If you have a guest room in your home, then it's there for one main reason - to make your guest feel at home while they are visiting.



Of course, any visitor will be spending most of their time with you, in the living room or traveling about the local area, but they'll want a place where they can retreat during the day to rest, as well as a place to retire in the evening - a little slice of home away from home.

In order to give your guest room that Tuscan look, there are a few items to consider.

Lighting

The lighting fixtures are important. Remove those shiny, modern fixtures of aluminum, and replace them with rustic designs - wall sconces of wrought iron, for example, or other types of metal with a distressed look to simulate age, with the decoration as scrollwork simulating grape vines.

Windows

Direct sunlight, over the course of time, will fade and damage fabrics and furniture, nevertheless it's always nice to be able to spread open the draperies to allow sunlight to flow into a room. For the Tuscan look, don't use a lot frills. Use plain draperies, with plenty of fabric gathered today, in shades of beige or brown or gold, so that their hues can be enhanced by the sunlight.

The Walls

Wall color is important as it gives the overall tone of the entire room. Golds and browns are popular colors, but what particularly evokes the feel of Tuscany is to give the walls an aged patina by using faux paint to make them resemble old, crumbling brick or plaster.

The Floor

For a true Tuscan look, aged hardwood floors, marble or tiled floors are a must. However, these types of floor can be expensive, and for a guest room that is only used once or twice a year, it may be an expense you don't want to incur. However, plenty of throw rugs with Tuscan designs scattered around the floor can give the appropriate feel as well.

Tuscan designs? Where are you going to get those? Easy - surf the web for Tuscan rugs and you'll find a vast array of authentic Tuscan designs.

Furniture

The bed, of course, is the main piece of furniture in the guest-room. No modern bedsteads with gleaming metal - choose wooden bedframes, ornately carved with bunches of grapes, for example, The blankets, bedspreads and pillows on the guest bed should be of dull colors invoking the earth or sky – tans, browns, golds or blues.

If possible, the bookcases, bureaus and wardrobes and other furniture in the room should be of wood as well, very light or very dark-colored woods to give a sturdy, aged look. Antique furniture will give the appropriate look.

Accessories

The look of Tuscany is the look of the land - a land with rolling hills, vineyards, a vast blue bowl-like sky, and farmhouses that have been there for centuries. Accessories should call out this atmosphere of permanence - majolica or ceramic pottery, wrought iron candle holders, and so on.