Kitchen of the Week: “Making Things Beautiful” in a Montmartre Flat

Antoine Ricardou is a perfectionist. As co-founder of Saint-Lazare, a Paris and New York-based creative studio that designs brands, places, and objects, he strives for ultimate beauty in everything he touches, from chic clothing companies like Sézane to well-appointed hotels like Le Moulin to minimalist furniture, like this A.S.L wood workbench. And he’s able to achieve it because of his deep involvement in every aspect of a project. “My job is to be super focused on every single detail that is part of the narrative,” he explains.

This emphasis on aesthetic excellence extends to Antoine’s two-story 1950s Montmartre apartment. His landscape architect wife is equally devoted to a flawless look, but getting their two children on board is more of a challenge. “When it was just the two of us, the house was perfectly organized,” says Antoine. “Now, it’s a family home, so it’s always an organic and messy place because we live in it, but I’m teaching the kids about making things beautiful.”

Whether they’re setting the table or cooking a meal, Antoine attempts to nudge his children towards thoughtfulness. “When you come back from the market and you want to prepare lunch, sometimes the ham is packed in plastic, but other times you go to the butcher with the beautiful paper, so I’m teaching them how to make a beautiful scene with everything you bought.”

Fortunately, Antoine’s simple yet meticulously curated kitchen serves as a handsome backdrop for just about any spread. With clean lines and natural materials, it’s a Parisian classic. Let’s take a closer look.

Photography by Benoit Linero.

Above: With a wall-to-wall Carrara marble counter, the kitchen flows seamlessly into the home office. Antoine chose the Italian stone because it’s durable enough to withstand both cooking and design work. “It’s the marble you find in butchers and bakeries, so it is really easy to clean, and you can cut directly on it,” he notes. “You don’t need a special cutting board.”

For the cabinetry, Antoine opted for clear oak on the lowers and white paint on the uppers. “I like to have a dark color on the bottom and a light color on top,” he says, adding that the natural wood cupboards and matching floors anchor the space.

Above: Antoine continued the counter into a desk to maximize the time he spends with his family. “When you have a separate office, you are never with your kids if you have to work on Saturday afternoon,” he says. “I like to have everybody together.” Above: A live-edge oak plank serves as an open shelf, which Antoine styles with glass vessels of fresh flowers and a special piece of art. “This is the first ever painting I bought,” he says. “It’s a street in Tamanrasset in Mauritania. The color and the atmosphere, even though it’s in Africa, reminds me of the calm of an old street in all the Mediterranean places I love to be. It’s an escape. And it’s funny because I’ve never been to this town, but it’s telling me a lot in the way it has been painted.” Above: Beneath the shelf, Antoine hung a hand-tied rope hammock for storing fruits and vegetables. The clever contraption was inspired by his sailing hobby—boats often employ a similar apparatus (but made of fishing net) so that food can sway with the sea without getting damaged. Above: In adherence with the principle “form follows function,” Antoine installed a large, deep stainless steel sink that can easily accommodate pots and pans.

Antoine’s small, two-drawer refrigerator, however, was more of a visual choice. He didn’t want any tall, vertical appliances breaking up the horizontal planes created by his cabinetry, but the compact compartments of the drawer fridge limit him from bulk grocery shopping. “We prefer to buy food for one or two days, so it works for us,” he says. “But for other people who stock a lot of food, it would not be a fit for them.”

Above: Antoine in the kitchen. Above: Opposite the kitchen-office hybrid, Antoine has low-slung bookshelves and walls covered in framed posters. “It’s so important for me to be surrounded by all those books,” he says. “They help me with inspiration and research. When you have an idea, as a creative person, it’s nice to be able to dig a little bit deeper than going on Google. I’m always going back to my references. And I would be really, really sad to lose one. So I have a special stamp that I put in all my books that shows where I got it, the date, and who was with me.” Above: In the primary bedroom, Antoine used wood flooring to build cozy wall panels. He loves the feeling of being enveloped by the grained timber when he’s in bed. Above: Sunlight shines in from the terrace, which affords Antoine a sweeping view of the city, including Notre-Dame. The other side of the apartment looks out to his beloved Montmartre neighborhood and Sacré-Cœur Basilica. “We’re super lucky. We’re facing north and south, so you can see a lot of Paris,” he says. Above: Enchanting Parisian rooftops, as seen from Antoine’s balcony.

For more Parisian kitchens, see:

• Kitchen of the Week: A Suave, Minimalist Paris Kitchen with Indoor-Outdoor Dining
• Steal This Look: A Cool and Compact Kitchen in Paris
• Steal This Look: The $4K Parisian Kitchen from Two DIY Experts

N.B.: This story originally ran on June 8, 2023, and has been updated.