Haussmannian apartment: a unique property

While the Haussmannian style triptych, Parquet-Moulures-Cheminée (PMC), is known and recognized by all, many are unaware of what prompted Napoleon III to commission the Prefect of the Seine, Eugène Haussmann, to transform Paris. We therefore wanted to offer you a short stroll through time and history to share with you our passion for this timeless style that has been the beauty, pride and international reputation of our capital, of our “Paris always” since the end of the 19th century... If the Haussmannian style triptych, Parquet-Moulures-Cheminée (PMC), is known and recognized by all, many do not know what prompted Napoleon III to task the Prefect of the Seine, Eugène Haussmann, to transform Paris. We therefore wanted to offer you a short stroll through time and history to share with you our passion for this timeless style that has made our capital, our “Paris always” beautiful, proud and internationally renowned since the end of the 19th century...

From the small to the big story

Paris has not always been Paris! To be more clear, the Paris that we know, that we cherish so much, with its small streets interspersed with large boulevards planted with trees and magnificent and imposing Haussmann buildings is only very recent...

Paris at the end of the 19th century

Indeed, until the end of the 19th century, Paris was a medieval city, without trees, without running water and without sewers. The city was sick: from 1832 to 1849, nearly 45,000 Parisians, including a minister of the interior, died there from cholera. Very tall compared to the width of the streets, the buildings are filthy, damp, and unhealthy. In some neighborhoods, nameless slums, so full of mud and manure, are piled up with poor people from the countryside to meet the needs of the industrial revolution. The same unhealthiness is garish on Ile de la Cité. Finally, its configuration and its small narrow streets favor the creation of barricades and the center is a real cut throat.

A political will to get Paris out of poverty

When Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, the Emperor's nephew, became the first President of the French Republic in 1848, he returned from 40 years of exile that took him to London and the United States. And, it was a year after the transformation of the Second Republic into the Second Empire in 1852, following a referendum, that Napoleon III named Georges Eugène Haussmann, prefect of the Seine, to succeed Monsieur de Rambuteau. This appointment is accompanied by a mission that is particularly close to Napoleon's heart: to make Paris a modern and clean capital by transforming it without paralyzing it. An immense urban challenge that is based on four strong axes: the creation of links between the various districts to unify the city, while improving the roads; the creation of green spaces such as the Bois de Boulogne and Vincennes, but also squares and tree-lined streets; the construction of a water supply system and a sewer network; the beautification of Paris by showcasing its historic buildings.

Seventeen years of work to transform Paris sustainably

The work is beginning... Although the improvement of roads had begun under Napoleon I with the creation of the Rue de Rivoli and had seen no less than 200 streets created between 1812 and 1848, this was not enough to support the growth of Paris. Also, since the state coffers did not allow further prosecution, Napoleon III and Haussmann relied on the law of expropriation for reasons of public interest, known as the “Rambuteau Law”, to promote the widening of roads and the discovery of new roads. Because Baron Haussmann liked straight lines, perspective and, like Napoleon III, he wanted to “ventilate” Paris.

Paris is being redesigned...

Thus, from 1853 to 1859, a first network of 9.5 kilometers of tracks was created. These achievements include: — the Boulevard de Strasbourg, the Boulevard de Sébastopol, the Boulevard de Sébastopol, the Pont-au-Change, the Boulevard du Palais and the Boulevard Saint-Michel, to the Observatory, — the extension of the Rue de Rivoli eastward beyond the Louvre and the widening of the Rue Saint-Antoine and the widening of the Rue Saint-Antoine, — the Boulevard Saint-Antoine and the widening of the Rue Saint-Antoine, — the Boulevard Saint-Antoine, — the Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Pont de Sully, — the boulevards of Port-Royal and Saint-Marcel, — the boulevards of Port-Royal and Saint-Marcel, — rue de Rennes and rue Monge, rue Gay-Lussac and rue Claude Bernard. Widening of Soufflot Street, — the current Foch Avenue.

26 kilometers more...

From 1859 to 1867, 26 kilometers of new roads redesigned Paris. These include:

Right bank:

• the opening of the current Place de la République and the opening of the current Boulevard Voltaire, Boulevard Magenta and Rue Turbigo,
• the Place de l'Europe and the opening up of the Saint-Lazare station,
• Boulevard Malesherbals,
• the Monceau district, partly on the former Monceau Park,
• the development of the Place de l'Étoile and the surrounding area,
• Avenue Daumesnil to the landscaped Bois de Boulogne,
• Levelling the Colline de Chaillot and drilling of the current Avenue Georges V.

Left bank:

• construction of Bosquet and Rapp Avenues,
• extension of the Avenue de la Tour Maubourg,
• creation of Saint-Marcel and Port-Royal boulevards,
• Boulevard Arago, — opening of Boulevard Raspail,
• modification of the accesses to Montagne Sainte-Geneviève,
• profound modification of the City.

Jobs that divide...

But, after 15 years of road work and breakthroughs to connect the 6 major Parisian train stations, the creation of sewer and water supply networks, and while Haussmann is working to create 28 kilometers of additional roads, Parisians are fed up with this perpetual open-air construction site. And the opposition is fighting his new project: Haussmann was removed from office in 1870. However, it was this same opposition, which brought down the Second Empire, which ended its work under the direction of Alphand, the first prefect of the Seine under the Third Republic.

