How to choose an interior design studio in Italy
Two proposals can describe very different work. Use a completed scope comparison, relevant projects and clear responsibilities to choose an interior design studio in Italy.
Choosing an interior design studio in Italy involves both the design you value and the work your property needs. A portfolio can show an approach to rooms, materials and furniture. A proposal should explain what the studio will develop, who will be involved and how decisions will reach you.
Your brief may be a private home, hospitality setting or executive interior, in Italy or elsewhere. Give the shortlisted studios a shared brief so you can compare relevant experience, scope and the way you would work together.
Define the work before comparing studios
Give each studio the same starting brief: the property, its location, the stage reached, how you intend to use it and who is already involved. Explain which decisions remain open. Include the working budget and timing, even if these are still being developed.
A complete interior design appointment may cover room planning, materials, lighting, furniture, bespoke pieces and construction details. Establish which stages, drawings and specifications the proposal includes, and how the work will be coordinated with your architect and specialists.
If you already have a design team, make the requested role clear: developing the interior, guiding decisions or reviewing defined drawings. Each proposal should address the same work and responsibility.
Compare two proposals for the same interior
Two proposals for the same rooms may describe different appointments. In this illustrative example, one covers a furnishing-led concept; the other continues into the development of the interior.
| Decision | Proposal A: concept and furnishing | Proposal B: interior design and technical development |
|---|---|---|
| Room planning | Furniture arranged within the existing room layout | Room relationships, circulation and furniture developed together, with proposed changes identified |
| Information included | Concept references, furniture plans and a product selection | Layouts, elevations, material and furniture selections, bespoke drawings and the specifications defined in the appointment |
| Relationship with other specialists | The architect and technical team confirm the changes and interfaces required | The interior design information is coordinated with the appointed architect, engineers and makers; their responsibilities remain defined |
| Purchasing and site involvement | Not stated | Not stated |
Proposal A may answer a furnishing-led brief. Proposal B describes more design development, which may be needed when the rooms, built-in elements and technical interfaces must be resolved together. The appropriate appointment depends on what your property needs and what your existing team already develops.
Neither description tells you who purchases the furniture, reviews production information or attends the property. Ask both studios to identify those responsibilities, along with exclusions, review stages and the treatment of changes.
Before comparing fees, ask each practice to mark which work it includes, which your existing team will provide and which remains unassigned. If the proposals cover different work, request a clarified scope. You can then assess the design approach you value against a commission you understand.
Read the portfolio through the studio’s role
Look for projects with requirements relevant to yours. A private residence may show the relationship between living, entertaining and private spaces. A hospitality project has a different brief and may demonstrate another aspect of the studio’s work.
Read the credits and scope. What did the studio design? Which rooms formed part of the commission? Did its work include technical development, bespoke pieces, purchasing or site coordination? Ask the studio to explain its contribution and how it worked with the other professionals involved.
AD’ Design Studio’s selected projects make these distinctions visible. At Hotel Eden Spa in Rome, AD’ shaped the spa’s reception and relaxation areas, the new wellness room and the manicure and pedicure room, from concept through handover. The private villa in Phnom Penh demonstrates interior architecture, material design and bespoke furniture.
At Sikder Haus in Dhaka, AD’s integrated appointment brought together interior design, bespoke development, engineering and importation within a headquarters that also contained two private apartments. Compare the stated roles with the work you want to commission.
Ask how the concept becomes a developed interior
The proposal should explain what happens after the initial layouts and material direction are agreed.
At Hotel Eden Spa, light follows the worked edge of the bespoke ultra-clear glass display onto the adjacent wall. Glass fabrication, lighting and installation were developed together. The visible reception detail brings several kinds of work into one design decision.
For your appointment, ask how an agreed choice becomes information that can be priced, coordinated and made. Which drawings and specifications do you receive at each stage? How are lighting, ceilings, joinery and materials considered together, and which drawings or samples are reviewed before a bespoke piece is made?
Who develops the specialist packages? Who reviews their relationship with the interiors? Who approves a change, and what information reaches you before that decision?
Ask who will lead your project and how the people whose work you value will be involved. Agree the purpose and cost of design reviews, site visits and local team responsibilities.
Understand recommendations and purchasing
Relationships with Italian manufacturers and workshops can inform material choices, finishes and bespoke development. Ask how those relationships serve your brief and how recommendations are assessed.
