It’s arrivederci to rustic charm, as villa owners upgrade to attract wealthy holidaymakers who are demanding all mod cons and designer kitchens

“The qualities needed are far higher and more complex than 10 years ago. There is a demand for detail. Bathrooms have to be spacious, with top-end designer bathtubs and sinks. And just spending the money is not enough. You have to have style. Each property needs to be a signature house.”

No pressure, then, but Ball is on hand to advise on how to refurbish and upgrade for the new market, which he says can earn owners up to €10,000 (£8,700) a week in high season. This helps cover the costs of maintaining a Tuscan pad, which are considerable even before you factor in hiring staff to look after the place.

It seems you can never be too grand to let your residence. Ball is having a busy winter helping clients upgrade their properties for the coming season, and among those who have sought his help are Alessandra and Lorenzo Niccolini, the marchesa and marchese of Camugliano. Their estate lies between Ponsacco and Capannoli, south of the Fi-Pi-Li, the infamous motorway that links Florence to Pisa and Livorno. It has been in the family since an ancestor bought it from the Medici in 1637 and created a magnificent Renaissance villa from the single tower that stood at the centre of the land.

“I took up the estate in 1973, at the age of 21,” Lorenzo recalls. “I love the place, but there’s a lot of spending to keep it up.” The pheasant shooting at Camugliano between October and January, overseen by the English gamekeeper, is renowned, but the aristocratic lifestyle needs additional funding, so a programme of cautious development has been undertaken. “We try to conserve, but also to modernise,” he says.

Alessandra has opened a stately boutique hotel in the family palazzo in Florence (palazzodicamugliano.com), and one of the former farmhouses on the 1,500-acre estate has been converted into a more modest locanda, or restaurant with rooms. This is open all year round, serves organic food grown on the Camugliano farms and has become a hub for the rural community. Other estate houses have been restored and let to local people, so that, as Lorenzo says, when overseas visitors come to rent one of his holiday homes, “they can find local life”.

It is one of these holiday rentals that Ball has been advising on. The Poggio ai Grilli farmhouse had already been done up for rental in 1999, with some ancestral furniture, but, says the marchesa: “Simon pointed out the important things — he knows what people look for, especially the ways the rooms are organised. We didn’t think of having one bathroom for every bedroom. So we’re going to add a few doors and create two suites for privacy. Instead of a six-bedroom house, it will be advertised as four bedrooms, each ensuite, and two of the suites will have an extra bedroom — useful for children. We’re upgrading the concept, and there will be more privacy, but we retain the rustic sensibility.”

They’ll also replace twin beds with doubles, and “a bit of redecorating” will make sure there’s none of that best room/worst room scenario, which can sour the holiday vibe between sharing families or friends.

So that’s inside, but outside is just as important, Ball says, not least for making it look good in the all-important website photo gallery. The worn-out and unlovely gravel at the front and back of the house will be replaced with lawn turf, and half of the high oleander hedge will be taken down so the pool is visible from the house (but will remain protected from the gaze of anyone passing on one of the estate tracks). There will be much more emphasis on outdoor living, with a secluded nook for relaxing and reading in the alcove that still holds the original oven.

Smart new outdoor furniture, including sofas and armchairs — one of Ball’s must-do improvements — will be installed in pergolas, creating new shaded dining and lounging areas. His go-to brands include Paola Lenti, Dedon and Royal Botania. One of the pergolas will be on the raised oblong concrete slab known as the concimaia — formerly the site of the farm’s dung heap. The ping-pong table will be moved to a space near the guesthouse, which contains another bedroom suite.

Poggio ai Grilli was already comfortable, stylish and a bit grand: there’s an imposing portrait of a 14th-century Niccolini — Lapo, a Florentine political grandee — in the vaulted living area. The farmhouse will have other high-end essentials: wi-fi, of course; a cook, who will also shop for food; and a maid to prepare breakfast and clean. The changes Ball has advised will, he says, “ensure a higher price, as the new layout and added comforts appeal to a segment of the market that expects ever higher standards”.

Less than 10 miles from Florence, at Podere Nuccioli, manager Udesh Virasinghe, who used to be in the hotel business, and his wife look after guests on the 28-acre estate near the town of Fiesole. In 2006, when it was bought by the fashion retail consultants Jeremy and Jane Blanchard, it was a wreck. They hadn’t wanted a project, but, says Jeremy: “Everything we saw was restored and we would have been paying a lot for a rustic Italian style we didn’t like.”

