Few cities in the world confer the instant stamp-of-approval chic of Paris. Having absorbed a lifetime of its stylish influences, native son Oscar Lucien Ono is reframing the narrative of what defines French luxury, with residential and hospitality design projects that blur the borders of fine art, architecture, and classic design. “True design, for me, balances story, craftsmanship, and emotion over fleeting trends,” Ono says.
Ono studied art history and got his leather loafer-clad feet wet in the design world in London. In 2014, he founded interior architecture and design firm Maison Numéro 20 in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood of Paris. The number 20 is a reference to numerology, where it is associated with balance and harmony, a philosophy that guides Ono’s work.
Ono gravitates toward place-based inspiration where history and craftsmanship collide—the Maison de Victor Hugo, Musée d’Orsay, and Versailles are among his favorites. But he also frequents antiques shops and flea markets, like the ones in the Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine neighborhood in Paris or El Rastro in Madrid, where past and present are in continual dialogue, and one-of-a-kind items add instant provenance and character to his spaces.
“I’m most drawn to the design languages of the 1930s and the 1970s,” Ono says, pointing to the earlier decade’s emphasis on sculptural elegance and precision, and the bold expression of the latter. “These periods inspire my work because they balance heritage and creativity in a way that feels very relevant to contemporary life.”
He approaches his projects as narratives, telling stories through material, texture, and light. Bespoke pieces and classic French craftsmanship take center stage. He sources from regions with deep artisanal traditions, such as the Vosges and Lyon in France, for furniture and silk, respectively, and the island of Murano in Italy for glass. Modern artisanal metalworkers, ceramicists, and plaster specialists round out Ono’s roster of collaborators.
Maison Numéro 20 has tackled everything from five-star modernist hotels to a plush, fanciful champagne bar; a soothing Balearic Islands getaway inspired by the sky; and sleek luxury apartments where art from a disparate range of time periods seamlessly cohabitates with polished, reflective surfaces and cozy upholstery.
Not far from Billionaire’s Bay in the Cap d’Antibes, Villa Miraé, a 35-room hotel under the Relais & Châteaux umbrella, evokes the easy, sun-soaked glamour of the French Riviera. Inside its garden-draped, blush exterior, the interiors suggest softness and serenity, like a long exhale come to visual life. Shades of cream, blue, and seafoam dominate. In homage to the sun itself, Ono brought in subtle warmth through natural textures and the interplay of light and shadow.
Dox restaurant and bar, overlooking the Rhine River in the Hyatt Düsseldorf, trades muted luxury for big, bold, extravagant interiors. “It’s a project where craftsmanship and identity come together in a very direct way,” Ono says of the dark, polished woods, sculptural molding and trims, brass fixtures, and warm amber lighting that conjure the atmosphere of a vintage ocean liner.
In the cabaret club Paradis Latin, Ono continues the legacy of French legend Gustave Eiffel, who originally conceived of the structure as one of the great theaters of Paris’s Latin Quarter. Because the space “carries within it layers of cultural memory,” according to Ono, he has married its many original architectural elements, like arches and wall carvings, with exuberant, go-for-broke décor. The result is a slinky, moody lounge drenched in Belle Epoque colors like bloodred and gold and accented with textural wallpapers and glass mosaics depicting tropical birds and an elegant, bare-breasted performer with a halo of brunette locks.
At April’s Salone del Mobile Milano (Milan Furniture Fair), Maison Numéro 20 was tapped to create an immersive conceptual space. The primary challenge: creating something that felt both personal and universally welcoming. The result is “Aurea, an Architectural Fiction,” an imaginary hotel designed as a narrative. A theatrically draped entrance leads to an Oriental-influenced suite with silk panels depicting exotic flora and fauna. Past a “cabinet of curiosities” featuring mother-of-pearl surfaces to evoke the galaxies lay an intimate Art Deco smoking bar, and an indoor garden suffused in copper hues and soft textures. “The project guides visitors through a carefully curated sequence of moments, using light, materials, and spatial composition to evoke a sense of discovery and connection,” Ono shares.
Ono frequently starts with the project concept. But sometimes, a random item calls to the designer and his team, especially “when we experience a true coup de coeur for a piece, often discovered at flea markets.” Instead of waiting for the project, they make an informed-impulse purchase, instinctively knowing that these time travelers will find their place eventually. Ono reports that these very objects can occasionally go on to inspire the entire narrative or atmosphere of a space.
Antiques and flea market finds are a crucial part of Maison Numéro 20’s commitment to sustainability, which prioritizes local craftsmanship, natural materials, and pieces that can withstand the test of time. He notes that by respecting the original structure when renovating a building, “we minimize the environmental impact while maintaining high aesthetic standards, creating spaces that are both beautiful and responsible.”
Ono summarizes, “Sustainability, for us, is about longevity, craftsmanship, and stories that endure.”
Whether creating a memorable backdrop for a white-tablecloth restaurant or decking out a Madrid penthouse, Ono achieves something far more elusive than good taste: he distills the essence of what makes lasting, quality design. It’s not a formula or a mood board or a viral TikTok trend, but a conversation between past and present, the found and the made, the grand gesture and the intimate detail. Ono returns again and again to the same ineffable quality that has made French chic the gold standard: the sense that beauty is never accidental—it is simply, inevitably, the way things ought to be.
