Best retail interior design studios in Italy: a project shortlist
Four practices to explore for a boutique, store, product showroom or retail setting within a larger property.
A boutique built around private appointments has a different rhythm from a furniture showroom or shopping gallery. Its design begins with the products, the way customers are welcomed and the kind of visit the brand wants to offer.
The four practices below provide different starting points for that conversation. AD’ Design Studio publishes this editorial selection and is included. The profiles draw on the official sources linked in the text; their order does not indicate rank.
Four practices, different project references
| Your project | Practice to explore | Published reference or offer |
|---|---|---|
| A boutique, store or showroom developed as a complete interior | AD’ Design Studio | Retail design service; material and fabrication work documented at Hotel Eden Spa |
| Retail within a larger commercial or architectural setting | Lombardini22 | Galleria Alberto Sordi redevelopment, Rome |
| A product showroom with a clear architectural concept | Matteo Thun & Partners | Euromobil Showroom Milan, attributed to Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez |
| Fashion or jewellery retail within an international brand brief | ST Design | Named boutique references and Italian partnerships |
The references establish different kinds of experience. A service offer, a material detail and a complete retail project should be considered for what each demonstrates.
Commission your boutique, store or showroom
Tell AD’ Design Studio about the brand and the premises you want to develop. We can discuss the interior and the experience you want customers to have.
Explore AD’ Design Studio’s retail interior design → Discuss your retail project →
AD’ Design Studio: the complete retail interior
AD’ Design Studio’s retail design service brings layout, materials, lighting and bespoke fixtures into one interior, developed with the client’s appointed local team.
The collection and the way customers will be served inform the design. A display may need to show an object at close range, provide a surface for a private presentation or form part of a complete room setting. Those decisions connect the brand’s character with the use of the space.
At Hotel Eden Spa in Rome, AD’ Design Studio developed illuminated stone and bespoke glass display details. This is a hospitality reference for materials and fabrication, not a documented store commission. Retail references relevant to the proposed brief should be considered alongside the service offer.
Lombardini22: retail within the wider property
Milan-based Lombardini22 presents retail work covering shopping centres, outlets, retail parks and stores.
The Galleria Alberto Sordi redevelopment in Rome addresses entrances, shopfronts, building systems and lighting within the historic gallery. It is a reference for an owner considering how individual premises relate to a larger property.
The conversation for that kind of commission includes the experience of arriving, moving between stores and recognising their entrances, as well as the tenant interiors. Building and landlord requirements form part of the design work to be defined with the relevant team.
Matteo Thun & Partners: architecture around the product
The official presentation of Euromobil Showroom Milan attributes the design to Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez. Natural light, restrained colour and flexibility give the kitchen displays their architectural setting.
It is a useful reference for a brand whose products need to be experienced within a room. Visitors may need to approach a worktop, understand the relationship between cabinets and appliances or discuss a selection with a designer. A showroom can support professional appointments and demonstrations alongside browsing.
The product and those different forms of visit give the design conversation a more precise starting point than a visual theme alone.
ST Design: an international practice with Italian partnerships
ST Design’s About page describes a practice founded by Italian designer Stefano Tordiglione, with its main office in Hong Kong and partnerships with architectural and interior studios in Italy.
It lists retail among its services and names Brooks Brothers fashion boutiques and a Wellendorff jewellery boutique among its references. Those examples are relevant to exploring how a brand’s products and service become part of a retail setting.
For Italian premises, the proposed appointment should identify the team developing the interior and how the local collaboration works. The international references do not, by themselves, establish the team for a particular Italian project.
Develop the customer visit with the designer
An owner can describe the service they want to offer without having the store layout already resolved. The designer develops that ambition through the position of displays, the places for conversation and the relationship between customer and staff areas.
For private appointments, furniture and display surfaces can give the collection a more personal setting while the rest of the store remains in use. A furniture showroom needs room to approach and try the pieces. A shopping gallery has another scale of movement between the premises and shared spaces.
Plans and display studies make those relationships visible. Material and lighting proposals develop how the products will be encountered, while fixture drawings and samples bring the design closer to manufacture. The proposal should explain the work included and how it connects with the team carrying it out.
AD’ Design Studio’s guide to nine retail interior design decisions explores the relationship between products, service and space in more detail.
Bring AD’ Design Studio the brand and the premises
Tell us what you sell and the property you want to open or refurbish. We can discuss the complete retail interior and the customer experience you have in mind.