ServicesHousehold management
Household management for private residences
Your house run to one standard, whether you are in residence or away.
The week of a house
What is done, and when, in a house we keep: an example week. Point at a day.
Sat
The family at home: the table laid, the pool and the boat ready, dinner for guests in the evening.
Point at a day, or let the week run.
We reply within one working day.
Where most houses start
- Every question ends up with you, even when you are abroad.
- The staff work hard, but each in their own way, and standards drift between your visits.
- Suppliers, repairs and invoices pile up, and nobody sees the house as a whole.
What we do
We take responsibility for the running of the house: the staff, the routines, the suppliers and the budget. One of us is your single point of contact, and everyone who works in the house knows it.
The standard is written in the House Book and agreed with you, so the house runs the same way whether you are in residence, travelling, or arriving tomorrow with guests.
What is included
- Day-to-day running of the house and its staff
- Routines, schedules and budgets agreed with the family
- Suppliers and contractors managed for you
- Inventories of silver, linen, wine and art
- Guests and events at home, received properly
How it works
How we work, in detailConversation
You tell us how the house is lived in, who works there and what is not working.
Visit and diagnosis
Two days in the house, with you or your house manager, to see how it really runs.
House Book and routines
We write the standard down, agree it with you and set the routines with the team.
Day-to-day running
As resident managers, on set days each week, or for the season, as agreed after the visit.
It is for you if
- You own a house in Italy or Switzerland and are often away from it.
- You have staff, or need them, and want one person to answer for the whole house.
- You receive guests and want the house ready without checking it yourself.
- You want the way you live written down, so it survives changes of staff.
It is not for you if
- You need a cleaning company once a week: a good local company will serve you better.
- You want the house let to holidaymakers: we look after homes the family lives in.
- You would rather nothing were written down: our method depends on the House Book.
If your own team will do the work
PDF and editable Word library
The Household SOP Library
Forty standard operating procedures for a private house, ready to adapt: the routines a new member of staff should find written down on day one.
€149
Questions families ask
Do you live in the house?
It depends on the house. We work as resident managers, as visiting managers on set days each week, or for the season, and agree the arrangement after the visit.
Can you work with the staff we already have?
Yes, and we usually prefer to. Most houses need clearer, written routines more than new people, and the House Book gives everyone the same reference.
Who pays the staff and the suppliers?
The family does, from a household budget agreed with you. We check every invoice against it, so you can see where each euro or franc goes.
How will we hear from you?
In the way you prefer: a short written note each week, a call, or both. Anything urgent is reported the same day.
How is the fee set?
Household management is a monthly fee, quoted after the first conversation and the visit, because no two houses are alike.
Tell us about the house.
Tell us how the house is lived in today. The first conversation takes thirty minutes and commits you to nothing.
We reply within one working day.