Valance situation.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/205899014191504871/?lp=true

adobe brick orange, dark sage green, deep yellow, brown

Hi Wonda - Your photos are great but your dining room seems to lack a bit of colour, especially if you want an Italian 'Tuscan look'. This is just a guess, but perhaps introduce some warmer tones on the walls - terracotta, or burnt orangey colours (they come in all shades now from dark to light - maybe pick up some Dulux shade cards & see which colours look best in your room, & maybe try a matchpot or two, so you can see what they look like on the walls, especially in different lights (sunny/dull days, artificial light etc.). Perhaps different depths of colour on different walls? Maybe a 'trompe l'oiel' picture - like a length of wallpaper - pasted onto one wall, perhaps with an arch or window surrounding it on the paper - with a distant Italian countryside view with those tall slim conifers, rolling fields, old stone buildings etc. For decoration, think grape pictures, terracotta bowls, vases, jugs, and maybe have one or two of those raffia-covered chianti bottles, which I think are still available in some off licences. Plants in terracotta pots - maybe geraniums, rosemary, small olive bush, bourganvelia, sage, basil, etc. Maybe some foody pictures of spagetti, pizza, Italian wines/bottles, herbs. Hope these suggestions are some help - I love watching those travel programmes & makeover ones too, so perhaps some of all that has sunk in somewhere, though I've never been to Italy - at least not so far! Good luck!

P.S. Just occurred to me that we used to put candles in those raffia-covered chianti bottles when we were young & trying to impress friends with our spagetti blognese! They could look very nice on your rustic dining table, or else terracotta candle holders. Just a thought!

If your only concern is the valances, pad them, then cover in a fabric (drapery weight) incorporating the warm reds, yellows, and green. Then pick up these colors in other accents and accessories. With this as a base, you can later do walls, etc in colors that blend and suggest the Tuscany look you want.

Perhaps introduce some Ivory with warm golden undertones, pale terra cotta, and perhaps some deep olive colors (the dark purple, almost black) and some hints of olive green. If you look at the images on Google (Tuscany dining decor) the colors are similar to what you have already. There are lots of ivory, muted gold, and deep rich colored wood. There aren't many bold colors.

What ever you do on the windows should be mounted at ceiling height to prevent it from looking dark and closed in.

I put beautiful lacy table runners with bright red Flowers up over my dining room window and it is beautiful made a world of difference