Tuscan Paint Colors:
7 Tuscan Color Palette Examples

Tuscan paint colors are warm hues with a yellow (or orange) bias.

Warm pinks and mustardy yellows are typical Tuscan colors for outside walls, while interior (farmhouse) Tuscan color palettes are often entirely neutral - white walls, terra cotta flooring, straw seats & brown wood, with just a few accents that 'pop' against the neutral background.

Palazzi, on the other hand, tend to have bolder, jewel colors on interior walls and furnishings, but even in these plush surroundings, Tuscan Window Treatments are usually white.

This page is about combining Tuscan paint colors with the typical colors of Tuscan flooring and textiles.

Each of the 7 Tuscan color palettes is inspired by homes in Tuscan villages, Tuscan ceramics, and the glorious Tuscan countryside.

Tuscan Paint Colors #1: Gray, Mustard & Deep Purple

The colors of Tuscan stone walls depend on the location - some Tuscan houses are pale grey, while others appear almost golden.

This Tuscan color scheme comes from Micciano, a tiny village where the local stone has honey & mustard tones as well as different shades of grey in it.

Yellow-grey Tuscan color palette
with dusky purple and burnt-orange accents

Mustard-colored walls are great for an interior Tuscan color palette, especially in combination with neutrals (e.g. dark brown wood & cream-colored upholstery).

Use burnt orange and deep grape/plum accents to liven up your mix of Tuscany colors, unless you prefer a really subtle look. In which case ...

... skip the orange & grape and add off-white detail instead. This will freshen up the color palette but keep actual color bursts to a minimum.

Tuscan floors are usually covered with flagstones, terra cotta or broken-marble terrazzo  tiles, but you could evoke the rustic charm of Tuscany by using large, natural fiber area rugs (e.g. seagrass or jute).

Tuscan Paint Colors #2: Ochre, Blue & White

Orange & blue is a highly popular (and very effective) combination of Tuscan paint colors. You'll find this complementary color scheme everywhere in Tuscany, from the hand painted decor on antique tin-glazed earthenware to elegant ochre-colored villas under a clear blue Tuscan sky.

Orange-blue Tuscan paint colors
over terra cotta flooring
with added white pattern elements

To me, there's an obvious affinity between orange and blue and Southern European & Mediterranean interiors.

You can create the look of weathered ochre walls by colorwashing once or twice over a base coat; then complete the color scheme with accessories in blue and white.

(If you need additional accent colors, consider a tiny dash of scarlet or  olive/moss green.)

Tuscan Paint Colors #3: Deep Rusty Red & Sweet Pink

It may seem strange, but this is another Tuscan color scheme that I've come across a lot.

Clouds of pink flowers floating above terracotta planters or cascading down a rust-colored wall from a windowbox are a regular sight in Tuscany.

Many small townhouses have their front steps adorned with tufts of lavish pink and glow-in-the-dark orange geranium sitting next to each other in wooden crates and old clay pots.

Gray & pink Tuscan paint colors
with écru walls and terracotta flooring

You can soften the rust/pink color clash somewhat by adding cool or neutral colors, like the beautiful bluish-grey hue of a rainy sky (it's a rare day when that  happens!), or fresh leafy greenery - or both.

Or, you could heighten the contrast by adding orange, burnt orange, or a brighter rust color. It looks vivid and gorgeous.

Of all Tuscan color schemes on this page, the wall color here comes closest to what Tuscans would actually do in a traditional home: paint it white. (I've made it écru, with added cool grey accents that you could swap for green).

Tuscan Paint Colors #4: Apricot, Terra Cotta & Blue

Here is another take on the orange-blue complementary color scheme from No.2 above; only this time, we're replacing burnt-orange with apricot.

Blue-apricot Tuscan paint colors
with stencilled walls & terra cotta flooring

Apricot, peach and pale ochre are the Tuscan paint colors you'll most likely find in those Tuscan homes where the walls have not  been whitewashed.

The stencilled and painted library ceiling in a Tuscan palace (above) has the typical bright jewel colors of Renaissance paintings (note the emerald jewelry 'suspended' from a red ribbon :-)

In my adaptation for an interior Tuscan color palette (right), I've focused on a gentle and elegant Tuscan color palette that would work for most interiors.

I also think these Tuscany colors would look very nice with russet or brandy-colored leather furniture (even though that's not a particularly 'Tuscan' way of doing things).

Tuscan Paint Colors #5: Terra Cotta Pink & Cerise

This combination of Tuscany colors is a 'lite' version of the red-green palette below (#7).

When you look at the close-up shot of antique handcrafted Tuscan roof tiles (left) ...

Pale terra cotta & cerise Tuscan color palette
with terracotta flooring and green accents

... you can see that the color of unglazed terra cotta may vary between a soft brownish pink and more yellow-orangey hues.

These shades provide an interesting background color for the bruised-purple pelargonium in the other photo.

Translating this into Tuscany colors for an interior space, I'd go with

• soft pink terracotta walls,
• glazed terracotta flooring,
• neutral furniture, and
• cerise and deep green accent colors.

Tuscan Paint Colors #6: Sunflower Yellow & Sky Blue

The combination of blue and yellow is a favorite color palette for elegant Tuscan palazzi ...

... where yellow is, of course, often supported or even replaced by plenty of gold!

Yellow-blue Tuscan color palette
(terra cotta floor inlaid with marble tiles)

(If you're interested, there are a few examples of this on the page about Tuscan beds :-)

Both the sunny yellow and the sky blue would look good as Tuscan paint colors for interior walls - that is, I'd save the blue for villa or palazzo walls (it would look quite exotic in a rustic Tuscan home).

Stencilling is a commonplace form of Italian country wall decor, so if you're a dab hand with a paintbrush, this may be the perfect opportunity to create one-of-a-kind Italian style walls!

Tuscan Paint Colors #7:
Rose Madder, Chianti Red, Gray & Green

Oh, the romantic possibilities of red roses spilling over an ancient Tuscan stone wall!

Add to that the warm, earthy hue of rose madder (a wonderfully 'Southern' color that looks great on the sundrenched exterior walls of Italian homes), and you have a winner.

But are either of these reds ever used as interior  Tuscan paint  colors?  Personally, I've never seen it.

Earthy red Tuscan color palette
with green accents and black terrazzo  flooring

This is not to say, of course, that deep reds don't ever appear in an interior Tuscan color palette - they do, just not on walls.

In Tuscan decorating, deep Chianti red is used for winter bedcovers, and occasionally for elegant upholstery, bed hangings and pelmets (or heavy drapes).

You'll also find a lot of dark, wine red area rugs.

However, with this rose madder wall color I'm definitely going out on a limb. But what the heck - it's a lovely, passionate hue that looks wonderful with black terrazzo  tiles. So here we go :-)

For more ideas, check out this little 'library' I've put together for you (in partnership with Amazon):

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