Project Management Case Study

CLIENT: PRIVATE
DURATION: 12 WEEKS
PROPERTY: VILLA
LOCATION: MILAN, ITALY
SIZE: 1067 m2
VALUE: £500,000

BRIEF
To renovate, decorate and fully furnish an existing four-bedroom villa.

OVERVIEW
• 4 bedrooms
• 2 living rooms
• 2 kitchens
• Retro-fit security and home automation
• Fit-out self contained staff apartment
• Creation of guest suite from existing 2 car garage

DETAILS
We knew going in that this project would provide us with several logistical challenges.

The client and their family were moving from the UK to Italy within three months of contacting Kingston Shaw. They required the entire property to be decorated and fully furnished before their arrival.

The project was to be completed by the end of August, a month in which not only most high-end European furniture manufacturers shut down, but also, it would appear, the entire nation of Italy takes its vacation.

Our first on-site task was to produce a measured survey of the property, from which we could designate bedrooms for the client and their staff, and space plan layouts for the other rooms to provide maximum comfort and functionality. We also photographed the property extensively for reference purposes. It’s always handy to know where the nearest electrical socket is located.

Having recruited a bi-lingual site manager, tendered and secured local contractors willing and able to work through their holidays, all schedules produced by us were translated into Italian and our team set about designing the spaces and ordering the furniture, lighting, fixtures and fittings.

The short lead-time required us to be creative with our suppliers, sourcing in-stock items and pushing others to go the extra mile to ensure production and delivery of bespoke pieces before the August shutdown.

All items, including several cubic meters of the client’s personal effects, were delivered to our UK offices to be quality checked and packaged ready for ground transportation via a specialised white glove logistics company.

On site, our project manager oversaw the extensive re-decoration of the property including a complete strip-out and fit-out of the self-contained staff apartment including new kitchen and bathroom, completion of the extensive security system and home automation, and construction of a guest suite in place of the existing garage.

Our design team travelled ahead of the shipment to oversee the delivery and installation of every item, from spoons to sofas, condiments to console tables, wardrobes to window treatments, enabling the transformation of house into home and completing the project on time and within budget.

The clients arrived to a fully functional, secure and welcoming home.