Have you seen Under the Tuscan Sun?  It’s the enchanting story of a woman from San Francisco finding a rewarding life in a centuries old home and village in Tuscany.  I must stay—the atmosphere is enthralling.  It makes you want to crawl into your television to escape our late-winter freeze-and-thaw.  Recent clients loaned the DVD to me for inspiration.  They wanted to emulated that warm orange-hued feeling of Tuscany within their own home, a new cape with a north-facing kitchen, overlooking a patch of snow with a large lone pine tree standing before a beautiful woodland patch of grey-barked deciduous trees.  The inspiration may be the warmth of Italy, but the challenge is the bluenose cold of Nova Scotia. 

The centre of the home, the centre of the Tuscan influence, was the kitchen.  However, we were starting from a canvas of pure pine—pine floors, pine cabinets, pine mouldings, pine doors, an antique pine hutch, and an antique pine table used as an island.  Instead of sun-drenched, the setting was pine-drenched.  Luckily, two marvelous improvements were already underway.  First the island table was getting a new top of Cape Breton red marble, and hand-made European tiles were awaiting placement between the kitchen counters and the overhead cabinets.  Most of the tiles were plain, of varying shades of putty.  Mixed in would be feature tiles, painted with images of blue and white pottery, fruit, and herbs I the colours of sage green, apricot, and of course, Tuscan orange.  To keep the country simplicity, I suggested the use of concrete-coloured grout.  As for the walls and floors, I went through my drill:  remember that you live in Nova Scotia, so it’s important that a room with a view of ocean, pine, or woods be authentic in its sense of place rather than a mock setting for somewhere else.  Since the wall space was limited to small strips around the windows and doors, I thought the floors deserved the major treatment.  We considered refinishing or painting the wood floors, but the client wanted low maintenance and durability.  So, I presented linoleum (www.forbo-linoleum.com), a tough, environmentally sound product made from linseed oil.  A linoleum floor would provide colour, visual texture, and a rich complement to the surrounding rooms’ floor surfaces of brick tiles, birch, and pine.  We chose one that resembles slate (Nova Scotian) with rusty orange highlights (Tuscan).  With vibrant floors, the walls only needed a simple finish—old plaster with the softly splattered hues of Tuscan orange, sunshine yellow, and sage green.  With the hard surfaces set, it was all about the details.

Emulating the lifestyle of Tuscany or Provence is all about simplicity and community.  It’s about incorporating the qualities of where you live into how you live.  It’s about using plain cream ware dishes while serving from local pottery bowls.  It’s about filling a hanging wire basket with fresh colourful produce from a local market.  It’s about setting the table with old brass or pewter candlesticks, living plants, and fresh local flowers.  It’s about preparing simple foods and sharing with friends and family.  It’s about absorbing and enjoying the details of the life around you…