Posted By Mary Freeland on June 5, 2010

Food and family are two of the central elements of Tuscan style, so it’s no surprise that the kitchen is the centerpiece of any Tuscan home. A homey, inviting space for food preparation, eating, and socializing, the heart of any Tuscan kitchen is the table. A place to gather, make meals, and spend hours drinking, eating, and chatting, the right table will make all the difference in the ambience, style, and authenticity of your Tuscan kitchen.

The ideal Tuscan table is wooden, drawing its structure and sturdiness from natural materials, and it also offers a timeworn, timeless look. Even if your kitchen table is brand new, it’s important that it looks old—as though it’s served generations of your family. A great option is an authentic farmhouse table or rustic antique, but many furniture dealers today also offer country-style tables with distressed finishes. Wide planks on the tabletop aren’t necessarily a must, but they can create a sense of age in a newer piece. Darker tones tend to have a warmer, more aged appearance, so you’ll want to steer away from blond woods and opt for deeper stains. Painted tables (tops, legs, or both) can also create that rustic, older feel you’re looking for. Once you’ve found the right table, you’ll know it! Conveying a sense of shabby elegance and timeworn durability, your Tuscan kitchen table will help ground your space in the tradition and age of the Tuscan countryside.

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.

Categories: Accents, Earthenware, Kitchen
Tags: dinnerware, Earthenware, tuscan, Tuscan kitchen