If you’re not familiar with Haussman style architecture, it’s the look that defines Paris. We’ve waxed poetic about the beauty of traditional Parisian apartments before (here), but still stop in our tracks when we see a beautiful apartment with herringbone floors, high ceilings with ornate moldings, and hand-carved marble fireplaces. These picture-perfect spaces aren’t guaranteed to be in perfect condition though…as was the case with this apartment designed by Ola Jachymiak Studio. “The apartment was very neglected, and it needed thorough renovation,” she recalls. The clients—longtime friends and repeat clients of Ola’s—used this opportunity to completely redesign the layout and adapt it to their needs. 

The apartment is in the heart of Paris, near the Madeleine Church. “It’s an elegant neighborhood with typical Haussmann architecture,” Ola explains. “There are many high-end boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and monuments. The apartment itself is filled with details which are characteristic to Haussmann interior style such as parquets, carved marble fireplace or cornices.” Over the course of the project, she brought her eclectic, contemporary-meets-vintage style to the space. Classic French interiors contrast beautifully with modern details such as black and white color palette, marble, and minimalistic furniture. 

It was a challenging design process, as Ola’s office is in London and quite unfortunately the beginning of construction coincided with the pandemic and lockdown. “It was quite stressful to supervise the project through the phone camera! Everything went smoothly due to the trust and way of working developed through all the conversations with the clients and the renovation team,” she says. “I honestly admit that it was even more exciting to see the project after it was completed and to see that all the details were executed exactly as I designed.”

The designer tells us more about the details of the 10-month project in the slideshow.