wide variety of pottery-look options that bring you the classic look and vibrant colors without the cost or hand-washing requirements. Many styles of Tuscan earthenware plates, bowls, and mugs are even dishwasher-safe, making them perfect for everyday meals.

Since color is such an important aspect of earthenware dinnerware, be sure to consider how your chosen pattern will work with the rest of your Tuscan kitchen. Don’t be afraid to pick a bright look that will stand out as an accent in your kitchen—just make sure it complements the rest of the space rather than clashing with it! Mixing and matching can also be a great option for creating an eclectic sense of age and style in your kitchen, but again, be certain to select pottery with coordinating or complementary colors and designs to keep the look united and aesthetically pleasing instead of disjointed and unattractive.

Tuscan Home Décor & Design specializes in furnishings and accents for your Mediterranean-inspired kitchen and home. Be sure to visit our Web site to see all of our great earthenware pottery options and even more great Tuscan décor for your style and home!

Courtesy of L'Olmo

Perhaps one of my favorite ways to enhance the antique look of a farmhouse table in any Tuscan kitchen is to use mismatched chairs. Readily and affordably available at yard sales, flea markets, and antique stores, different styles of chairs—from ladder back to turned-leg—can create the eclectic look of heirlooms and generations of use. Even if you buy all your kitchen chairs in the same year, it will look like your family has been collecting them for years! A fast and cost-effective way to bring rustic grandeur into your kitchen, mismatched chairs can put the finishing touch on your Tuscan style kitchen table set.

Welcoming, traditional, and old-fashioned, the right table and chairs can ensure your Tuscan kitchen is what it was always meant to be: the heart of your home! You can complete the look with colorful earthenware dinnerware.

Get your Tuscan furniture, accents, and more at Tuscan Home Décor & Design. We’re your online retailer for the best in Tuscan-style home decor.

And now we will end this series the best way we know how, Happily! With a “Pick me up” or…

Tiramisu

Tiramisu

Syrup:
1 1/2 cups of espresso (at room temperature)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup Marsala

Finshing touch:
Cocoa Powder
1 ounce dark chocolate, grated or chopped
Fresh Raspberries or strawberries (optional)

In a medium saucepan heat 1 3/4 cups milk and 1/2 cup sugar until it just begins to come to a boil. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar, flour, and egg yolks. Gradually whisk headed milk mixture into this egg yolk mixture. Transfer into another large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil. Once boiling, continue to whisk the mixture constantly until it thickens. Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl to remove any lumps. Whisk in the Marsala, vanilla extract, and butter. Immediately cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the custard. Refrigerate approximately two hours until chilled through.

In a separate bowl, beat mascarpone cheese until smooth. Upon sufficient cooling, remove custard from refrigeration and fold in the cheese. In a shallow bowl, combine espresso, sugar, and Marsala. Add additional sugar to taste. Dredge 8-10 ladyfingers in coffee mixture and place them side by side in a single layer over the bottom of your pan (we suggest a deep 9×5 pan). Working with 1/3 of the filling, spread it over the ladyfingers, ensure they are covered entirely. If desired sprinkle with shaved chocolate. Repeat with these steps creating layers until the pan is 3/4 full and top off with remaining cream. With plastic wrap, cover the cake and refrigerate a minimum of 6 hours.

To serve, sift Cocoa powder over the surface of the cake and sprinkle with shaved chocolate. If desired serve with fresh berries and fresh whipped cream on the side.

Gradire (enjoy)!

Other movable feast posts: Polpettine di Ricotta, Olive Alle Erbe, Prosciutto Crudo Con Fichi, Funghi Marinati, Nocciolini

Funghi Marinati
(marinated mushrooms)

Ingredients:
1 pound of button or cremini (baby bella) mushrooms (feel free to mix the varietals)
5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of crushed and minced garlic
3 tablespoons white wine or sherry vinegar
1/4 cup of shallots, minced
2 tablespoons of fresh oregano AND thyme (coarse or finely chopped to taste)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Simmer mushrooms in salted water for 8 minutes, drain of excess water and allow to cool. While cooling, place the entirety of the remaining ingredients into a seal-able glass container. Mix well within the oil and let stand at room temprature. Insert cooled mushrooms and refrigerate overnight. 30 minutes prior to serving, remove from refrigeration and allow to come to room temperature. Serve with crusty bread and slivers of Asiago or Fontina cheese.

