Italian Home Decor Accessories

We all love gadgets and gizmos and when these come from the most design conscious country in the world – Italy – then we love them even more. Italian home accessories are not just useful items they are design icons in their own right.

Take Alessi, the Italian design company that has been responsible for numerous innovative creations, like the unforgettable and wonderfully named “Anna G” corkscrew by Alessandro Mendini, created in 1994. Mendini’s take on this simple everyday object has now gained worldwide cult status for its smiley little face and dolly dress and has been much copied. Anna has now got a male counterpart, Alessandro M, who has a cute hat and a pretty cool outfit. Never has opening bottles been so much fun.

If the humble corkscrew can achieve such worldwide acclaim then what of other Italian design products? Keeping to the beverages theme, let’s look at coffee. Almost all Italian homes have what is known as a Moka stovetop coffee pot, a simple aluminium pot with a bakelite handle that comes in a range of sizes from a small one-cup miniature version to a mammoth 18-cup model. You put water in the base and the coffee in the middle and once the water boils it is forced through the coffee grounds and into the top part of this clever little machine. The manufacturer most associated with this enchantingly simple piece of kit is Bialetti and the latest model is known as the Bialetti Moka Express.

Creativity and ingenuity are not the only ingredients that are needed to produce beautiful, practical Italian home accessories. Innovative use of materials is a hallmark of quality Italian design. Whether made from steel, plastic, wood or even leather the Italians always manage to add a quirky twist, some unique styling feature to turn an ordinary household item into something that you just love using and looking at.

It only takes a few well-selected accessories to create a theme for your home. If you long to recreate the cozy rustic charm of an Italian country kitchen, so redolent with atmosphere that you can almost lean out of the window and touch the sunflowers, then consider adding some Tuscan ceramics or a Toscana wall sconce. You could add a wire fruit basket and a rustic pot rack and ecco (that’s kind of Italian for voilà!)- there you have the beginnings of your farmhouse kitchen without breaking the bank.

Italian home accessories are not just confined to the kitchen, although that’s often a great place to start. You can find clocks, cushions, throws, candle holders, pictures, prints and tapestries for indoors and just as wide a variety for your outdoor space. So what are you waiting for? Take a meander through our selection of fabulous Italian design products and you are just one step away from getting a real taste of Italy in your own home.