Brussels and Art Nouveau are a great love story. Between Horta’s undulating façades and the colorful stained glass windows that discreetly creep around every corner, our capital is an open-air museum. But if we had to choose the treasure that is sure to surprise, it would be the Maison Cauchie. Tucked away on Rue des Francs, just a stone’s throw from Parc du Cinquantenaire, this 1905 workshop-house is an architectural UFO. And we explain why it’s clearly worth the detour.
Maison Cauchie: an absolutely magnificent façade
Let’s be honest: the most beautiful feature of the Maison Cauchie is, first and foremost, its façade. We’re not talking about an ordinary wall with two or three ornaments, no, this is a monumental canvas. Painter-decorator Paul Cauchie and his wife Lina Voet imagined it as a huge advertising poster. Except that the subject of the advert was… themselves! A building like this speaks louder than the best résumé.
The result is a decor of sgraffito (frescoes etched into the plaster), combining feminine faces, floral motifs and golden touches. Everything is symmetrical and perfectly mastered. The couple’s inspiration comes from the Viennese Secession and the Glasgow School. And in the middle, a cheeky, modest motto: “Par nous, Pour nous” (“By us, For us”).
The bluestone sub-base, the wooden columns (and a few cast-iron ones), the meticulously crafted balcony… The visual impact is immediate: you can’t help but stop and stand in awe of such a work of art.
An equally majestic interior
Push open the door and you’ll be just as amazed. Maison Cauchie isn’t just a flashy façade: it’s total art. A Gesamtkunstwerk, as the connoisseurs say. Walls, ceilings, furniture, stained glass… everything has been thought out in harmony. Paul and Lina, both artists, have poured their soul and style into the place.
We also discover a workshop that served as a showcase for customers as well as a creative space. Geometric shapes blend with delicate colors, furniture blends into the décor… In short, the house is a veritable work of inhabitable art.
From the perils of ruin to resurrection
However, like so many of Brussels’ wonders, the Maison Cauchie came very close to disappearing. Indeed, after the couple’s death, no one took any interest in it. In the 70s, it even threatened to fall into ruin. And all this despite the fact that it obtained “listed property” status in 1975. Fortunately, a passionate couple, Guy and Léona Dessicy, took up the torch in the 80s. Fifteen years of restoration later, the house has been restored to its former glory.
Fun fact: at one point, consideration was even given to setting up a Tintin museum here. Hergé himself was interested! In the end, the project was abandoned and later transformed into the Belgian Comic Strip Center. But wouldn’t Tintin and the Maison Cauchie have made a good comic strip?
Maison Cauchie: how to visit?
Good news: the Maison Cauchie is not just a monument to be admired from the outside. Since 1994, it has been open to the public. Visits are by prior arrangement, and every Saturday, guided tours allow visitors to (re)discover the history, decor and works of the couple. Admission is €9.50 full price, €7.50 concessions (students and under-26s) and free for children under 12 and Art Nouveau Pass holders .
The first floor also houses a gallery featuring paintings, photos, documents and period objects. You’ll come away with the sensation of having traveled back in time, between 1900 Brussels and today’s Brussels.
📍 Address: Maison Cauchie, Rue des Francs 5, 1040 Brussels.