Can alternatives be compared where appropriate? Does the studio work with selections you already own or suppliers proposed by your team? How are purchasing arrangements and commercial relationships explained?
Where the appointment includes Furnishing & Procurement, establish who requests quotations, places orders and approves changes. Ask how design fees, purchasing fees, supplier terms, delivery and installation are presented. Are there other payments or commercial benefits connected with purchases, and how are these explained?
Establish which decisions require your approval and who acts on your behalf.
Discuss privacy and the working relationship
Ask how photographs, drawings and project details may be used, and whose authorisation is required before they are shared. Discuss whether your appointment needs a non-disclosure agreement.
A public portfolio may represent only part of a studio’s work. AD’ protects its clients’ privacy, including through strict non-disclosure agreements. Many commissions remain private, and project details and images are shared only with the client’s authorisation.
If you work through a family office, adviser or trusted representative, explain that structure early. Agree who attends reviews, receives recommendations and approves decisions. For an ongoing relationship, discuss how knowledge of your preferences can carry into future work, with scope and responsibilities agreed as the work evolves.
Use the first conversation to test the fit
Send a short brief before the meeting. Plans and photographs, if available, help the studio understand the starting point. Identify the decisions that concern you most: the layout, the relationship between rooms, materials, furniture or the development of an existing proposal.
Ask the studio to explain how it would approach those decisions and what it needs to learn first. Listen for specific questions about your property and its use.
Before appointing, request a written proposal covering scope, stages, deliverables, fees, responsibilities and review points. Look for a design approach you value, relevant work and a proposal you can understand.
Decide what each form of evidence establishes
A convincing first conversation should leave you able to connect a design choice with its purpose and the work needed to develop it. You do not need to understand every technical detail. You do need to understand what the available evidence demonstrates.
At Eden Spa, the worked edge of ultra-clear glass and its light are part of a developed reception detail. That example helps you examine the relationship between material, fabrication and installation. It is a more precise starting point than a general promise to take care of every detail.
| Evidence | What it can establish | What remains to be clarified |
|---|---|---|
| A published view of a room | The arrangement, atmosphere and relationships shown | The studio’s contribution and the rooms or packages included in its commission |
| Named project credits | The attributed role and collaborators | The rooms, packages and stages covered by that role |
| A layout and a relevant detail | How spaces relate and how a particular element is developed | Specialist input, revisions and information needed for your property |
| A written proposal | The work being offered, its stages, fees and responsibilities | Any exclusions, assumptions and separately appointed work |
| References and authorised private material | Relevant experience that can be shared | Permission, confidentiality and the extent of the information available |
Use these distinctions to establish what the studio designed, which information it developed and where other professionals contributed. A room view may show several disciplines working together; ask which parts belonged to the studio’s appointment. If some work is private, assess the authorised evidence and the proposed team without treating confidentiality as proof of either strength or weakness.
The decision is whether you value the design, understand the relevant experience and can see how the appointment would develop your property. None of those questions is settled by a long supplier list or an attractive image alone.
Questions about choosing a studio
What should I look for in lists of the best interior designers in Italy?
Use editorial lists to discover studios. Then examine relevant projects, the studio’s contribution and the appointment it offers. Ask how its experience and working approach relate to your property.
Can I appoint an Italian interior design studio while living abroad?
Discuss how you will participate in reviews, assess samples and approve decisions. Agree site involvement and the relationship with your local architect and specialists before appointing.
Can AD’ work with my architect or family office?
Yes. We agree the interior design scope alongside your appointed team, including how recommendations are reviewed and approved. Design Direction and Technical & Project Review can address defined decisions or existing drawings.
How do I assess a studio when some projects are confidential?
Ask for relevant experience it is authorised to share. Assess the published roles and scope, the people who would lead your design and the written proposal for your property.
Who should lead my home redesign?
Start with the work the home needs. For building alterations or structural questions, agree the lead and responsibilities with your architect and relevant specialists. Include responsibility for any local approvals in that agreement. For the complete interior, appoint an interior design team that develops layout, materials, details and furniture together. AD’s Design Direction can represent your interests in the interiors and coordinate an appointed team that is developing the design.
Tell AD’ about the property, its location, the stage reached and the people involved. Outline the interior work you want to commission and the decisions ahead.