A new generation of interior architects is revolutionizing the traditional Haussmann apartment aesthetic, moving far beyond conventional stereotypes to create stunning spaces that blend classic codes with contemporary design. These innovative professionals are not hesitating to twist traditional elements and create decor that seamlessly mixes different stylistic languages, as showcased in seven exceptional apartments featured in Architectural Digest.
The first apartment demonstrates how typical Haussmann architecture can accommodate oversized contemporary artworks. Interior decorator Allen Kirsch has successfully combined Parisian charm with large-format contemporary works he creates as an artist in his own Haussmann apartment. The space features a Liaigre sofa dressed in Romo fabric paired with a custom coffee table designed by Kirsch with legs crafted by Philippe Hurel. Between the windows, a Silvera sofa covered in Pierre Frey fabric stands alongside a Flamant floor lamp, while a Blueprint Lighting suspension illuminates the space.
This particular building represents an architectural tour de force - a small Parisian structure from the 1860s located steps away from Les Invalides and the Rodin Museum. True to its era, the Haussmann-style construction features characteristic plaster moldings that have remained intact without any architectural modifications since 1860. The six-story building contains only one apartment per floor, each comprising a living room, dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms, and a bathroom, according to interior architect Allen Kirsch, who also creates large abstract expressionist paintings characterized by tensions and complementarities of colors and textures.
Kirsch made a conscious decision to preserve the apartment's structure and keep rooms unchanged, maintaining its Parisian character as his pied-à-terre. On either side of the fireplace, Louis XV armchairs with original tapestry were found at auction sales, along with antique portraits. The Haussmann style remains present through cornices and moldings, all painted in a warm, timeless white. The decorator, known for his resolutely modern aesthetic, implemented some surgical modifications including removing the partition between the living room and dining room, transforming one bedroom into a vast dressing room, and converting another into an office.
The second featured apartment presents a fascinating contemporary Haussmann mix near Pigalle, where interior architect Constance Oules orchestrates the meeting between classicism and modernity using noble, timeless materials and an uninhibited yet erudite vision of space. Oules discovered an apartment with a completely destructured plan with doors leading in all directions when she was entrusted with its renovation. The project required a total renovation to create the largest possible living space while correcting a significant 15-centimeter level difference between the entrance floor and the living room fireplace, not to mention addressing deformations caused by years and successive renovations.
Two partitions were demolished to create a large 50-square-meter living space integrating dining room, living room, and open kitchen. The building and apartment were created by a Freemason architect in the 1850s, retaining certain Haussmann elements including a beautiful ceiling in the living room with cornices and rosettes. The team incorporated Freemason codes elsewhere, particularly in the entrance where the interior architect redesigned the wooden floor, trading straight English-style parquet for a star motif resembling a desert rose in a stylized evocation of Freemason codes.
The third apartment showcases a blend between Haussmann and Gio Ponti aesthetics in Montmartre, where RMGB interior architects have restored soul to a Haussmann apartment through a subtle shift toward 1950s Italy. The project involved a family with three young children whose parents work in fashion and had lived somewhat in the countryside and abroad before deciding to invest in a more family-friendly neighborhood. Located three minutes from Sacré-Cœur in the calm part of Montmartre and Avenue Junot, they enjoy an environment that is both residential and close to everything.
Guillaume Gibert from RMGB agency explains that the apartment is typically Haussmann with friezes and moldings, classic codes the clients wanted to preserve. After years spent elsewhere than Paris or abroad, they missed the classic Haussmann DNA. The clear directive for Baptiste Rischmann and Guillaume Gibert was to capitalize on these typically Parisian codes while fully investing in the space to bring their own touch.
The fourth apartment presents a colorful Haussmann space facing the Eiffel Tower, where interior architect and designer Martin Massé has created a 1990s atmosphere enhanced with primary colors, far from Haussmann clichés. In this 160-square-meter space near Trocadéro, the owner couple chose subtle contemporaneity while preserving original ceiling moldings and antique wooden floors. Massé describes creating a Parisian style that remains rather discreet, avoiding recreating additional Haussmann elements in favor of a more modern ambiance.
The fifth apartment demonstrates a four-handed transformation in the 10th arrondissement, where interior architect Thomas Fournier collaborated with his client, painter artist Noelia Hobeika, to reinvent a Haussmann apartment with finesse and audacity. Their collaboration, born from a perfect aesthetic encounter, harmoniously marries sobriety, elegance, and style. After spotting Fournier's work in an AD France report, Hobeika and Burke Williams sought out the Concina studio founder to rethink their 10th arrondissement apartment.
The sixth apartment features a theatrical left-bank Haussmann space where interior architect Sarah Chirazi has offered this bourgeois interior a sophisticated staging enriched with curated pieces and pointed artworks. Born in Dakar to Lebanese parents and recently French, Chirazi illustrates her diversity through cultural, artistic, and artisanal references that give her work particular texture. For a Lebanese family expatriated to Congo, the interior architect renovated a large Haussmann apartment in the very select 7th arrondissement.
The final apartment showcases a colorful renovation of a prestigious Haussmann space on the Grands Boulevards, where Supercraft agency dared to undertake a highly colorful renovation of a large apartment while highlighting its Haussmann splendors. When an American family visited this 160-square-meter Haussmann apartment, their attraction was immediate: superb moldings, chair rails, Hungarian point parquet. The two ceremonial rooms are particularly remarkable: the living room is semi-oval and the dining room features refined ceiling decor and rare parquet marquetry surrounding the room.
Each of these seven apartments represents a unique approach to modernizing classic Haussmann architecture while respecting its historical significance. The featured architects demonstrate that contemporary design can coexist beautifully with traditional French architectural elements, creating spaces that are both timeless and thoroughly modern. These projects prove that moving beyond clichés doesn't mean abandoning character – instead, it opens possibilities for creating truly exceptional living spaces that honor the past while embracing the present.
