A narrative-driven patchwork of experience, the Saints-Pères apartment by Parisian architect and interior designer Hugo Toro pays homage to the past while respectfully layering contemporary gestures to create a sense of warmth and sophistication.
Located in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Saints-Pères apartment celebrates honest materiality, vivid contrasts, colour, and form. Working with a client whose brief was to create a unique setting to reside in during their regular visits to Paris, Hugo Toro’s reimagining of the Haussmannian apartment creates a sense of drama around every turn.
The living room features striking volumes of bespoke yellow travertine and aged brass panels, creating contrast and separating the space. The sofa, rug, and travertine screen are custom.
“I like the experience of space to feel theatrical as if each room is a set design, and I’m here to visually and physically connect them to create a kind of ‘life-pilgrimage’ through the different rooms,” Hugo says. “That’s why, in the Saints-Pères apartment, we’ve used many of the same materials, incorporated mirror reflections, points of view and angles that enable visibility from one room to another from the moment you enter,” he adds.
Featuring the timeless hallmarks of a Haussmannian building — high ceilings, stained-glass windows, herringbone parquet floors, and intricate detailing — the space’s existing heritage architecture is artfully combined with notes of modernity throughout, imbuing a stronger sense of character. Bold, decorative gestures bring the theatrical vision to life alongside a beautifully curated furniture collection of contemporary and vintage pieces, some custom-designed and others sourced from Parisian flea markets. It is a stunning ensemble where nothing matches, yet everything belongs.
The dining room features a travertine fireplace and chairs by Willy Rizzo, sofa by Pierre Augustin Rose, a table and chandelier by Garnier & Linker, and nesting bowls by Jaimal Odedra.
The statement green Cassina 4 Chaise longue à réglage continu sits boldly within the living space.
In the kitchen, all counters, floor, and walls are clad in a graphic Brèche de Médicis marble. The rotisserie, range, and hood are from La Cornue, and the cabinets are coated in a custom red lacquer from Redfield & Dattner.
Travertine features throughout the Saints-Pères apartment, used in ambitious volumes across all main areas of the home, including the monumental fireplace in the dining room, the sculptural screen with four rotating panels in the living room and kitchen, and across the walls and floors of the bathroom.
“I wanted something that would be pre-Columbian inspired while also feeling contemporary, and we have used travertine in a few different areas to showcase this statement,” Hugo says. “The yellow travertine panels with aged brass are a bespoke element that serves the function of separating the space while also creating a contrast and different point of view […] it’s an oxymoron between rough and elegant,” he reflects.
Warm, joyful, timeless, and sophisticated — the Saints-Pères apartment is beautifully reflective of Hugo Toro’s design philosophy, which ultimately aims to create spaces that are contextually responsive. “I’m here to create an atmosphere that answers a scenario,” Hugo says. “In this way, I want my designs to have a narrative and be a patchwork of experience,” he concludes.
Featured in the bedroom is an original multi-coloured stained-glass window. The chair is by Timothée Musset and the curtains are from Silva Paris. The carpet and the leather bed frame are custom-designed.
The bathroom features red Languedoc and white Carrara marble on the floor and green Alpine marble on the walls and in the sink. The bathtub is by Bette and faucets are designed by Lalique.
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