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P R O F I L E | H U G O T O R O
Toro's exceptional accenting is exhibited
throughout the apartment. This compulsive
drawer is a curator at heart. What he did not
design or find in a fine atelier, he plucked
from Paris flea markets or pulled from the
client's personal archive, including a Le
Corbusier LC4 chaise lounge in a vivacious
green. He also left the wash basin in the
entryway hall, a reminder of childhood
visits to his grandmother's house, which
had a similar setup.
The result is a space that is as expressive
as Toro himself. "I'm inspired by everything,
everywhere," says the tastemaker, who is
currently occupied with the Orient-Express
hotel in Rome, a project in New York, and
an opening in Dubai. What's left? As Saint-
Pères proves, quite possibly anything. "It
could be a museum or a treehouse," he
says. "It just depends on passion."
hugotoro.com
the masculine space considerable Gatsby
swagger. Given the client's limited use of
the apartment, "It made no sense to have a
big kitchen," Toro says, "and he didn't want
one." In lieu of making the space bright and
white, the designer opted for a cocktail-bar
scale and style, finishing the space with, as
he puts it, "a kind of cracked red frame of
mahogany with oxidated brass."
The apartment's only bedroom is a tour de
force of texture. "I wanted to bring in a more
exotic feeling," Toro says. "Give it a dark
mood." Backdropped by the apartment's
sparkling stained-glass inheritance, the
bedroom is anchored by a bespoke leather
bed that Toro also designed and whose
padded form evokes a glamorous 1970s
vibe. The wallcovering is made of banana
leaves while the floorcovering, which
echoes the blue hues in the stained-glass,
is also custom. A sculptural chair by Timo-
thée Musset sits in the corner.
50 DIGS.NET
| 9.22.23
