Kim Johnson first fell in love with Tuscany during a backpacking trip through Europe with her sister in 1983. Nearly 40 years later, she returned—this time with friends and fellow Manhattan Beach residents Beth and Mary—for what she calls a “property-search adventure.”
“I have a passion for traveling and was watching House Hunters International when I came across a couple looking at property in northern Italy,” Kim says. “It got my curiosity going.”
Kim had plenty of experience recognizing a home’s potential. She and her former husband flipped and renovated four properties before building their Manhattan Beach home in 2005.
“I’ve always had an interest in design and finding good bones in old properties to renovate,” she says. “After my divorce, my son, Nick, and I moved from our family home in the Tree Section to a duplex in the Sand Section. During that transition, when Nick was in eighth grade, he became very interested in helping me design and decorate our new home.”
Nick, now studying environmental design at the University of Colorado Boulder, grew up traveling extensively with his mom, developing an appreciation for architecture, other cultures and international design. So when Kim purchased an apartment in the medieval Tuscan village of Fivizzano in 2023, he eagerly joined her renovation adventure.
Known as “Little Florence,” Fivizzano won Kim over with its Renaissance piazza, historic churches, charming cafés and convenient location between the coast and the mountains. Their third-floor apartment was in fair condition when they purchased it, but they immediately saw its potential.
“Nick and I loved the bones of our apartment—the incredible natural light, soaring ceilings and the small balcony off the kitchen,” Kim says. “We could immediately envision what it could become.”
They hired Marco Cardellini, an Italian geometra (contractor/project manager), and architect Giorgio Valenti to oversee the renovation.
“Marco and Giorgio handled all the sourcing for masonry, electrical, plumbing, new bathrooms and the reconfiguration of the rooms,” Kim explains. “Nick and I were involved in every design decision, from the kitchens and bathrooms to the lighting, furnishings, artwork, appliances and accessories.”
The collaboration took place almost entirely from 6,000 miles away through countless emails and WhatsApp messages and multiple trips to Italy.
“Sometimes there were challenges with electrical outlets, light placement or bathroom fixtures,” Nick says. “You have to go with the flow and stay flexible if you’re renovating in another country.”
During one whirlwind trip to Carrara, the pair visited a marble design studio and selected all of the stone for the bathrooms, kitchen backsplash and custom dining table before catching their flight back to Milan.
One of the greatest surprises has been the friendships they’ve formed along the way. The neighbors living directly below their apartment have become part of their extended Italian family.
“Paola loves to cook farm-to-table traditional Italian feasts using ingredients from her garden,” Kim says. “She makes seasonal dishes like grilled wild boar, truffle pasta and roasted tomato tarts. She never lets a trip go by without inviting Nick and me over for one of her incredible dinners.”
The renovation experience—and the Italian lifestyle—proved so rewarding that Kim and Nick made a second investment, purchasing a 19th-century stone cottage in the hillside village of Mazzolla, about 12 kilometers from Fivizzano. Completed in May, the cottage had previously served as an artist’s weekend retreat from Milan.
“We call it the Pink Cottage because of its beautiful pink façade,” Nick says. “Giorgio also told us it was once used as a chestnut-drying house.”
The cottage required far more extensive work than the apartment. Years of water damage had to be repaired, and Kim and Nick wanted to relocate the kitchen to free up the original fireplace for a larger living room. The bathroom was completely reconfigured, creating space for a small adjacent office and studio. Master mason and artisan Adrian Munteanu completed the entire renovation in just over a year.
Looking ahead, they hope to renovate the cantina beneath the cottage and possibly acquire an adjacent abandoned structure, transforming it into an outdoor terrace.
“I love the entire process of renovating and furnishing both properties and seeing the transformation from start to finish,” Kim says. “Nick and I have shared so many laughs—and yes, a few late-night arguments along the way.”
Kim plans to apply for Italy’s digital nomad visa, allowing her to spend a year living in Tuscany while continuing her remote therapy practice. Nick hopes to keep returning during his winter and summer breaks from college.
“This may have been a crazy midlife adventure—buying and renovating properties in Italy,” Kim says. “But I wouldn’t trade it for anything, especially because I got to share this incredible journey with Nick.”
