Anyone staying three weeks in an apartment unpacks, cooks, does the washing and leaves things lying around. The apartment changes tenant twelve times a year, and every guest lives in it to the full. We furnish residences and aparthotels as complete living units rather than oversized rooms: in a 32 square metre studio, we typically fit 3.2 linear metres of storage, twice what a hotel room of the same size offers. In-house design, manufacture through selected Italian workshops, and a single point of contact through to sign-off.
A living unit is not a room with a hob
The first difference is the living area, which has to work on its own: a table for eating and working, seating for the evening, lighting kept separate from the sleeping area. The second is the kitchen, which needs designing as a real kitchen even when it’s only 180 centimetres long. The third, the one operators forget most often, is the laundry.
A guest staying two weeks does washing. If you don’t provide a washing machine, they’ll wash clothes in the bathtub anyway and hang them on chairs and radiators: within a year the seating fabrics carry water stains and the wall behind the radiator marks. In the design we specify a 60 cm tall unit for a washing machine or washer-dryer, or alternatively a 45 cm deep slimline model in the bathroom, plus a ceiling or wall-mounted drying rack in the utility area. It costs little and removes the problem entirely. The operational differences between the various long-stay formats are clear-cut, and how an aparthotel works and how it’s furnished explains what changes compared with a classic hotel in terms of what each unit needs.
The kitchenette: where breakdowns concentrate
The standard kitchenette we deliver is a 180 or 240 cm straight run: a two or three-zone induction hob, a filtering extractor hood with an actual capacity above 300 m³ per hour, a 40×40 undermount stainless steel sink, an under-counter fridge 122 cm high or a 178 cm tall unit where space allows, a combined microwave oven set in a tall unit at 140 cm from the floor, and a 45 cm slimline dishwasher in two-room units.
The worktop is where we don’t cut costs. A 38 mm laminate with a post-formed edge copes badly with steam from a pan left boiling under the wall unit: it swells within six months at the joint near the hob. We use 12 mm compact HPL, quartz or porcelain stoneware, with a 6 cm upstand or a continuous backsplash up to the wall unit, sealed with anti-mould neutral-cure silicone that’s redone at sign-off. The doors under the sink are made from a moisture-resistant panel with sealed edging on all four sides, not just the two that show.
Wall units stop at 210 cm from the floor, and we close off the space above with a boxed-in top panel, because the open gap above wall units in a rented apartment ends up as a store of dust and grease that cleaning never reaches.
Storage for guests who stay for weeks
The calculation we make at design stage is simple: 120 cm of hanging rail per adult, a deep chest of drawers for linen, a tall clear space for two large closed suitcases, and a cupboard with a broom and vacuum cleaner, which residences typically leave for guests to use. In a two-room unit for four people, that means a three-door wardrobe in the bedroom plus an open unit in the entrance.
A sofa bed should be chosen for its mechanism, not its looks: an electro-welded three-fold base, a mattress at least 14 cm thick, a seat height of 44 cm and an opening that doesn’t require moving the table. Budget versions with an 8 cm mattress generate negative reviews with striking regularity, and the review about the bed outweighs any finish. The codes used to classify units and rooms vary from region to region, and room types and what their codes mean helps you understand what you’re actually selling on the booking portal.
What we build for a residence
Kitchenette and full kitchen
Base and wall units with doors in laminate or scratch-resistant melamine, worktops in compact HPL, porcelain stoneware or quartz, built-in appliances, a filtering extractor hood and an aluminium plinth. From 180 to 300 linear centimetres, including L-shaped layouts where the floor plan allows.
Living area
A sofa bed with a mechanism rated for daily use, an 80×80 table extending to 120, stackable chairs, a TV unit, a low bookcase and a rug. In studios we use a peninsula table fixed to the kitchen: it recovers 90 cm of walking space.
Sleeping area
Beds at 160×200 or two 90 cm singles that push together, bespoke headboards, bedside tables, hinged or sliding floor-to-ceiling wardrobes, and mirrors. In family units we include a pull-out third bed under the double.
Bathroom and utility room
Bespoke vanity units with water-resistant doors, tall units for linen, housing for a washing machine or washer-dryer, a ceiling-mounted drying rack, a broom cupboard and a lockable compartment for cleaning products where needed.
Entrance and service areas
Coat racks with a seat and drawer, a unit for keys and paperwork, storage cupboards for housekeeping trolleys on each floor, and shelving for linen in the storerooms. Floor logistics decide how long it takes to turn an apartment around.
Classification, amenities and unit numbers
A residence’s star rating is assigned against requirements that touch on the furniture too: minimum room sizes, number of beds per square metre, a properly equipped kitchen, and communal facilities. Designing without the regional table in front of you leads to redoing furniture that’s already installed, which is why we ask for the target rating before drawing anything. The parameters for higher-tier properties are stricter on floor area than on finishes, and the requirements for a four-star residence need to be read alongside the floor plan, not afterwards.
On the number of units, the logic is industrial: below ten units, the fixed cost of design and site visits weighs heavily on each individual apartment; above twenty, two or three layouts get standardised and the price per unit drops by 10 to 18%. The threshold for viable management follows similar reasoning, and how many rooms a property needs to be viable is a question worth asking before ordering the furniture, not after.
Anyone running residences for students or workers on assignment faces yet different constraints, and furnishing student housing calls for specific choices around desks, sound insulation and material durability.
Send us the floor plans for each unit type and the number of apartments: you’ll get back a quote for furnishing the residence with a sample unit, specification and installation schedule.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to furnish a residence apartment?
A complete studio with kitchen, living area and sleeping area runs from 7,500 to 14,000 euros; a two-room unit for four people from 11,000 to 20,000. The kitchen accounts for 30 to 35% of the total. With more than twenty units and two repeated layouts, the cost per apartment drops significantly.
Do you also supply the appliances?
Yes, built in and connected: induction hob, extractor hood, fridge, combined oven or microwave, dishwasher and washing machine. We list them in the specification by make and model, so you know exactly what’s arriving and which spare parts to keep in stock for replacements over the years.
What’s the difference between furnishing a residence and a hotel?
In a residence, the guest cooks, does washing and stays for a while, so you need double the storage, surfaces that cope with food and somewhere for laundry. In a hotel, turnover is fast and the design focuses on quick cleaning and resistance to heavy footfall. Turnaround times differ too, and that changes how the furniture is laid out.
How long does furniture last with this kind of use?
With a compact HPL worktop, 2 mm edging and contract-grade hardware, the kitchen in a rented apartment holds up for eight to ten years before needing serious work. The parts that need replacing sooner are the sink seals, the hinges on the doors under the hob and the sofa bed mattress.
Can you work while the property stays open?
Yes, in batches of apartments. One team installs a unit in one or two days, keeps the work confined to the landing and clears away packaging every evening. In residences with several stairwells, it’s best to work stairwell by stairwell, so bookings can be shifted onto a single block.