Contrasting colors and textures bring Sig Bergamin's Paris apartment to life

Every traveler soon discovers that each city has its own unique aroma, rhythm and energy. But for renowned architect and designer Sig Bergamin , part of the CASACOR São Paulo 2023 cast, a city also expresses itself as a variety of colors, patterns and textures. For him, Paris, for example, is a combination of eggplant velvet and dark chocolate lacquer, shiny mirrors, buttery leather and masses of crimson and burgundy roses – a striking contrast to the luscious hues and luminous surfaces of his native São Paulo. “ When I’m in Paris, I feel completely different than when I’m at home ,” he says. “I don’t even like the same colors.” It’s no wonder, then, that he ventured beyond his own limits when he decided to decorate his pied-à-terre near Place Vendôme. “ I dove into a world of darker tones without restrictions ,” he says. “In Brazil, I would never do dark purple and brown. But Paris is a sophisticated city. It’s elegant, romantic and dramatic .” The palette was also driven by practical considerations: Bergamin and his partner, the architect Murilo Lomas , visit Paris only during the cool, high-culture seasons—fall, winter, spring—so the apartment needed to feel both cozy and polished . Plus, with nearly 13-foot-high ceilings, the living room could handle rich, dark colors without feeling cavelike. While the somber colors were a starting point for the designer, Bergamin’s trademark mix of furniture and fabrics provided an unusual juxtaposition of patterns and styles . “I’ve always been fascinated by taking risks,” he says. “I don’t worry about right or wrong.” In this apartment, silk velvet and wool upholstery mingle with chrome, leather and resin. A Moroccan chair sits next to a formal inlaid wood table from the 1940s. Zebra skins share the space with Louis XV-style brocade chairs and an exquisite Victorian armoire. In every room, the walls vibrate with pop art from the 1960s and ’70s and provocative contemporary photography. “All my art is about color,” says Bergamin. “It’s like Carnival.”

Adding to the playful home vibe are the expansive mirrors , which Bergamin sprinkles throughout the apartment. “I like mirrors, not because I want to look at myself all the time,” he says with a laugh, “but because they create a double space.” They make a statement in the gallery, a small, low room that serves multiple purposes. Functioning primarily as an entrance hall for arriving guests, the gallery also acts as a passageway between the apartment’s public rooms and its private spaces – thus also serving as a kind of bridge between the 18th and 19th centuries, as Bergamin’s house is actually two interconnected apartments a hundred years apart. Despite its festive feel, Bergamin’s apartment also serves as an oasis of calm . The 19th-century wing—which includes bedrooms, a powder room, and a master bathroom—overlooks a pedestrian walkway lined with cafes and lit by historic streetlights . But even though its address is just steps from the bustling Place Vendôme, the apartment, according to Bergamin, is “quiet, quiet, quiet.” Source: Elle Decor