Italian Decor Images and Ideas, Styles, Homes and Gardens, Shopping...

Murals

Majolica

Porcelain

Modern

Italianate

Lots of images of Italian homes on this page to inspire you. And I have more decor pages...

Visit my page about wallpaper murals, tiles and stencils.

If modern design is more your style, visit my Modern Italian Design for the Home page, for more images like the sofa above, and links to many designer websites.

But if traditional Italianate Style is for you, visit my Italianate Furniture page.

And I have tips for decorating with framed prints on the Framed Prints page.

Here are some images of Italian homes from the rental site Dolce Vita Villas.

Introduction

Italian Style - Traditional and Modern

Wallpaper Murals, Tiles and Stencils

Images of Italian Homes

Renaissance Gardens

Dream Sites

Decorating with Prints

Mediterranean House Plans Books

Books About Italian Style

Introduction

Italians, generally speaking, are very particular about their homes. Almost everyone lives in a condominium (too many people and too little space in Italy for a sprawling suburbia) and it is usually done up with style.

One thing almost all Italian homes have in common is tiled floors. I remember a long lecture I received from an elderly Italian woman once, on the unsanitary nature of wall-to-wall carpeting, and I'm sure she was right! I met almost no one with allergy problems, although it is now rising among children, possibly due to the poor quality of air in the cities.

Italian Style

Italian styles range from the traditional, heavy, Mediterranean Style, to the modern Italian designs. The two are rarely mixed together, people usually passionately preferring one over the other.

This image of a modern recliner, and many other images can be found on my Modern Italian Design page, along with links to the design companies' very creative websites.

If you want some Italian style in your home, and don't want to break the bank, why not try this lighting store on the web that offers Venetian Murano Italian lamps like the ones in the photos at very reasonable prices. Click here to access their site. No guarantees from me. See if you think it's worth it.

Wallpaper Murals, Tiles and Stencils

Anyone who loves Italy wants something around them to remind them of Italy's beauty. Why not decorate your home to make you feel like you are in Italy? Or at least to give the illusion that Italy is not so far away.

If you're an artist, you can attempt to paint a fresco on fresh plaster. Or project a slide image on a wall and then draw the image and fill it with paint.

But most of us are not that artistic, nor can we afford to hire our own 'Michelangelo' to paint something for us. For us, there are two reliable solutions:

wallpaper murals,
tiles, and
stencils.

Click here or on the image to go to my page with a collection of some of the wallpaper murals, tiles and stencils available, links to on-line sellers, and images with ideas of how to use them in your home to bring Italy inside, wherever you live.

And framed prints of Italy-related images can bring Italy into your home at relatively little cost. I've a page that explains how, offers lots of images of framing arrangements, and many print options: My Framed Print Page.

Images of Italian Homes

I've put plenty of images from real Italian homes in the left column from the Dolce Vita Villas rental selections. And there are more images below from Wimco vacation rentals.

To view images of real Italian homes and their interiors, visit the Dolce Vita Villa site. This link is to the page for their villas on the Amalfi Coast near Naples.

Once there, click on one of the villas and then click on the More Photos option to view interior and exterior views. Each property has at least 10 images. You can visit properties in other areas of Italy by clicking on an area at the top of their page.

Here are some other villa rental sites with lots of images: villas at Wimco and Meridian Villas, tiny Venetian apartments at Apartments Venice (especially nice are Ca' Zen, Romantic, Ca' del Doge).

And the Ville-in-Italia site has lots of lovely villas to rent all over Italy, each with plenty of inspiring images.

And see my Room With A View page for lots of images of rooms with views on Florence. But be sure to come back here to see more about Italian homes and gardens!

If you want to see more, I have an Italianate Style page that features manufacturers of Italian style furniture.

Renaissance Gardens

Italy's unique contribution to garden design is the Classical Italian Garden, also called the Renaissance Garden.

A Renaissance Garden is a place for retreat from a hectic world. It's for pleasure and peace. It's for wandering, pottering and contemplating.

To read more about how to design a Classical Italian Garden, and to see lots of beautiful and inspiring images of Italian Renaissance Gardens click here or on these images to go to my page on them.

Dream Sites - On-Line Shops

Are you building an Italian style home? A site visitor is and he's recommended two dream sites for companies that have helped him realize his dream.

Italian Made Homes, based in Sonoma, California, is a supplier of 'fine Italian building materials from Tuscany'. They have an on-line catalog, and a wonderful section on their website with completed projects for inspiration.

Tuscan Resource are "Importers of fine Italian Building Materials for Builders, Architects, and Designers of Distinctive Homes. A unique source of new and reclaimed building materials for your Tuscan Dream Home." They, too, have a lovely section of completed projects for inspiration (and drooling).

Also for the builders and architects building your home, is the Viciani site.

This is an Italian company that represents various specialist companies in Italy. They source 100% Italian-made stairs, windows, doors, furniture and various other things for the home, such as galvanized steel furniture made to look like cast iron so perfect for outdoors, classic Italian shutters, and even Bauhaus Classics, and custom made steel designs.

August Living brings Italy's ancient past to life with it's pewter collection. All made in Italy, with classic patterns from antiquity, the stunning collection transports you to another time and place.

Grape vine entwined wine glass

Wine bottle holder

Wine decanter

You can read a bit more about their products at About.com.

A site visitor runs a beautiful on-line store stocked with Italian-imported items for the kitchen, home decor, gifts for Italophiles, and even Italian food. It's called Design Dolce Vita. They restock throughout the year, directly from Italy, so check back often. It's fun to browse!

Design Dolce Vita sells a special pasta suitable for diabetics that is imported directly from Italy. And they will soon be carrying a jewelry line from Italy as well.

Another site visitor, Al Pisano, makes decorative art, some of which is for above doorways, and especially nice in the kitchen. Here's an example, but visit the site, especially the Italian Wall Art section, for more.

If you have no money worries and want some custom-made, handpainted venetian style furniture, the choice is limited.

The first company I'd found has already disappeared from the web. But the images below are of two pieces from another company, Patina, that has beautiful items, and has been producing their own lines, and custom orders, since 1986. For Handpainted Venetian Style Furniture, click on the images to go to the company's site.

The Gruppo Soratte site offers a selection of Italian products, not cheap, many of which are made in Sicily. They visited my site, offered to exchange links, and set my imagination going, but left my limited bank account intact. When I have the money to spare... This 'lava-rock' table is made in Sicily and sold online. Click on the image or here to visit the Gruppo Soratte site.

EyeItalia is another on-line site offering beautiful Italian products for your home, like linens, perfumes, books, fabrics...

Amazon.com offers a shop-front (a store that sells through them) that has a good selection of Italian bed linens at very good prices. They also offer other household items at reasonable prices, which it should, considering it's name: Smart Bargains. Click on any one of these images to visit their store for bargains on Italian bedding.

If you know of other dream sites with dream items just put a note in the guestbook so I can dream some more. Grazie!

Mediterranean House Plans Books

Books About Italian Style

If you'd like to read about Italian home styles, I've a few direct links to Amazon.com. Or you can use this Search tool to see:

what books are available from Amazon.com,
what people say about them,
and what they cost.

Just enter 'Books' in the 'Search' field, and 'Italian design' for example (or Italian furniture, fabric, lamps, villas, homes, architecture...) in the 'Keywords' field. Then click on the 'Go' button to see the resulting list.