Salt Lake City-based interior designer Susannah Holmberg recommends basing your color palette on a chalet's surroundings, too. Take inspiration from “the brown tones of the earth, the rock tones and the tree tones,” she advises. Sierra Fox, lead designer at Los Angeles and Sun Valley, Idaho-based Studio Mtn, also advocates for down-to-earth olive, mustard, and rusty orange tones—or if the chalet is “near a lupine field,” for example, lean in purple.” The New York designer Ghislaine Viñas recommends steering away from “strong whites”…[they] will make you cold,” she warns. Softer shades like Benjamin Moore's Swiss Coffee will do the trick.
Wood is as central to the vision of a chalet interior as the facade, but the mix of different types is crucial. “Over time it feels more collected,” emphasizes Holmberg. Fox agrees, arguing that darker stains blend with lighter ones and can even brighten them with painted millwork. Los Angeles designer Jennifer Miller “loves wood carving details,” but she would “avoid anything with overly ornate or artificial facades,” she tells AD PRO.
Instead of “the candelabra iron lights you often see in the mountains,” Fox adds, opt for patinated lights from Apparatus or Poul Henningsen. Or, as an alternative to lamps with “old-school parchment shades,” switch to a Noguchi paper lantern. Combining new furniture with vintage pieces is another way to liven up spaces. “Comfort should be the focus, with furniture you can really sink into,” explains Viñas.
Tactility is particularly important for a chalet and a way to break away from standard clichés. “Because you're exposed to such extreme weather, you want the space to feel like it's enveloping you, and heavy, knobbly materials do a great job of that,” says Miller. “I love creating nooks for reading and relaxing, and incorporating patterns like vintage Southwestern-style woven throws and rugs.”
Holmberg also avoids the obvious. “A wooden beam and a pillow with a pine tree on it are a little on the nose,” she admits. “Alpine design aims to be cozy, but you can also achieve this with a more minimalist aesthetic by opting for lush textures. Maybe your floor plan isn’t bursting at the seams, but the sofa is filled with down.”