Continuing the Narrative

Perched just across from the Louvre, overlooking the Seine, a historic Parisian apartment has been quietly transformed into a city hideaway by Belgian studio Nóbrega Borghmans. The interior’s calm elegance echoes the prestige of the architecture and location, with a contemporary atmosphere that the architects describe as “collected, authentic and grounded”.

Accessed through a classic courtyard, complete with narrow elevator and creaking wooden staircase, the residence is located within a 17th century hôtel particulier, originally built for Madeleine Péan, widow of Simon Plastrier de La Croix, maître d'hôtel to the King. Over the centuries, it housed an extraordinary array of residents – from Enlightenment figure Marquis de Villette to the philosopher Voltaire, who spent his final days here in 1778.

Writers, surgeons and revolutionaries have all called this place home, each witness to Paris’s shifting cultural and political landscape. Now, the building is famous for housing the celebrated restaurant Le Voltaire on its ground floor.

The renovation was completed in just three months, a feat made possible by a close-knit collaboration between the design team, the international owners and a dependable partner in Paris. “Normally, projects like this take more time,” explain Charlotte Borghmans and Humberto Nóbrega, who are known for their sensitive, materially-attuned approach to interiors. “But from the beginning, there was a lot of trust. The owners knew exactly what they wanted – a place with soul, atmosphere and a sense of Parisian eclecticism.”