I love dining spaces. Especially when they are decorated Tuscan style! This is the part where the romance happens! The furniture selection, wall color and texture, flooring, wall hangings, accessories and lighting; still—the same guidelines. But isn’t it funny how you would think that decorating the dining room, or any other room Tuscan style would be complicated? The effects can differ dramatically, but the style will be exact. The truth is if you chose to decorate every room in your house Tuscan style, no room would be the same! That is so great!
Again, start with color selection. Rich Tuscan tones on your walls. Deep reds look great for this space. We are not talking run-of-the-mill here. We are talking pure elegance, Old World charm and beauty. You may consider texture application and wainscoting your walls to present a “formal” feel in your dining room.
I often start with the color in a Tuscan space… the walls, accents, etc. Well, for your dining room, that still holds true—I think you’ve got it down. Let’s move on to the importance of lighting in this space.
Chandeliers! Yes! Yes! Yes! Super duper, must have! There are fabulous candle holder style chandeliers that will give your Tuscan make-over an authentic Tuscany feel. When you enter a Tuscan style dining area, your initial thought should be a ray of light emerging… this is big! The universe! Arms wide, head high…. Opera singer… “Ahhhhh!”
Choose the perfect chandelier that will light your room… light your life. This is going to be a major focal point in your dining space. You can’t miss it. Remember, color and lighting set the tone for your spaces. When you are on your way in selecting your chandelier, remember that it not only serves the purpose for your dining, but it is going to add the formal feel and romance in itself.
Candle holder style chandelier options are these: You can select chandeliers as candle style holders with light bulbs, or even real candle holders for real candles. Real candles look great but you may find they are hard to use.
Let’s say it is like lighting the candles on a birthday cake– of a child turning about 5 years old. Think you can do it?
Alright, how about it’s like your child turning 5 every time you choose to use it, meaning that you have to light the thing every time you wish to dine or when you want to show the room off to your guests? Pretty tedious, huh? No??
Okay, how about its like a 5 year olds birthday cake lighting– every single day you wish to dine there, and get this…. the cake is hanging about 1-2 feet over your head?
With that in mind, I recommend hand made wrought iron candle bulb chandeliers!
Consider using wrought iron wall sconces as well. This will definitely add to the rustic charm you are looking for. It will also assist in proper lighting without ruining the romance atmosphere. You can read more about wrought iron light fixtures in the section titled as such in this book; as well as acquire a list of suppliers in the resources section at the end of this book.
The furniture in your Tuscan dining room will typically be dark in color. Dark stains with accenting wrought iron pieces are ideal for this space. Large dining tables and chairs with elaborate carvings are typical. These carvings on the table legs are in a sense like little Tuscan columns. Your matching chairs often have backs to them that are created to resemble the Tuscan arches of buildings and the renaissance structures. Very detailed, intricate designs.
