If you love the look of Tuscany, you can bring that look into your home. First, you’ll need to plan a budget, so you know just what you want to spend. Next, you’ll need to decide on a color theme that echoes the warm Italian look. Finally, it’s time to get busy putting all of your ideas to work!

Planning a Budget

How much money can you afford to spend? Before you begin, you need to have some idea of how much money you can budget for your kitchen remodeling project. If you have a very limited amount of money, you may want to stick with repainting the walls and buying a few accessories, including rugs and material for new curtains.

However, if you really want a change, you might also want to plan on new flooring and maybe even a tile backsplash. You may be worrying about the additional expense of paying someone to lay your floor and tile. You needn’t worry. You can do this by yourself, and you’ll save lots of money by doing so.

Getting Started

Before you begin making all the purchases necessary to makeover your kitchen, you’ll need to decide what colors you want to use. If you love the warm look of Tuscany décor, you’ll probably use earthen colors, such as warm yellows, burnt oranges, terra cotta, and various shades of browns and tans. Of course, you can intersperse these shades with other accent colors, such as lush greens and deep blues.

Confused already? Why not spend some time browsing through decorating magazines to determine what you really like? If you see something that catches your eye, pull out that page and place it in a planning folder designated specifically for this project. Don’t forget to make use of the Internet. Here, you’ll find a virtually unlimited source of ideas. In fact, you may become overwhelmed by all of the hints, tips, and suggestions found as you surf the web.

You may have to use a process of elimination. In other words, gather all of the ideas that you initially like, then gradually weed out the ones you like less. Eventually, you’ll be left with several main colors and ideas to follow.

Go Shopping

Most decorators will tell you to start with one simple piece and work from there. This is good advice that will work well in the transformation of your kitchen area. Now comes the best part… shopping! Before you pick your paint, flooring, and tile, you really need to have an idea about what will work best. You’re going to have to pull all of the materials together somehow. Why not visit your fabric store to look for some great material for curtains? Be sure and check out the bargain tables for clearance items. You could also search for a new rug to go on the floor. If you find one that you like and can afford, you can work out the rest of the details for your new room from that one item.

Match Your Colors

Once you’ve selected at least one major piece to work from, you are ready to look at paint colors. You can also look for flooring and ceramic tile if you plan on adding those. Most home improvement stores can color match your paint to almost any color sample that you bring in. This may mean that you have to bring in your material or rug to the store. If you have to choose from several colors and are having difficulty making up your mind, you can take several paint chips home with you. Be sure you look at the chips in the room that you are going to redo, and look at them several times during the day, so that you can see the different effects that the various lighting has on them. When you’ve finally decided on a color, be sure you buy plenty of it. If you are making a drastic color change to your walls, you will probably need to apply two coats of paint for adequate coverage. It is best to paint your walls before adding any new flooring or laying a backsplash.

Choose Your Flooring

Of course, if you aren’t going to replace your floor, you can skip this step. However, if you do want a change, you have a wide variety of options to choose from. There are many different types of flooring available today. If you love the look of ceramic, but don’t want the additional expense or work, you can find vinyl tile that looks almost identical to ceramic. Many of these vinyl tiles are peel and stick. You simply decide how you want to lay them, cut them to size, and peel off the backing. Most of these can also be placed down on existing flooring, which saves you even more time and work! Be sure and take your paint chips along with you when choosing a floor in order to coordinate your colors.

Hardwood flooring is also beautiful, but it can be quite expensive. However, there are many laminate wood floors available at a fraction of the cost, and most of these are very durable, as well as attractive. Many of these also feature peel and stick backing. You should be able to find beautiful flooring that is affordable, too.

Choose Your Backsplash

You can also customize your Tuscan kitchen by adding a tile backsplash. The size of your backsplash is really up to your preference, your budget, and the area you will need to cover. You can buy mostly inexpensive pieces that echo the warm colors you’ve already chosen for your paint, rugs, curtains, flooring, etc. If you want a little added personality, you might invest in a few hand painted pieces to intersperse among the other tiles. Because you may have places on your wall that call for smaller pieces, why not buy a few coordinating or contrasting small pieces of tile? This will eliminate a need for a ceramic tile saw.

Laying Your Backsplash

Before you begin laying your backsplash you’ll need to make sure your walls are clean and dry. Next, working in small sections, apply the tile adhesive with a trowel, then firmly press your tile onto the adhesive, placing tile spacers between each tile. If you have several areas that need cut pieces of tile, measure those pieces and make a trip to your home improvement store. Most of these stores will cut your pieces free of charge. Once you have applied all of the tile pieces to your wall, you will need to wait several hours before applying the grout. Grout comes in many different colors, and if you are having difficulty matching your grout color, ask one of the employees at the home improvement store for advice. After you have mixed and applied your grout, you’ll need to clean it thoroughly with a vinegar and water mixture to remove all of the leftover residue.

Accessorize

Finally, it is time to add those additional accessories that can really make your new Tuscan kitchen pop! You don’t have to spend a fortune to find great accessories. In fact, you can search through thrift stores and yard sales for great pieces that are full of personality. Look for old picture frames, pottery pieces, beautiful plates, and terra cotta pots. Old iron pieces will also look great hanging on the wall. Don’t forget to use plenty of baskets and candles, too.

You’re finished!

After all your hard work, you can now step back and admire the finished product. Your new kitchen is a success!