They transformed the estate into a chic house fit for the pages of a magazine: Blanchard calls it “a modern, international approach to living — one of the great reasons for doing a property in Italy is the fun you can have with the great lighting and furniture companies”.

The couple opened up the spaces and the views, and installed a Gaggenau kitchen, Portuguese sandstone flooring and deluxe bathrooms for all five bedrooms. Podere Nuccioli also has a steam room and a circular spa bath with coloured lights, a gym, iPod docks, in-room speakers, underfloor heating, air-con and plenty of striking modern art. They did retain one traditional touch to remind them of the days when chickens pecked where the spa bath is now: the old frantoio, or olive press, is displayed like a museum exhibit in a white lobby on the ground floor.

You won’t be surprised to learn that this was all done “without consideration of costs, security, leaving it empty — it was our dream home”. But now the Blanchards, who live in Oxford with their two children, say they “don’t want to feel compelled to go all the time. We’ll let the property to contribute to the upkeep, and we’ll enjoy it like everyone else does.”

Fabulous though the house already is, Ball still suggested a few upgrades. “The owners did a superb job with the interior, but it needed attention outside,” he says. “Of course they will use the fantastic kitchen, but basically our clients want to live outdoors. A hub is needed where everyone meets before and after dinner, and the courtyard is the ideal location.

“A canvas cover needs to be added between the main building and the old pigsty, with a seating area for at least 10 people, where you get the views towards Fiesole. A second dining area is being installed near the guesthouse — the space by the pool is fine for a snack or doing some work in the day, but the rule is, you need a dining area within a few paces of the fridge.

Other suggestions focused on the children’s rooms. “We did recommend taking out some of the toys from the kids’ rooms, but they remain kids’ rooms,” Ball says. “Our clients appreciate that we offer high-end private homes, so family photos are expected.”

Podere Nuccioli is advertised at a weekly rate of between £5,050 and £8,417, and the first rental is booked for April. Blanchard reckons 10 weeks will cover their costs. Tuscany Now & More typically takes 30% of the rental income as its fee.

The owner of a Tuscan property perched on a hillside near Scansano has enjoyed his lavishly restored house with his wife, children and grandchildren for 20 years, but now finds that letting it helps to cover “the big cost of maintaining the staff to look after it”. The property, I Poggi, is available for £5,705 a week in high season.

As Blanchard found, if you lavish enough attention — and money — on your house when you do it up, Ball won’t find much to change indoors. But what matters then is the outdoor spaces. “We had to replace some of the outside furniture, which was a little tired, and put a pergola on the terrace for sundowners overlooking the island of Elba,” says the owner of I Poggi, a Londoner.

A new sense of professionalism is what’s demanded now, Ball adds, and never forget the need for a communal eating zone. “We’ve had a couple of rental seasons with six bedrooms in the main house and two in the pool house. There is a niche in the market for larger properties, but you need to think about where 16 people can sit to dine together.”

The owner was fine with that, but has resisted Ball’s recommendation to install air conditioning: “We have a constant breeze here at 600 metres.”

Top rental properties

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Poggio ai Grilli
On the Camugliano estate, a half-hour drive south of Pisa, this six-bedroom farmhouse is being reconfigured with four ensuite bedrooms. The salon, which has a vaulted ceiling, will remain as is, but the exterior is being zhuzhed up. The gravel at the front and back is to be replaced with a smart lawn, and new outdoor sofas and armchairs will complete the look.

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Podere Nuccioli
This home adds a splash of yellow to the green canvas of hills leading down to Florence. It started out as a wreck, but has been restored by its owners, with a Gaggenau kitchen, Portuguese sandstone flooring, a gym and a steam room. It sleeps 12 people and the pool is heated, just in case the temperature drops. Although there’s space to snack or work by the pool, a second dining area is being created closer to the guesthouse — and the fridge. The British owners let the property when they’re not using it, contributing to its upkeep. It’s available to rent from £5,050 to £8,417 a week.

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I Poggi
Set atop a hillside near Scansano, which is known for its red wine and olive oil, this lavishly restored home sleeps up to 16 people. On a working farm estate, and surrounded by acres of farmland, it has the mandatory private pool, but this one has an infinity edge that can be lit at night. It’s let for £5,705 a week in high season, including maid service. From the new pergola, guests can sip sundowners while enjoying views of Elba, where Napoleon spent a few months in exile.