January 19, 2012
Tuscan Home Design
Today we are continuting our discussion from this post on Mediterranean Home Design. Today’s home composition is inspired by Tuscany! Ah, tuscany, pronounced Toscana in Italian, is the home of beautiful countrysides, genius artistic works mastered by Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Boticelli, Basilicas, Olive Oil, Wine…and basically almost everything delicous in Italian food.
What makes a home ‘Tuscan’?
An answer might be something like, “well, it’s Mediterranean meets Italian meets rustic design….ummm, yeah, where’s the pasta and vino?” Okay, that was just my answer.
A home described as having Tuscan qualities falls within a subset of Mediterranean design. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it means to design a Tuscan home, yet when a client requests a Tuscan Home, there are a few distinct architectural attributes that immediately come to mind. But, for the sake of all that is fun and appetizing and romantic, let’s start with the region.
Map of Tuscany
Tuscany is the northwest central region of Italy occupied by the Etruscans, Romans, and Renaissance, where the art is fantastico, the scenery bellisimo, and the food is oh so delicioso. The colors found on building facades are most often influenced by the rustic, beautiful, and bountiful countrysides, the region’s native flower: sunflowers, and sunny casts of light. Building facades can be described as rustic, and in the archtiecture sense this means earthy, casual, country, and rural.
Tuscany = Bella
Tuscan exteriors are usually stucco clad with the possible addition of stone. The blend of stone and stucco ought to be random and have a casual feel, adding to the overall artful and rustic appearance. Nothing is contrived, forced, or necessarily prestine in Tuscany and a Tuscan Home should follow suite. Even landscapes, both in Tuscany and surrounding Tuscan designed homes are flowy and natural as opposed to manicured and structured gardens.
In this Tuscan Home we are inspired by the villas of Italian Countryside, warm Tuscan colors found in nature, textures, and rich decorative details that are inviting and celebrate old European world charm. We try to capture the essence of the countryside in our overall design by being particular about color selection, windows and doors, which are usually narrow and are often arched, and barrel roofs, which are typically rich, deep colored tile or clay, and landscape.
Tuscan Countryside
It is encouraged both in Tuscany and Tuscan design to provide an intimate connection between indoors and outdoors. In Tuscany there is an unspoken language between the rustic country homes and the surrounding countrysides. Tuscan homes blend in to the soft rolling hills, so as not to trespass. The vocabulary is made up of earthy connections, rustic exteriors, blended colors that make homes feel rooted, and an overall feeling of warmth.
Since we’re talking about Tuscan homes we should also chat briefly about Italianate architecture, since, well of course, Tuscany is in Italy and the two architecture styles are distinct. Italianate architecture came about in the 19th century and is most often linked to Classical architecture. Italianate homes tend to be more refined versions of Tuscan homes, not quite so rustic. Italianate homes have more ornamentation, cut stone, and adornment in isolated areas. For example, an Italianate home might have a polished front entry with exposed eaves and exposed rafter tails (adornment), yet resemble a Tuscan home at the rear facade and still be intensely connected to the landscape.
Even though we design Tuscan homes, there is no reason not to incorporate Green Design into traditional Tuscan design. It is possible to design new, while paying homage to traditional Tuscan style and being conscious of the past. Using high efficiency building system techniques, super insulated envelope design, and meeting ‘active needs’ in a green way is not only environmentally responsible, it saves everyone energy, water, and ultimately the other kind of green: money.
All this Tuscan talk is making us hungry. Now, back to the pasta and vino…