On the golden shoreline of Forte dei Marmi, where the pine trees lean lazily toward the sea and bicycles outnumber cars, Villa Romano sits with an effortless kind of grandeur. Built in the 1950s and once the summer refuge of writer and journalist Romano Battaglia, the house had slipped into a sort of elegant slumber – its bones intact, its soul undisturbed. When it passed to his niece, Margherita, she approached its revival not with a designer’s eye, but with the clear intention of preserving what was already there – refining rather than reinventing.

Over the course of three years, the house was brought gently back to life – its patina preserved, its memories carefully threaded through the fabric of the new. Interiors came first. Then the façade. And finally, the garden, where the scent of sun-warmed pine and the hush of the nearby sea are now joined by the gentle splash of a pool, thoughtfully placed among the trees.

The house is expansive yet measured. Its six bedrooms each unfold with their own mood and melody, layered with natural linens, vintage rattan, and chalky whites just tinged with green – Farrow & Ball shades chosen to echo the filtered light through the garden’s maritime canopy. The atmosphere feels unmistakably Tuscan, but there’s an English softness to it too, shaped by Margherita’s two decades in London. South African textiles appear in small, joyful bursts – a nod to her husband’s roots – while furnishings from La Cestaia, a local family favourite, hold court alongside Fermoie lampshades and cushions, lending just the right amount of pattern and punctuation.

The bathrooms, untouched since the house was built, were completely reworked: British fittings set against Italian marble, classic forms softened by age and memory. Carrara marble, chosen for its local resonance as much as its beauty, clads the walls, while warm parquet runs underfoot. The master ensuite, once her uncle’s light-filled painting studio, now holds a freestanding tub where his easel once stood. Across the room, a generously proportioned walk-in shower pairs chrome fittings with cool marble veining – classic, clean and timeless.

Every detail is considered. The blue guest bathroom is centred around a rich blue bath, an impulsive, joyful choice that instantly felt right. Its colour speaks to the sea just beyond the window. The Windermere double vanity adds a sense of vintage gravitas, its sculptural lines anchored by the soft veining of Carrara marble.

Much like the rest of the house, the bathrooms don’t shout. They whisper. Of ease, of craftsmanship, of something solid and lasting. Drummonds pieces, chosen for their proportions and their permanence, appear throughout. Their quiet luxury feels entirely in keeping with the house’s origins – more seaside novel than show home.

Villa Romano was just the beginning. What started as a one-off restoration has grown into the foundations of a small, curated collection of heritage homes – each with its own voice, its own rhythm, and, always, the unmistakable elegance of Drummonds. With a second project now complete, the “Romano Collection” already spans two distinctive properties.