The luxury of having free rein: the future of hospitality
Caravaggio and David Hicks, surrealism and arthouse cinema, gold and lacquer. Oscar Lucien Ono conceives spaces as canvases onto which to project his dreams.
Oscar Lucien Ono is a French interior designer with a burgeoning international career. From his Parisian studio, nestled amongst the greenery of Rue Jacob in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, he crafts the aesthetic of opulent private residences, exceptional hotels and restaurants, sophisticated showrooms and limited-edition furnishings. Founded in 2014, his Maison Numéro 20 pays homage in its name to the most illustrious historical names in interior design, such as Maison Jansen, one of the pioneers in the history of décoration. A symbol of refined eclecticism and luxury in the decorative arts, Jansen shaped the aesthetic of an era – the early 20th century – by combining classic French style with modern innovation. And he achieved this thanks, in part, to the irreplaceable contribution of a host of superb craftsmen. Oscar Ono likes to recall this in reference to an approach that also inspires his own: ‘Maison Numéro 20 has a staff of around twelve people, but the team extends to include upholsterers, metalworkers, textile designers, cabinetmakers and decorators specialising in the art of patina – a host of highly skilled craftsmen who collaborate with me. Every project is a team effort, and I take charge of the artistic direction.”
Born in Toulon and raised in Saint-Étienne, Ono has always nurtured a passion for interior design. “I don’t come from a family with a background in this field; I come from a modest background, but I’ve always been interested in interior design,” he says with spontaneous ease. “Ever since I was a child, I’d be spellbound by interior design magazines and would enjoy rearranging the furniture at home.” He pursued this interest through his education, first obtaining a degree in Art History in Lyon and subsequently a diploma in the History of Ancient Art at the École du Louvre – a journey that cemented his passion for ancient architecture, painting, drawing and the use of colour. A number of significant experiences in France and abroad, culminating in a spell in England, introduced him to the world of luxury interior design, where his cultured and multi-layered yet empathetic and accessible aesthetic has enjoyed growing success. The projects entrusted to Ono’s eclectic creativity become surprising spaces, which the designer shapes by playing with materials and textures, rich colours, contrasts and references, always guided by a profound stylistic coherence that gives the space a distinct identity.
Among the projects that brought him to the fore on the French interior design scene was the 2019 restoration of the famous Parisian cabaret, the Paradis Latin. “It’s a unique venue, an institution built during the reign of Napoleon III which, since the 1970s, had fallen into a melancholy state of decline,” explains Oscar Ono. “The idea was to redesign it as if everything had always been there.” And indeed, the interior designer has transformed it into a contemporary temple of timeless glamour. The gold in the wall mosaics, carpets and tapestries is paired with floral motifs, jungle patterns and velvet upholstery – a blend that coexists harmoniously beneath the famous original dome dating from the Napoleonic era. To define his style, Ono speaks of a contemporary classicism inspired by the plastic and decorative arts, which draws on various eras and is the distillation of the accumulation of diverse cultural influences, encounters, travels and immersions in civilisations distant in time and space.
When asked about the periods and figures that have influenced him most, he cites the 1930s and 1970s, eras from which a host of illustrious names emerge: Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, a master of Art Deco interior design whose creations are distinguished by their use of rare woods and astonishing attention to detail, Jean Dunand, a visionary artist who bridged the gap between Art Deco and Modernism, renowned for his mastery of lacquer and metalwork. In more recent times, David Hicks, the celebrated English designer of the 1960s and 1970s who revolutionised the use of colour in the homes of the high society and aristocracy of his day. The works of an absolute genius such as Caravaggio also play a part in shaping Oscar Ono’s aesthetic; he is fascinated by Caravaggio’s dramatic use of light and colour and his preference for earthy, brown tones, contrasted by flashes of bright reds and luminous whites. ‘I like to be daring and push the boundaries. I think that’s how a project becomes creative,’ he says of his work.
For Villa Cielo in Ibiza, he has redefined the image of an old finca, combining its rustic charm with a sophisticated modern allure. The interior design centres on a Mediterranean-inspired palette of blues, ranging from deep Klein blue to a delicate turquoise. In Madrid, a residential project in one of the capital’s most iconic buildings, the Casa-Palacio del Conde de Cedillo, features a series of rooms, each conceived as a painting, enriched by painted decorations on the stucco mouldings and ceilings with trompe-l’œil effects reminiscent of inlays and marble. The small Villa Miraé hotel in Cap d’Antibes, a celebration of the French Riviera and its timeless seaside atmosphere, is modelled on a Provençal village. Inside, powder-pink walls define light-filled spaces where the light of the South of France shimmers. The interior design of the Le Soleia hotel in Nice blends artistic references with organic lines achieved through the artisanal working of natural materials such as wood, ceramics, wicker and light fabrics. The theme of hospitality is particularly close to Oscar Ono’s heart. The installation created for the 2026 Salone del Mobile, Aurea, an Architectural Fiction, is proof of this. The themes dear to Oscar Ono – Art Deco, surrealism, mythology, arthouse cinema and Orientalism – intertwine: contemporary expressions establish an open dialogue with classical references, giving rise to a language that strikes a balance between excess and restraint.
