Renting Apartments in Italy – Points to Consider: Layout

Just as important as the location of a rental apartment, is the layout of the apartment – especially if you’re traveling with children.

The entrance: Historic buildings have a tendency to have old doors with antiquated locking mechanisms. These historic door handles and locks are just as fascinating to the little ones as they are to grown-ups – except that they can also be an irresistible challenge to those little hands.

When considering floor plans of potential apartments, I prefer to select an apartment with my child’s bedroom (or the space in which he will likely sleep – bedroom or not) in the back of the apartment for a few reasons:
- If he wakes up in the middle of the night and decides to try to open the fancy door, he will have to get past my husband and me on the way to that door. Extra steps and adults on the way to the door can be a deterrent.
- There tends to be less noise in the back of the apartment – not always, but usually. So, if the adults would like to stay up to discuss the day’s events, do a little laundry, and plan for the next day, the child can be safely tucked away in the back of the apartment (hopefully) getting some sleep.
- If you have any company over, guests can come and go through the front door, and not have to walk and talk past the room of the sleeping child. A tangent to this is that the child’s toys can be stowed in the back room, out of view (Bonus!).

When considering floor plans of potential apartments, pay close attention to the photographs – is there enough furniture for your group?
It can seem like an odd question, but rental apartments in Italy that are owned by everyday people with everyday budgets tend not to be generously furnished. It is common to find one open living area with a loveseat (two-person small couch) and maybe one wooden chair pointed toward a television. You will also see three-person sofas which are usually IKEA-style hide-a-beds – beautiful to look at, but with thin cushions and sometimes fragile framework. Look carefully at the pictures and count the number of spots for people to sit during waking hours. Everyone in your group will want to have a soft place to land and chat after a fun day of sight-seeing.

While you’re at it, check the number of chairs at the kitchen table or dining table – is there room for everyone? What fun is it to be able to shop at the markets and come back to the apartment to cook, if everyone can’t sit at the table?

Keep a close eye on the configuration of the beds, too. Beds that are referred to as “double” are close to the American bed size referred to as “full”. Is that big enough for you and your significant other? Sometimes an ad for an apartment will say that there are two single beds that can be pushed together. That configuration can sometimes buy you a little extra sleeping surface, but the sheets can be a problem. Don’t plan on those “single” beds to be standard American “twin-size” beds, either. They will be shorter and narrower.
While you’re thinking about the beds in the apartment, though, some attitude adjustment will probably be necessary. As a woman who is over six-feet-tall, I can understand the dread of knowing that I won’t fit properly on an Italian mattress. But it’s all in how you look at it. I will be staying in an apartment in Italy; living like the Italians do (sort of). How great is that? It’s fine with me if my feet and elbows hang off the sides a little – at least I’m in Italy. Expect it, plan for it, and go in with a good attitude about it.

In somma (in summary), when shopping for a rental apartment in Italy, think about:
1) Ways to ensure the safety of the most vulnerable members of your traveling group
2) The comfort of your group during waking hours
3) The comfort of your group during sleeping hours

Pay close attention to the photos on the Italy apartment rental sites and to the specific terms used in the apartment descriptions – you’ll find more information than you think, and you’ll make a more informed choice. I’ll have more points to consider about Italian rental apartment layouts in the next installment of this series.