Interior Design and Fit-Out in Sicily
Interior design and fit-out by the same team that builds: concept, Sicilian materials, custom joinery, lighting, kitchens and bathrooms, through to a furnished, turnkey home.
About This Service
Terra Nostra Costruzioni designs and fits out interiors for renovations and new homes across Sicily, and the same team that draws the rooms also builds them. Based in Palermo and working across the whole island, we take a project from the first concept with interior designers through materials, custom joinery, lighting, kitchens and bathrooms, all the way to a furnished, turnkey handover. Our clients are Italian and international homeowners, from a single apartment to a villa or the piano nobile of a palazzo.
Keeping design and construction under one roof changes what an interior can be. The lighting scheme is fixed before the electrician runs a single cable, so sockets, switches and recessed fittings land exactly where the furniture plan needs them. Niches, built-in wardrobes and the run of a kitchen are set out on site at the rough plaster stage rather than squeezed in afterwards. When an old wall turns out to hide a stone arch or a stretch of original floor, the designer and the site team decide together, on the spot, whether to bring it back into the room.
Our interiors start from what Sicily already does well. We work with local stone, maiolica and handmade terracotta, lime plasters, and joinery made to measure by craftsmen, and we combine them with contemporary kitchens, bathrooms and lighting so the house works for the way people live now. Every material is also chosen for the building it goes into: a lime finish suits stone walls that need to breathe, while a sealed stone worktop suits a busy kitchen by the sea.
We are used to larger and more demanding projects, with more than 200 completed, and they are the ones we prefer: listed buildings, villas and high-end homes for private clients who expect complete discretion. We are just as happy to work alongside your own interior designer or architect, turning their drawings into detailed specifications and finished rooms, or to bring in the designers we collaborate with when you start from a blank page. Whether the brief is a pared-back apartment in Palermo's historic centre or a family villa on the coast, the method and the standard stay the same.
For clients who live abroad, the whole process runs in English or Italian, with samples, renders and decisions shared remotely, and weekly photo and video updates let you follow the fit-out from wherever you are. The result is an interior where design intent and build quality match, because one team was responsible for both.
From concept to construction drawings: how interior design works with the build
An interior project with us begins with how you want to live in the house: who uses which rooms, where the morning light falls, how much storage you need, whether the kitchen is for serious cooking or for entertaining. From that brief, the interior designer prepares a concept with a palette of materials and colours, a furniture layout and the first ideas for lighting. We review it with you in person or by video call and refine it until the direction is clear and agreed.
The concept then becomes construction information, and this is where a building company adds most. Our site team checks every idea against the real walls, floor levels and services of the property: whether a wall can be opened, whether a floor can carry a stone bath, where drainage can run for a kitchen island. The final drawings show joinery, tiling layouts, lighting points and finishes in enough detail for the trades to build them exactly, so nothing is left to interpretation on site. If the works need a CILA or SCIA, the same drawings feed straight into the filing.
Sicilian materials and craft: stone, maiolica, terracotta and lime finishes
Sicily offers an unusually rich palette for interiors, and we use it with restraint. Hand-painted maiolica from ceramic towns such as Caltagirone and Santo Stefano di Camastra works on kitchen splashbacks, bathroom walls and stair risers. Local stone ranges from the dark lava stone of the Etna area to the honey limestone of Ragusa and Modica and the soft calcarenite of Noto, while marble from Custonaci, near Trapani, is still quarried for floors and worktops. Handmade terracotta and old cement tiles (cementine) give floors warmth and a sense of history.
Finishes matter as much as materials. In old stone houses we favour lime plasters and lime washes, because they let thick walls breathe and help keep damp under control, where a modern acrylic paint would trap it. Where original floors, beams or tiles survive, we often lift, clean and relay them, or restore them in place, rather than replace them. We source from suppliers and workshops across the island and handle samples, orders and deliveries, so the materials you approved are the ones that arrive on site.
