A couple who bought a Renaissance house in Italy for €350,000 are now renovating it into the house of their dreams – and spending a lot more than they originally planned.
Peter and Maggie Devlin, an Irish-American couple, both 65, were looking to move to Europe for their retirement.
After much debate, they decided on Tuscany’s Unesco-listed Val d’Orcia valley near Montalcino. “We love Brunello di Montalcino wine! Well, we love any wine from this region!” jokes Mrs Devlin.
The couple currently live in Oceanside, California but hope to move to their new home as soon as possible. Mr Devlin, a retired software engineer who is affected by Usher Syndrome and was born completely deaf, may not be able to see much longer.
“We decided it was time to purchase a home base in Europe so Peter could memorise the location of items and rooms in one permanent house and have some independence,” says Mrs Devlin.
The couple finally found a run-down historic palazzo for €350,000 (£305,427) that needed work completing before they could move in.
The house, dating back to the 1500s, is located in the picturesque town of Castiglione D’Orcia, near Siena. The five-level palazzo has “jaw dropping” views and is about 3,000 square-feet with two terraces, balconies and a garden.
Purchased a year ago, the couple is now busy restoring the palazzo with medieval-style décor to return the property to its original charm.
Mrs Devlin wants the house more traditionally styled and medieval-looking: “One major change is we will have a bespoke front door made. We asked that they put old nails in it and distress the wood so it will look original to home.”
Internal arches are being added alongside traditional Tuscan terracotta tiles and chandeliers.
The second floor will have the look of a Tuscan farmhouse while the third floor will have elements of a Tuscan palazzo.
Originally the plan was to invest €100,000 (£87,265) to modernise the house because the water and electrics had not been updated since the 1960s.
However, Mrs Devlin ultimately decided to overhaul the building’s structure, tearing down walls, redoing rooms and bathrooms and adding new ones. She also added luxury items such as a Carrera marble fireplace and a jacuzzi on the roof terrace.
“As we thought and dreamed about what the place could become, our costs increased and increased. We decided that it would be worth it to put a small elevator in because we want to use the place into our 80s,” a retired special education teacher who taught deaf and dyslexic children, told The i Paper.
They are not entirely sure how much the cost will come to in the end.
“We have let our dreams lead us over the original budget, but we are happy that we will have the house of our dreams in Tuscany for the price of a boring two-bedroom in California,” Mrs Devlin said.
Back in California a similar property would be four times the Devlins’ Tuscan investment, while in Ireland its equivalent would be a castle in a historic town center, in the range of millions of euros, they believe.
The couple, but plans to spend more time in Tuscany in future, envisions their Italian property as a “family home” where they can spend time with children and grandchildren.
However, Italian bureaucracy is delaying the completion of the works, Mrs Devlin says.
“The contract for the renovation that we signed said the work would be completed on 30 July. It is now September, and I think it is halfway done. But we hope to move in the second floor by October.”
The work on the exterior of the house including the terraces and balconies has not yet begun. It is still pending the green light from the Unesco committee in Siena, given the house is located in the old centre where strict building rules apply.
The couple says other people embarking on ambitious renovations of old Italian homes should to do their homework. Spend time researching the process and whether the renovation one envisions is actually possible, the couple warns.
“If you buy in a Unesco world heritage area, every external modification down to the paint colour will be micromanaged and it will take months and months,” she warns.
If you have a strict budget, overestimate the costs of the changes: “Unpredicted problems will pop up. Try to keep your dreams in check. It is very easy to go over budget, so try to get estimates before the work starts.”
