Tourville — Walnut, Marble, and Terrace Living Over École Militaire
Tourville sets a quiet rhythm in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, where Studio Patrick Martins refines the classic Haussmannian apartment into a composed retreat. The 85 sqm home balances generous views of the École Militaire with a carefully tuned material palette, framing a family setting that feels both urbane and relaxed. Across living room, balcony, kitchen, and bedrooms, each room carries its own mood while still speaking the same calm visual language.
Morning light moves across the parquet, picking up the depth of walnut and the cool gleam of marble. A continuous balcony stretches beyond the living room, keeping the rooms visually open even when the doors stay closed.
Within this Haussmannian apartment in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, Studio Patrick Martins works through material and color to define each room of the 85 sqm home. The project is an apartment designed in 2024 as a calm family setting, where heritage details sit alongside contemporary surfaces. Rather than chasing contrast alone, the renovation leans on a restrained palette so that texture, reflection, and tone guide daily experience.
The living room anchors the apartment and sets the baseline vocabulary of walnut, marble, and controlled ornament. A Breccia marble fireplace draws the eye at the center, its veining echoed by the rhythm of bespoke bookcases that frame it on both sides. Light from the École Militaire side washes across these built-ins, bringing out the warmth of the wood and the crisp junctions between shelf, wall, and ceiling. This room feels generous yet composed, with every surface working to keep the atmosphere serene.
Layering Noble Materials
Material decisions carry much of the apartment’s quiet character. Walnut in the living area introduces depth, while marble at the fireplace sets a cooler, almost graphic counterpoint. In the kitchen and bedrooms, oak joins the conversation, its lighter grain softening the transition from shared rooms to more intimate ones. Terrazzo in both bathrooms, paired with bejmat tiles, adds a tactile, slightly raw surface that contrasts the smoother woods and polished stone without breaking the overall calm.
Balcony As Living Room
A continuous balcony runs along the façade, acting as an outdoor extension of the main living area. Large openings let daylight pour through, so the boundary between interior and exterior reads as a gentle threshold rather than a hard edge. This linear outdoor room reinforces the apartment’s sense of openness and keeps views of the École Militaire in constant play. As light shifts through the day, surfaces inside register subtle changes in tone and shadow.
Quiet Kitchen Geometry
The kitchen sits tucked behind an integrated door, intentionally discreet from the main rooms. Custom cabinetry in natural oak and lacquered wood gives the room a contemporary character, yet the palette stays measured and calm. Storage lines are kept clean, so grain, sheen, and joint lines read clearly without visual noise. This is a working room, but its materials tie back to the rest of the apartment, supporting a continuous experience rather than a break.
Bedrooms In Warm Tones
From the bright entrance, the master suite unfolds as a cocoon of warm finishes. Walnut and oak combine to create a refined atmosphere, their tones deepening toward the en-suite bathroom. There, terrazzo flooring meets deep blue bejmat tiles, bringing an intense, almost atmospheric color to the daily ritual of bathing. Across the hall, the guest bedroom and its bathroom shift to beige and ochre bejmat, wrapping visitors in a softer spectrum while keeping the same pared-back material logic.
Back at the windows, the apartment returns to its outlook over the city. Light, wood, stone, and tile carry a consistent rhythm, tuned to support quiet everyday routines. Tourville reads as a contemporary take on Parisian living, where material choices do the quiet work of holding family life in a calm, enduring setting.
Photography by Oracle Paris
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