Terra-cotta is a warm inviting color for kitchen walls.
Celebrate fine cuisine and good conversation with the warm color palette inspired by your terra-cotta walls and slate floor. The warm terra-cotta walls are reminiscent of Tuscany, located in Central Italy, with its rolling hills and trees. The colors also reflect the American Southwest where the landscape has mountains and deserts rich in Native American culture. Either theme will create an inviting kitchen where your family and visitors will want to linger over a good meal. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Coordinate your cabinets with the walls. Dark cabinets will reflect a Tuscany decor. Use a dark natural stain or paint the wood a deep green or red. For a Southwestern theme, use a light neutral paint such as oyster. Mount oiled-bronze hardware on the doors and drawers.
2. Install a counter crafted of natural materials. Granite, natural ceramic tile or cement will complement both Tuscany and Southwestern designs. Design your back splash with accent tiles. Incorporate light natural clay tiles with small squares of glass mosaic patterns or hand-painted tiles. Add a splash of aqua, yellow or cobalt to your tile design for either style of decor.
3. Position a rough-hewn dining table near a window. Set the table with Italian hand-painted pottery or mix casual place settings of solid yellow, red and aqua ceramic plates and bowls. Place a ceramic pitcher filled with sunflowers, lavender or wild flowers in the center of the table. Your table should look bright and sunny.
4. Suspend a wrought iron or oiled-bronze chandelier over the table. Simple lines with a hand-crafted look will be a good choice for both styles of kitchens.
5. Decorate your walls. Tuscany is known for its landscape, wine and cuisine. Hang art to reflect these themes in your Italian kitchen. Display sand paintings, weaving or art depicting the Native American culture in your Southwestern room.
6. Accessorize a Tuscany kitchen with glass bottles of spices, wine and copper bowls filled with colorful fruit. Suspend pots and pans from a wrought-iron fixture mounted to the ceiling. Tie sprigs of dried herbs together with twine and hang them from wooden pegs on the wall or from wooden beams. Accessories for a Southwestern kitchen can include Pueblo or Mexican pottery bowls, coyote figures and Mexican glass bottles on counters. Group terra-cotta pots of cacti to set on a shelf or window sill. Gather ears of colorful dried corn and bundle them together with twine to display near the sink. Display red chili peppers on strings or in glass bowls. Organize odds and ends on your counter in a woven basket.
7. Scatter area rugs on your slate floor. Sisal or a natural fiber rugs will complement the subtle colors of slate regardless of your decor.
Tags: American culture, filled with, from wooden, glass bottles, Native American, Native American culture