Other movable feast posts: Polpettine di Ricotta, Olive Alle Erbe, Prosciutto Crudo Con Fichi, Funghi Marinati, Nocciolini

Comment to win one of these platters!

Prosciutto Crudo con Fichi
Prosciutto with Figs

Ingredients

6-8 ripe black or green figs (substitute 1 half of a cantaloupe or 1 quarter of a large watermelon)
12 slices of prosciutto (be sure it is sliced very thin, paper thin in fact)
1 tsp clover honey
several slivers of Parmesan or Asiago cheese
leafy greens for presentation
Butter (unsalted and room temperature)
1 loaf of fresh crusty bread

Arrange prosciutto in a circular pattern, slightly overlapping, on your platter. With a damp cloth wipe down the figs. Slice figs into quarters and arrange atop the meat. If using melon, slice into cubes and wrap in prosciutto. Intersperse greens to make the dish even more attractive. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with slivers of cheese. Along side, serve bread and butter as a compliment to the dish.

Other movable feast posts: Polpettine di Ricotta, Olive Alle Erbe, Prosciutto Crudo Con Fichi, Funghi Marinati, Nocciolini

Comment to win one of these platters!

Beige and yellow: in their most basic forms, these colors can be lackluster, dull and unappealing. But these neutrals don’t have to be flat and lifeless. The Tuscan color palette uses warm, clear neutral tones derived from the land itself, ensuring that these colors have never looked better!

• Cream: With warm, cheerful undertones, cream is the neutral hue most often found throughout Tuscan décor and decorating. Perhaps that’s because its inspiration can be seen almost everywhere in Tuscany. From the soft whites of marble to the sandy tints of limestone, so much of the natural landscape is made up of cream colored-stone. Other Tuscan creams take their cues from the table (think golden, fresh, crusty bread).
• Gold: The ever-present sun is the most obvious inspiration for yellow and gold in Tuscany, but there are other shades and tones manifesting themselves in nature. Vibrant yellow sunflowers, simple golden bread, ripening wheat swaying in the breeze: yellow hues of varying intensities peak out from across the landscape. Used in moderation, these tones can be accents for reds, greens, and blues, but used in quantity, gold can become the central color. You decide whether gold should function as a neutral or a focal color in your own personal Tuscan palette.

No matter where you look, from the landscape to simple earthenware glazes to the most intricate tablecloths, the neutral hints of cream and gold create a sense of Tuscan balance, harmony, and beauty.

For furnishings and accents that will complement any Tuscan palette, don’t forget to visit Tuscan Home Décor and Design. We have the finishing touches for almost any Tuscan home!

In fact the natural green tones in Tuscany even go beyond the organic tones of plants and trees. Some Tuscan marble is green: this deep, vivid green is nearly the color of malachite and can create visual interest when contrasted with the silvery green of olive branches or the yellow-green of new grain. Essentially as long as you avoid the jarring glare of unnatural green colors like kelly green or the acid green of soda pop, no matter what shade of earthy green you select, it will blend with the rest of your Tuscan décor.

That’s because with their natural inspiration and shadings, the greens of Tuscan design form a midway point between the warm golden and terra cotta tones and the cool watery blues of sea and sky. After all, at its most basic, green is the mixture of yellow and blue, so it’s not surprising that it works as a source of equilibrium between hot and cool in the Tuscan palette. Offering a common ground to blend the warm and cool colors together, the broad range of greens provides a harmonious balance to both the Tuscan landscape and the traditional décor of the Mediterranean.

For great furnishings and accents in a broad range of Tuscan colors, don’t forget to check out Tuscan Home Décor and Design. We’re your online retailer for the best in Tuscan design.