Custom joinery, kitchens and bathrooms built to fit old walls
Very few walls in a Sicilian house are straight, and off-the-shelf furniture shows it. We design joinery for the room as it really is: wardrobes set into thick walls, bookcases around arched openings, window seats under deep stone reveals, internal doors and shutters made to match the originals. Craftsmen build each piece to dimensions measured on site, in solid wood or veneered panels, and our team installs it once plastering and floors are complete.
Kitchens and bathrooms are where design and plumbing meet, so we plan them together. For a kitchen we fix the position of the sink, hob, extraction and appliances early, then design the cabinetry, worktops and lighting around them. For bathrooms we choose shower trays, wall-hung sanitaryware and concealed cisterns that suit the building, then set out the tiles so that cuts fall in sensible places. Waterproofing under showers and wet areas is done before any tile goes down, because a leak in an old floor can ruin the ceiling below. As the same company installs the systems and the finishes, one party is responsible for the result.
Lighting, furnishing and turnkey handover across Sicily
Lighting is designed as part of the interior, not added at the end. We plan layers for each room: general light, task light over worktops and desks, and accent light for stone walls, vaulted ceilings or artwork. Positions, circuits and dimming are agreed before the electrical first fix, and in historic buildings fittings are chosen and placed so they do not damage frescoes, beams or decorated ceilings. Where a room gets little daylight, as the ground floors of many old town houses do, the scheme is planned to make up for it.
When the building work is complete, we can take the house all the way to turnkey. That means sourcing furniture, rugs, curtains and lamps, ordering bespoke pieces, coordinating deliveries and placing everything to the agreed plan, down to the kitchen equipment and linen if you want it. It suits clients who live abroad or are finishing a second home and want to arrive to a house that is ready. We deliver interiors from Palermo and Cefalù to Taormina, Siracusa, Noto, Ragusa, Catania and Trapani, and wherever else on the island the project happens to be.
What's Included
Why Choose Terra Nostra
Our Process
A clear, structured approach ensures your project runs smoothly from start to finish.
Brief and site visit
We visit the property, measure it and listen to how you want to live in it, in English or Italian.
Interior concept
The interior designer presents layouts, materials, colours and lighting ideas for your review.
Technical design
Our team turns the concept into drawings and specifications checked against the real building.
Samples and ordering
You approve finishes from physical samples, then we order materials and commission the joinery.
Build and fit-out
Systems, plastering, floors, tiling, joinery and lighting are installed by one coordinated team.
Furnishing and handover
Furniture and accessories are delivered and placed, and the finished home is handed over.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our interior design and fit-out in sicily services
Do you design the interior and also carry out the works?
Yes. Terra Nostra Costruzioni designs interiors with interior designers and builds them with its own coordinated team, from systems and plastering to joinery, kitchens, bathrooms and furnishing. One company is responsible for both the design and the result.
Can I bring my own interior designer or architect?
Yes. We are happy to work with designers and architects chosen by the client. We turn their drawings into specifications, source the materials, build the interior and keep them involved in decisions on site.
Do you offer interior design for new builds as well as renovations?
Yes. We design and fit out interiors for renovated houses, apartments, villas and historic buildings, and for the new homes we build. On a new build, the interior plan can shape the position of walls, windows and services from the start.
Can traditional Sicilian materials work in a modern interior?
Yes, and they often give the best result. Local stone, maiolica, terracotta and lime finishes sit well beside contemporary kitchens, bathrooms and lighting. We choose each material for how it will perform in that house, not only for how it looks.
Can you furnish the house so it is ready to live in?
Yes. As part of a turnkey project we source and install furniture, lighting, curtains, rugs and accessories to the agreed plan, so you arrive to a finished home.
Do you work outside Palermo?
Yes. Terra Nostra is based in Palermo and delivers interior design and fit-out across the whole of Sicily, including Cefalù, Taormina, Catania, Siracusa, Noto, Ragusa and Trapani.
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