Haussmann buildings

Ironically, the buildings that were all erected after the departure of the Baron (from 1870 to 1920) were all called “Haussmannian” because of the strict standards that the Baron had adopted for new constructions, in order to guarantee architectural homogeneity. Indeed, without the building spirit, which oversaw the transformation of Paris for 17 years, their construction would not have been possible. And Paris, today, would not be quite Paris...

The Haussmann building: the reflection of a society

Although today, the Haussmann style is considered to be a construction reserved for the rich, this was not the objective when they were erected. Indeed, these buildings were not designed for the very wealthy classes or the nobility who arranged or built their mansions. Thus, these buildings were intended to bring together several families from various social classes.

That is why, the second had a very well-designed balcony, because it was generally inhabited by the richest people in the building who should not have had to climb too many steps; and the fifth by the most modest ones who nevertheless enjoyed a long balcony ensuring the good balance of the facade, but whose ironwork was much less elaborate. As for the floors of the 3rd and 4th, they were generally occupied by the petty bourgeoisie, often tenants of the owners of the second. Finally, the sixth and last floor was entirely reserved for servants.

This social hierarchy expressed on the floors was also found in the high ceilings. Formerly, the first floor, or mezzanine, was occupied by merchants, owners of stores on the ground floor. Their windows were lower than the others for reasons of symmetry, because they had to be reduced since the porch level was just above. In fact, their ceiling height could not exceed 2.60 m, compared to 3.2 meters for the second floor. With this sole exception, the rest of the building followed the social hierarchy of the time: the ceiling height decreased as you went up. Today, with the elevator, it's just the opposite!

Characteristics common to all these buildings

All these buildings share certain characteristics that make up the charm and beauty of these buildings so Parisian:

• Facades made of cut stone from numerous quarries, sometimes located several hundred kilometers from Paris
• A ground floor and a mezzanine are most often streaked with deep load-bearing walls (splits) that strongly mark the facade with its careful decorations
• Balconies located on the second floor, considered “noble” before the appearance of the elevator in 1870, but also on the fifth floor
• Zinc-plate roofs, an inexpensive material that was easy to cut and install, but very modern for the time
• Maid rooms, living spaces created thanks to the lightness of the roof
• A height of buildings strictly limited according to the width of the road they border.

Architecture of a Haussmann building

According to the ideas of the time, the Haussmann building, designed in L or U, still offers an interior courtyard in order to promote lighting and ventilation. Inside, we discover a large entrance, formerly called “antechamber”, which continues with a long corridor leading to the various rooms in a row, equipped with large windows: dining room, living room, bedrooms, kitchen at the end of the corridor and accessible from the service staircase, finally the bathroom, on the side of the interior courtyard. In the most prestigious Haussmannian hotels, you can also find a reception area.

In terms of interior layout, we find the three elements that make up the DNA of a Haussmann apartment: parquet, moldings and fireplace (or PMC). The solid parquet, which gives an incomparable cachet to the apartment, can be herringbone, Hungarian stitch or broken stick. The moldings are beautiful and rich ornamentations in wood or plaster (Greek profiles, Louis XV style volutes, Art Deco geometry) that can be found all along the walls and at the corners of the ceilings up to, sometimes even, the door or fireplace frames. Finally, the Haussmannian fireplace, often made of marble, which used to heat living rooms and today retains a decorative and pleasant function.

Source: Flora Auvray architectural firm

This architecture is now highly sought after, and many individuals now use a Real estate hunter to facilitate their acquisition.

Example of renovating a Haussmannian apartment: a style exercise orchestrated by Flora Auvray, interior designer

In the heart of the capital, a Haussmannian apartment offered itself an extra touch of soul thanks to a clever mix of styles: an uninhibited classicism that captivates at first glance!

A modern Haussmannian concept

It is in a very old Haussmannian apartment requiring a thorough renovation (change of windows, total resumption of electricity, total renovation of the water rooms, paintings and parquet floors...) that Flora Auvray gave free rein to his creativity and designed the different spaces wanted by his customers: a very large kitchen that can accommodate large tables instead of a tiny typical Parisian kitchen; three real bedrooms, including one, theirs, which has a comfortable dressing room and an adjoining bathroom with toilets, but also and above all a lot of storage space.

Endless storage...

Thus, a large closet was installed in the entrance where a false ceiling, flanked by a new cornice, was installed to allow the passage of electrical ducts and heating pipes. The large kitchen was fitted out in the old dining room. Its windows have been replaced by tilt-and-turn windows with fixed lower parts and frosted glass. The old storage room and part of the corridor have given way to a real dressing room where you can access the parents' bedroom through a door “hidden” in a closet. Here again, a staff cornice has been redone to be placed on the right side of the cupboards.

A very modern kitchen

The old dining room has given way to a kitchen whose modernity enhances the charm of the cornices. Thanks to a panelled glass roof with hinged and sliding doors, it opens completely onto the entrance hall. The white lacquered kitchen furniture is from IKEA. The worktop, splashbacks and integrated bins are made of dark taupe-colored reconstituted stone. Finally, adjoining the kitchen, a small laundry area closed by a sliding door has been created as well as a very large custom closet that allows you to store a lot of things...

A resolutely contemporary choice of colors

In terms of colors, the palette of shades used oscillates between warm greys and cold greys, but also white. Everything is warmed by the old oak parquet - renovated, sanded and vitrified - which gives pride of place to colors that are all more diverse than varied by adding furniture and objects.

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In the end, this cozy apartment offers a beautiful vision of the subtle marriage between past and present to create a timeless and so Parisian...