House Renovation in Italy

01 — how we work

The obvious renovation is not the one you want

The obvious renovation repeats what was already there and adds new tiles. It is quick to draw, cheap to decide, and in five years it looks like every other renovated flat on the street.

We start from how you will actually live in the house, then make it stand up: structure, systems, budget. Material and colour do the talking. The difference between good and unforgettable lives in the millimetres.

arcHITects is a Milan studio founded in 2009, working with clients across four continents. We are tailors of space: no templates, every project cut to the client, the site and the story. You have the last word.

Our mission is not to renovate a house. It is to renovate your house.

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Tell us about your project

We reply within 24 hours. English, Italian.

1920

the oldest private house we renovated

A Milan apartment from the twenties, rebuilt from the structure up. The original doors and floors stayed.

2009

founded in Milano

230

projects

continents

24h

reply time

02 — what we renovate

Four kinds of Italian house

Different buildings, the same three questions: what is allowed, what it costs, how long it takes.

Historic apartment

Palazzo apartments in Milan, Rome or a historic centre. Layouts from another century, systems to redo, and a building committee to satisfy. We work with the constraint from the first sketch.

Villa or farmhouse

Country houses, farmhouses and lake villas. Usually the works are structural and the landscape authorisation comes before everything else. We tell you at the survey stage, not halfway through.

Attic and top floor

Volume, light and roof geometry decide what is possible. We measure first and design after, so the drawings you receive are buildable.

Full property conversion

Changing use, splitting into units, or bringing an empty building back. The most demanding route, and the one where an experienced studio saves the most time.

03 — how we work

From survey to keys

Survey and feasibility. We measure the building, check the local plan and the constraints, and give you a written document with a cost range and a calendar. If the project does not work, you hear it here.

Design and interiors. Architecture and interior design in the same studio. Layout, materials and lighting decided together with the technical drawings, not after them.

Permits. We prepare and file the authorisations with the council and, for protected buildings, with the Soprintendenza. We deal with the offices ourselves.

Contractors and site. Tender, comparison of quotes, and supervision of the works with photographic reports, so you follow the site without flying in.

04 — the part nobody explains

What a renovation in Italy really involves

Building control is municipal. The same work follows a different route in Milan and in a small town on Lake Como, and the drawings must be signed by a professional registered in Italy.

Interior work without structural changes is filed as a notified start of works and the site can open shortly after. Anything touching volume, structure or use needs a building permit.

Listed buildings and protected landscapes — most historic centres, the lakes, the coast — need an authorisation from the Soprintendenza first. It sets the pace of everything else.

Energy performance, seismic classification and, where they apply, tax incentives each have their own filing and their own deadlines.

Attic Renovation, Milano — Living Room — Attic renovation, Milano — living room

05 — the sequence

Four steps

First call

We listen and say whether it is feasible.

Feasibility

Survey, constraints, budget range and calendar, written down.

Design & permits

Drawings, interiors and the authorisations filed for you.

Site & delivery

Tender, supervision, handover. Updates without travelling.

06 — renovations we delivered

Buildings that were harder than yours

North Wind Apartments: a workers’ village built in 1896 on Lake Garda, converted into six short rent apartments. ICONIC AWARD 2024 for Innovative Architecture.

Collector’s House: a private house in Milan that won Best Italian Interior Design 2021 in Venice. La Caorlina in Venice: a Venetian apartment where the beams stayed and everything else changed. 1920s Conversion, Warm House and Collegno 7: apartments rebuilt from the structure up.

Warm House, Milano — Living Room — Warm House, Milano — living room

Collector’s House, Milano · Best Italian Interior Design 2021

La Caorlina, Venezia — Living Room — La Caorlina, Venezia — living room

Collegno 7, Dergano, Milano — Planted Courtyard — Collegno 7, Dergano, Milano — planted courtyard

questions we get

Before you write to us

Can I renovate a house in Italy if I live abroad?

Yes, and most of our clients do. Meetings are online, decisions are shared digitally, and site supervision is ours. You can also grant a specific power of attorney for the filings.

Do I need an Italian architect?

For anything filed with the council, yes: the drawings must be signed by a professional registered in Italy and covered by Italian professional insurance.

How long does it take?

The works are rarely the long part. The variable is the authorisation, which depends on the council and, for protected buildings, on the Soprintendenza. You get a realistic calendar at the feasibility stage.

How do I choose materials if I am not in Italy?

We courier the samples to you, anywhere in the world. Stone, wood, tiles, paint, fabric: the same pieces we hold in the studio arrive at your address, so you decide with the material in your hand and in your own light, not from a screen. The video call comes after the box, not instead of it.

Can you work with a contractor I already know?

Yes. We supervise a company you chose, or run a tender and compare quotes. Supervision stays independent from whoever does the works.

The house is listed. Is it still possible?

Usually yes, with a different route and a longer calendar. Several of our projects are conversions of protected buildings.

ready?

Tell us about the house

Where it is, what you would like to do, and when you would like to start. We answer within 24 hours.

Collector’s House, Milano — Entrance — Collector’s House, Milano — entrance

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RENOVATING A HOUSE IN ITALY, FROM ABROAD