Lucca, Tuscany · completed 2025/07
Villa Mia Lucca
A villa the family uses themselves and rents out when they are away. Authentic and design-led, with calm as the guiding feeling — and rental revenue twice that of comparable local properties.
In short
Villa Mia is a 300 m² 1950s villa with a separate guesthouse near Lucca, redesigned and furnished by Grietje for the owners' own use and for holiday rental. The existing custom joinery and kitchen were kept, two bathrooms were fully renovated — within a budget of around €80,000, achieving rental revenue twice as high as comparable properties nearby.
The brief
A relatively new 1950s house — unusual in Italy — of 300 m² with a detached guesthouse that functions as a fully independent home. The owners, a German family, wanted neither a clichéd Tuscan interior nor an anonymous rental property. The villa had to feel like their own home while appealing to guests and renting year round. Defining for the brief: the existing custom work — all the built-in wall cabinets — and the kitchen had to stay, so everything new had to work with them. Two bathrooms were fully renovated. The terracotta floor throughout the house was not authentic to a 1950s home, but was integrated into the new whole.
The approach
Everything was designed in a Tuscan spirit, always tuned to the retained custom joinery and kitchen. Because the property is rented out, every choice had to be both guest-proof and attractive. The character of the house took the lead and the heavy dark furniture went out; each room got its own lighting plan, with custom pieces where standard sizes did not work. The project ran on a tight budget of roughly €80,000 including the two bathroom renovations, in close cooperation with the builders, the electrician and the geometra who handled the municipal permits. Completion closed with a full photo shoot that went straight onto the rental platform.
The result
Twice the rental revenue compared with similar properties in the area. The photo series is used on the rental platform, the owners' own site and social media.
Materials & colours
- Lime paint in a warm off-white
- Solid oak and olive wood
- Linen and cotton textiles
- Terracotta and handmade ceramics
- Wrought iron as an accent
The full story
A 1950s house with joinery that had to stay
A relatively new house is almost unusual in Italy — this villa dated from the 1950s and was full of high-quality custom-made wall cabinets in an old-fashioned style. That made the brief harder: everything new had to sit naturally next to the existing joinery. The owners also wanted to keep the kitchen, so every new choice had to blend in there too.
Tuscan style, without losing the house
The wish was an interior in the style of Tuscany, but it also had to suit the house itself. A terracotta floor ran throughout: attractive, but not authentic to the 1950s. Instead of replacing everything, the floor was woven into the design, so house and interior became one.
Designed for private use and for rental
The villa operates as a holiday rental, and that comes with requirements: it must be durable and at the same time truly attractive to guests. With a guesthouse that functions as a fully independent home, two bathrooms were completely renovated and every room was furnished for both purposes.
Working with Italian trades
A project like this means close cooperation with local tradespeople: builders, an electrician and a geometra — the specialist who files permits with the Italian municipality. Managing that on site kept the budget of around €80,000, including two full bathroom renovations, on track.
"The art here was not making everything new, but keeping what was good — and designing everything around it so it became one house."
From the photo shoot
Frequently asked questions about this case
- Does a renovation in Italy mean replacing everything?
- No. At Villa Mia the custom joinery and the kitchen were deliberately kept. Everything new was designed to fit what was already there — often the most beautiful and the most economical route.
- How do you make a holiday home personal and rentable at once?
- By designing for both goals from day one: durable choices where guests use the home intensively, character and calm where the owners enjoy it themselves. At Villa Mia that led to rental revenue twice as high as comparable properties nearby.
- Who arranges permits and tradespeople in Italy?
- The designer on the ground does. For Villa Mia, Grietje worked with builders, an electrician and a geometra — the Italian specialist who files permits with the municipality.
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