Alpine Escape
Crans-Montana, Switzerland
This two-bedroom, two-bath apartment overlooking the alps is a summer escape for my clients. They spend their summers there and like to entertain friends and family who come to visit but it also has to function as office space for when they’re working. When family visits, there are multiple grandchildren who need to be accommodated even if just for meals. So, this apartment had its own set of challenges. The apartment is located in a building that is very generic. When my clients bought the apartment, they knew they needed to do a whole renovation except for the kitchen, which they wanted to keep.
This apartment was originally a two bedroom, 1 bath apartment with a separate kitchen and no closets. It is now a two bedroom, 2 bath apartment with an open kitchen and loads of storage. So besides replacing just about everything in the apartment, finding space for storage, an extra bathroom, adding overhead lighting, we also had to have all the walls scraped down because the finish on them was from a different era best forgotten. The kitchen cabinets were left pretty much untouched but we added a washer/dryer and with the wall removed we added a kitchen island that doubles as an eating area. We added tons of storage from the entryway that now has an area for shoes, bags, coats, vacuum cleaner, etc to multiple storage units for clothes and linens, to the storage unit for the tv, books, knick-knacks, office supplies, etc.
When we were looking around for furniture we found a fabric that felt like it was the perfect mix of old Swiss chalet charm but with a color palette that felt more contemporary. We based our color palette off of the fabric and used the fabric to make a throw pillow. The main living space is about taking advantage of the beautiful mountain views so we didn’t want to detract from that when choosing how to decorate the main living space. We added a blue tile backsplash to the kitchen to give the kitchen more warmth, chose to make the kitchen island blue and not quite as modern as the kitchen cabinets to give a bit of contrast and create a nice transition from kitchen to living areas. All the chair covers can easily be washed because we wanted to stay with practical items that were also comfortable. The sofa we chose to upholster in an easy care fabric. We decided to not do a white sofa as we wanted to incorporate a bit of color and make the sofa a bit more of a “showy” piece with the pillows adding color, warmth, and more Swiss coziness. One of the light fixtures has a fun detail with the skiers on it. The main living area combines practicality, function, fun, coziness, and comfort all perfect for entertaining or just relaxing quietly at home. The key to making this apartment work for my clients was to make it an easy place to spend the summer. If the kids make a mess, it needs to be easy to clean up. If it’s just the two of them it needs to still feel cozy and comfortable. Making use of the small space so that it can function on multiple levels was incredibly important. Lastly, as it is a vacation home and they love looking at the changing views, we wanted to make sure that when they walked in the door, that it felt like they were in Switzerland and not in a generic apartment. Even with just a few small touches, we were able to achieve that.
