Palazzo Nefertiti

Edificio Nefertiti is among the emblematic works of Faget y Figari, completed in 1950 in the grand French-academic tradition of Montevideo’s great edificios de renta. Within it, this 504 m² residence has been renovated to a standard that would be at home in the great European capitals — its 1950 architecture intact, every material and system of the present day.

A private elevator landing opens to an art-hung gallery beneath crystal lanterns. From there, an enfilade of reception salons runs the length of the façade — the principal salon nearly nine metres long — laid with herringbone parquet in petiribí and other rare hardwoods, beneath deep cornicing, carved boiserie and ceilings approaching four metres. Each principal room has its own wood-burning fireplace: a white marble chimneypiece in the living room, a grey marble hearth beneath a gilt overmantel in the dining room, and in the mahogany-panelled library and music room, a monumental carved-wood mantel that answers the carving of the room’s fitted bookcases, with a spiral stair rising to the upper shelves. A formal dining room seats twelve. Throughout, the palette is bold but refined — deep colour, layered antiques and contemporary design held in confident balance.

Behind the period rooms, the finishes are new and uncompromising. The kitchen is worked in book-matched Neolith, with a waterfall island, a full suite of Bosch appliances — induction cooktop, wifi extractor, ovens and dishwasher — and Hansgrohe fittings, supported by a butler’s pantry, breakfast room and dedicated laundry. A theatrical powder room — black-walled, dressed in botanical florals above a sculptural red-glass basin — punctuates the plan.

The three bedrooms are each en-suite. The principal suite pairs a private dressing room with a black-marble bath and jetted tub; a self-contained guest suite has its own kitchenette and bathroom; a third serves today as a study. The renovated bathrooms are finished to one exacting standard — book-neolith, Hansgrohe fittings, walk-in rain showers, backlit mirrors and heated towel rails — Two of the four bathrooms are fitted with Roca In-Wash smart toilets in place of bidets.

Crowning the building is a broad, landscaped rooftop terrace, made for open-air dining and gatherings. Fully climate-controlled and served by elevator and two garages, this is a landmark residence renovated without compromise — configured in equal measure for grand entertaining and gracious daily life. Homes of this scale, provenance and finish come to the Montevideo market only rarely.