Bands by package
| Package | Current level | High-end | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porcelain floor tiles | EUR 25 - 45/m2 | EUR 70 - 150/m2 | Large formats and textured effects at the top |
| Wood flooring | EUR 50 - 80/m2 | EUR 120 - 300/m2 | Premium species, thicknesses, patterned laying |
| Natural stone and marble | EUR 60 - 120/m2 | EUR 180 - 500/m2 | Bespoke cutting and special finishes |
| Bathroom wall finishes | EUR 25 - 50/m2 | EUR 90 - 250/m2 | Large-format slabs, mosaics |
| Windows | EUR 400 - 600/m2 | EUR 800 - 1,600/m2 | Timber-aluminium, minimal frames, wide openings |
| Complete bathroom | EUR 8,000 - 12,000 | EUR 20,000 - 45,000 | Sanitaryware, taps, enclosures, furniture |
| Internal doors | EUR 350 - 600 | EUR 900 - 2,500 | Flush-to-wall, timber species, non-standard heights |
Prices include supply and installation, with the caveat that in the high-end installation grows faster than supply: large-format slabs, bespoke stone and minimal-frame windows require specialist crews, longer times and tight tolerances. A premium material badly installed costs like premium and is worth like ordinary.
Where premium pays off and where it does not
It pays off where you touch and live every day: floors of the main areas, windows (which combine appearance, performance and durability), taps and ironmongery, kitchen and bathroom worktops. These are high-contact elements, where the quality difference is perceived daily and durability justifies the price.
It pays off less where it is invisible or replaceable: finishes in utility rooms, doors to secondary spaces, surfaces in low-traffic areas. Here high-end is spending without perceptual return.
From this asymmetry comes the most effective strategy: the hierarchy of finishes. Concentrating the premium budget on three or four decisive elements and keeping current level elsewhere produces a result perceived as high-end at an intermediate cost. Spreading high-end uniformly across everything, by contrast, multiplies the spending without multiplying the perception.
The effect on total cost
On the 80 m2 apartment of the reference bill of quantities, moving the finishes alone from current level to high-end shifts the total as follows. Structural and services work remains unchanged.
| Scenario | Finishes items | Total works |
|---|---|---|
| Current level | ~EUR 32,000 | ~EUR 78,000 |
| High-end throughout | ~EUR 78,000 | ~EUR 124,000 |
| Hierarchy (premium on floors, windows, main bathroom) | ~EUR 50,000 | ~EUR 96,000 |
The third row is the most frequent case in successful renovations: 23 per cent more than current level, against 59 per cent for indiscriminate high-end, with a perceived result very close to it. Concentrating spend on a few rooms gives a perceived result close to high-end.
Note: the figures shown are 2026 orders of magnitude for the Italian market, for guidance only, and in the high-end the variability is by nature very wide. Every choice must be verified against samples and specific quotes.