There is nothing quite like a classic Parisian mid-nineteenth-century apartment to conjure design goals. Replete with original parquet floors, ornate moldings, and tremendously high ceilings, this space easily sends you down a path of romantic yearning. Jean Charles Tomas, who had just struck out on his own in 2016, had this perfectly preserved apartment with which to launch his eponymous design firm. Moreover, his clients gave him carte blanche in shaping their home.

This apartment, situated on a quaint street, is an exercise in patience, yes, but also in irreverence. There is an electric tension here between the Haussmannian architecture that characterizes traditional notions of Parisian style and the contemporary, pared-down interior design. Jean Charles is an absolutist in both regards—in equal measure a faithful restorer and an ardent modernist. It is in these two elements that he created something compelling here. Had he followed the cues of the architecture, the home might have been predictable. Conversely, had he followed the taste of the furnishings and ended up in a modern, white box apartment, it would have read monotone. There is jolt in juxtaposition.

Jean Charles chose this apartment for his clients as he was seduced by the rare eastern and western exposures that illuminate the space and its period details. It also benefited from a grand, elegant perspective between the dining room and living room, but a set of double doors—original, classical, grand—separated the two rooms. It was the first decorative impasse he had to reconcile. Ultimately, he was able to justify their removal as they took up a tremendous amount of space and, more important, obstructed the view. In their place, he designed bespoke brass-and-glass doors that provide privacy between the two rooms but also allow the light in. The doors, with their rectangular brass grids, are a decidedly modernist foil to the grandeur of the moldings.

“I find it very rigid to design and decide everything at the same time. If you do not let the space breathe, your design will be stagnant.”

Another architectural change Jean Charles pursued was turning a bedroom into the kitchen. With its marble countertops, backsplash, and floating shelf, the kitchen could have felt austere, but the designer softened the space by installing lush floor-to-ceiling drapery and an upholstered breakfast nook. The homeowners admit that this little banquette is the heart of the home. The Angelo Lelli ceiling fixture is a dramatic, unexpected statement in a kitchen—more domestic and decorated than functional and utilitarian.

After deciding which original details to retain and which to alter, Jean Charles hired only the best to execute the changes. To restore the parquet floor, he brought in artisans who renovated the parquet in Versailles. They dismantled every single piece, then numbered, sanded, and oiled them, settling on a more contemporary-looking patina, and installed them back in their original place—a labor of love well worth it. Similarly, to repair the water-damaged ceilings, he found traditional plaster artisans, who molded details to then re-create in their workshop.

There is an innate sense of balance—dark and bright, matte and shiny, sharp and sculptural, old and new—to Jean Charles’s work. “I tend to be subtle on what’s static—walls, ceilings, flooring—as it allows me more flexibility to play with textures and patinas.” For this apartment, he decided on a color palette, picked the textural fabrics for sofas, banquettes, and pillows and the materials for the kitchen and bath, and worked with his carpenters to get the right patina on the American walnut wood finishes. No matter the changes he oversees, he likes to pay homage to its original state. “I like to keep an original piece in every project,” he says. Here, a hand-carved original wood door was retained, which he had sanded down to leave raw.

Jean Charles credits his work as being an accumulation of academic study and life experiences. The mind-set of Henri Matisse, who believed that adults ought to nurture a childlike mentality, has also struck a chord with him. “The creativity we have as kids is fascinating; everything is possible, the only limitation is our imaginations.” It is true that we lose this boundless nature as we grow up, and we must temper our adult brain so we don’t lose our sense of possibility. “I hope that my style will constantly evolve and grow and change so that it is as much a reflection of myself as an individual as it is about what interests me.”

“You have to take your time, wait for the right moment, uncover the right angles, and then wait for the magic to happen.”