Apartment Courchevel

Family apartment in Courchevel

The new owners wanted to turn this apartment into a real mountain chalet, while adding a modern touch without compromising on warmth.

With this strong guideline in mind, we chose noble, natural materials to integrate the intensity of the natural environment into the interior treatment, where the view of the emblematic Saulire is unobstructed.
Wood was already present, in a light color. Thanks to the work carried out upstream with the help of inspiration boards, the project gradually asserted itself around a strong identity thanks to the reinforcement of wood. The decision was therefore made to keep it, to further enhance the cocooning, chalet feel the owners were aiming for. However, to avoid an overly massive and imposing appearance, the choice was made to brighten it up and create contrast on the remaining walls by applying a Neige white from the Ressource paints range, extremely rich in subtle nuances designed to make the imagination fertile.
With space at a premium, there was a real challenge to create storage space that was largely insufficient for the family during their stay.
Similarly, the existing kitchen presented a number of constraints, including limited storage and worktop space, for preparing family meals.
The salon had to be completely redone in terms of decoration, as the existing codes were not at all in line with the customers’ desires.

All the rooms in the house have been redesigned to give coherence to the presence of wood and to take advantage of it to develop storage spaces.
Complementary materials were chosen exclusively from natural ranges: wool, linen, Tibetan lamb, Icelandic lamb and wood.
The owners had two strong incarnation paintings in delicate yellow and icy mint colors.
So, to bring a modern touch to the whole without abandoning the fundamentals of warm mountain interiors, we opted for a solution featuring these two colors inside and out, thanks in particular to the installation of Fermob furniture.
In the living room, where the paintings are displayed, a custom-made XXL Icelandic lambskin rug was laid as a new floor covering, where the thickness of the pile gives the impression of walking on a soft cloud. Two Butterfly armchairs were chosen in white and black Tibetan lambskin. Black echoes the choice of Zimbabwe stone, used for the worktop and credenza in the kitchen area.
The sofa was chosen in grey linen to lighten the ensemble, where rather heavy and warm materials were well represented, notably through Arpin wool curtains.

In the kitchen, a real tension in the spaces was palpable due to the demanding specifications. We had to get around the main difficulty, which was to reduce the dining area, by creating a recess in the worktop, while maintaining a section running the full length of the wall.
The choice of doors for the kitchen units was naturally based on the wood found in the apartment, to create a real chalet atmosphere.

In the bedrooms, a soft, cosy decor was chosen with two rugs, one in white Icelandic lambskin and the other in speckled cowhide. Fir-colored linen curtains recall the green of the surrounding lush forests.

The bathrooms were completely redesigned, with custom-made furniture and a completely new lighting scheme.
A laundry room has been given special attention to make it practical, functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Completion: May-June 2020.

• Trades: plumbing, electrical, plasterer, painter, carpenter, dressmaker/upholsterer.
• Brands: Ressource peintures, Wolf Interior, Arpin, Cosy&chic, Fermob.
• Designer: Sophie Cret interior design.
• Photos: Florent Grosnom.
• Acknowledgements: Géraldine and her daughters, Olivier the owners, Maryse, Gigi, Bruce, Christophe, Jérôme, Nelio, the craftsmen.