How we work
Nothing left to memory.
Four steps, a written standard for every house, and one person who answers for it.
The House Book
The family
Who lives in the house, who visits, and how each person likes things done.
Four steps, at your pace
A private conversation
Thirty minutes, by video or in person in Milan. You tell us about the house, the family, the seasons and what is not working, and we tell you honestly whether we are the right people. It commits you to nothing, and we sign a confidentiality agreement first if you wish.
A visit and the House Book
Two days in the house, with you or your house manager, to see how it really runs. Then we write the House Book: the family's preferences, every room, the routines, the suppliers and the protocols. You read it and agree it with us, room by room.
The team and the routines
We set the routines with the people who will follow them and hand the House Book over to your team, in the house. Where a role is missing, we define it with you.
The house kept, season after season
We run the house ourselves, or your team does with us beside them, on a rhythm agreed with you. The House Book is brought up to date every season, so nothing depends on one person's memory.
What we mean by a kept house
One person answers for it
You always know whom to call, and so does everyone who works in the house.
Written, not remembered
Preferences, routines and inventories live in the House Book, not in someone's head.
Ready before it is needed
Rooms, cars and provisions are prepared before anyone has to ask.
Checked, not assumed
Rooms are checked against the House Book before every arrival.
The family's way
We keep the house the way you live in it, not the way we would.
Quiet
Service is seen when it is needed, and not otherwise.
The House Book
Every house we keep has one. The family's preferences, inventories, routines, suppliers and protocols, written down and kept current. When people change, the house remembers.
What is inside
The family
Who lives in the house, who visits, and how each person likes things done.
The rooms
Every room, what is in it, how it is cleaned and how it is set.
Inventories
Silver, crystal, porcelain, linen, wine and art, counted and dated.
Routines
What happens every day, every week and at each change of season.
Suppliers and contacts
Whom to call for what, with the terms agreed.
Guests, keys and security
Arrivals and departures, protocols, and who holds which key.
The same method is available as an editable kit for house managers and family offices.
Confidentiality
Discretion is not a policy. It is the job.
- Everyone on our side signs a confidentiality agreement before entering the house, using your agreement or ours.
- We never name the families we work for, in public or in private.
- References are shared privately, on request, with the consent of the families who give them.
- Staff are briefed on photographs, phones and social media from their first day.
- Your details stay with the people who need them to do the work, and nobody else.
Questions about the method
What happens in the first conversation?
You tell us about the house and what you need; we ask questions and explain how we would approach it. It lasts about thirty minutes and commits you to nothing.
Do you visit the house before we decide?
Yes. The visit is the second step, and you can decide after it.
Can the House Book be written in more than one language?
Yes. It can be kept in the family's language and in the language of the staff, so everyone works to the same standard.
What if we already have a house manager?
Then we work with them. The House Book gives them a written standard, and gives the family a clear view of how the house runs.
Shall we start with a conversation?
Thirty minutes, by video or in person in Milan. You tell us about the house, and we tell you honestly how we would keep it.
We reply within one working day.