The rolling hills of Chianti, the medieval hilltop villages of Orvieto, a sun drenched villa in the historic town of in Cortona, the beautiful country style of Tuscany has always captivated you, but the price of expensive Italian furniture and home décor is too much of a stretch for your wallet. Check out our great tips for maximizing your style and minimizing your decorating budget.

1. Bring the outdoors in. A fresh bunch of rosemary or lavender tied with a ribbon and hung on your wall or windowsill will last for a few weeks and add a delightful fragrant smell to your kitchen.

2. Plant a small terra cotta pot or windowsill box with your favorite herbs and watch them grow in your kitchen window. A great decorative touch and you?ll always have basil, rosemary, thyme or whatever you need handy when you?re cooking.

3. Sign up! Add a fun and whimsical touch with a unique kitchen or home décor signs. ?Cucina Paradiso? ?Cucina della Nonna? or ?Never trust a skinny cook? are great conversation pieces for those times when everyone gathers in the kitchen.

4. Glaze, sponge, plaster your way to a rustic look. Using rustic colors like pale yellow, terra cotta, muted browns, you can add a bit of the feel or a Tuscan countryside home to your house.

5. Little touches add a lot. Sometimes just one small decor piece can bring a room together or put the accent on style. Our rustic Tuscan rooster three piece plate sets ($39.95) are large enough to use as a wonderful focal point, yet they are not bulky or delicate and can be used in almost any corner of your kitchen or dining room.

6. Tile it up. Retiling your whole kitchen or living space with Italian ceramic tiles can get costly, why not select a few tiles with interesting decorative touches and use as a centerpiece in your kitchen or bathroom.

7. Vintage postcards, old menus, bit of old family papers or documents framed for a classic touch. Even old letters framed in an antiqued picture frame can add a unique a personal touch to your décor. If you don?t have old frames, just use any frame (even garage sale finds will do) and gild it with paint from your local arts & crafts store.

8. Get wordy! Decorative quotes are easy to apply and remove. They are made of resin and made to look like they are paint, but they are easy to apply and remove. We like the Italian/Tuscan style quotes like ?Sogni d?Oro? (sweet dreams) above the bed or ?Benvenuti alla Villa? in the entrance or hallway ? or add your own family name for a personal touch.

9. Candles with style. Nothing adds a bit of Tuscany like aged terra cotta and we think these terra cotta candle pots are simply splendid! They are available in natural aged color or with handpainted gold rims, prices start at about $25.00

10. Terra cotta cooking accessories. Want to add some authentic Tuscan style and taste to your kitchen or dining room? Try some terra cotta cooking pots, like this ?fiasco per fagioli? (Tuscan bean pot), or the large round pots used for stews or ribollita. The pots are lovely enough to display when you?re not cooking and they are specially adapted to give an authentic taste to Tuscan recipes. A terra cotta bread and food warmer is a lovely addition to your table and can be used as décor when not in use. It makes a beautiful centerpiece on a Tuscan farmhouse table. They also make wonderful gifts for Italian food lovers and each pot comes with authentic recipes.

11. Vintage accessories, old pepper & coffee mills, mortar & pestle, These accessories are as useful as they are beautiful. Use coffee grinders with a vintage look and handcrafted using European woods.

12. Serve it up, unique dinnerware and accessories. Even if you can?t afford to splurge on a whole new set of dinnerware, try adding in a few accent pieces. Leaf shaped green ?foglia? dinnerware is lovely when combined with white chargers or dinner plates under them.

13. Coffee table books. Even if you can?t afford a villa in Tuscany, you can add a few books with style to your home décor. We like ?Italian Villas and Palaces? from Rizzoli for the gorgeous cover as well as the inspiring feature homes.

14. Use color to express your style

15. A tisket a tasket, we love those rustic baskets. Nothing says country more than a rustic style basket and they are so useful as catch alls, to hold magazines, kitchen items or magazines.

16. Wall art & architectural elements. Rustic metal and wood pieces are a simple way to add a rustic touch to your home.

17. Decorative plates, commemorative plates from Italy, villas or Deruta style. Let your imagination be your guide. Deruta style plates can get somewhat costly, although they are one of a kind artwork. It is also common in Italy for wineries, restaurants to produce commemorative or promotional plates, they are relatively inexpensive.

18. Go grapes!! What says Italy better than grapes? We have a variety of simple accessories that are fun and inexpensive.

19. Fabricate, love those textured fabrics. No silky or swanky swags here! Simple tab top panels or tiebacks look great against a wooden rod or with antiqued finials. Pale yellow suits almost every décor.

20. Wallpaper murals. These pre-pasted murals are available in a variety of sizes and shapes. Some of the larger ones can be costly (about $200) so start first with a small section or a room to experiment with this look.