Taking Chalet Chic to the City

By HELEN KIRWAN-TAYLOR

Marting Guggisberg/Bergdorf AG

A home in Sant'Abbondio, Switzerland, designed by Atelier Zürich

Over the next few weeks, hundreds of thousands of Europeans will take to the slopes. They will return refreshed from days spent in the mountain air and evenings swaddled in thick cashmere throws in front of roaring fireplaces.

But once back home, they start to pine for the coziness of the chalet and that feeling of being cocooned in warmth. Fortunately for them, the chalet is leaving the mountains and beginning to appear in towns, in the countryside, in restaurants and pubs—even as a nightclub décor (New York's Aspen Social Club). Gone are the kitsch cut-out hearts in Tyrolean three-legged chairs and the red-checked curtains: Chalet chic today is about mixing the rough with the smooth and creating a modern space that is not only comfortable but also unfussy, eco-friendly and, above all, tactile.

"So much of contemporary design is cold and soulless," says London-based designer Nicky Dobree, whose five-bedroom chalet, Ferme de Moudon (developed with her husband and now rented out, with all the trimmings), in Gets, France, is the pinup for the chalet chic look now spreading across Europe. "I think people want a home that is not sterile and not precious. I hate how clinical and minimal many interiors can be. I now bring many elements of the chalet into other projects [including a house in Windsor and a London penthouse], such as thick wool curtains, rough timber and lots of materials such as leather, fur, Scottish tartans and sheepskin."

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Philip Vile

The sitting room of a project in Windsor by Nicky Dobree

The designer sometimes uses cowhide as a tablecloth and always insists on large, open fireplaces flanked by a perfectly symmetrical stack of wooden logs in a cut-out alcove—every stylist's favorite trick. She also likes to add twists such as using Adirondack chairs, often seen by the seaside, with sheepskin throws on balconies. Ms. Dobree is in the process of designing a collection of cashmere throws, blankets and lounge accessories. "I think what people want is to feel cocooned," she says. "They now like to use their chalets all year around, so the style has to be all-weather."

The chalet-chic trend ticks a lot of boxes. It relies heavily on timber and natural, organic materials that age gracefully. With its architectural beams, light wood and large expanses of glazing, the chalet aesthetic is a perfect backdrop for contemporary art or antiques, while neutral enough to allow for colorful accessorizing.

Atelier Zürich is a young design practice run by two interior architects, Flavia Spahr and Claudia Silberschmidt. Living that close to the mountains, they know a thing or two about chalets. "I think the main intention of chalet chic is not to copy what a chalet looks like but to recreate the feeling you get when you walk in. It's about the atmosphere," says Ms. Spahr. "What makes the chalet are the materials and the textiles. Nowadays, most things are mass-produced to fit any space anywhere; with chalet chic, it's the opposite. It's a very simple aesthetic in which nothing is precious, but, at the same time, it is precious because there is clarity. Many things you see in chalets are old and handmade, there is a depth to them. It gives the person surrounded by them depth. It's also in the details: A simple tablecloth might be handmade. In fact, most things—the chunky, wooden furniture, the patchwork cushions—bear the imprint of the person who made them." In a house the duo designed in Sant'Abbondio, Switzerland, sheepskin throws and animal hides are mixed with contemporary lights by Tom Dixon, chairs by Patricia Urquiola and carpets from Kyrgyzstan. It is a look that would work just as easily in London as in Verbier.

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(l-r) E15; SCP Ltd

e15's Backenzahn stool/sidetable in European oak, designed by Philipp Mainzer ( £684); Frank pouffe, in Nos Da fabric, by Donna Wilson for SCP (£429)

Chalets are largely about wood, whose nature is to weather and bend, creating its own unique story. The German company e15 (www.e15.com), founded by two Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design graduates, embodies the chalet aesthetic. Their wooden furniture is sustainable and only gets better with age; their upholstery is flexible and indestructible. "We can certainly see a trend of people wanting more natural and high-quality furniture with an emotional value," says Philipp Mainzer, e15's creative director and managing partner. "In our world, which is changing faster and getting more virtual every day, with everything at all times at our immediate disposal, people are desperate to compensate with lasting and authentic interiors that reflect their own personality and trigger their memories." Their long-time best-seller, the "Bigfoot," a chunky table made of solid oak (€3534), has just been overtaken by the "London," also a chunky table in oak (€3,390). The chalet chic favorite, though, is the "Noah" bed (€2,856), a modern take on a traditional sleigh bed. In fact, no self-respecting chalet-chic home is without one of their Backenzahn oak stools, the company's most well-known (and often copied) product. (€678).

Where chalet chic ends and Scandinavian begins is hard to tell. What both design styles have in common is a cold heritage and, as a result, a love of warm materials like sheepskin, which is now appearing as upholstery. The famous Swedese Lamino chair, for example, now comes covered in sheepskin (€1,628).

Getting the "look" is all about softening the tough wood and stone interiors. Look at any chalet and you will see layers of throws in fur (real or faux), cashmere and wool. This longing to cocoon in front of a fireplace is partly the inspiration behind Scottish, Royal College of Art-trained designer Donna Wilson's collection of bright hand-knitted pouffes, blankets and cushions for SCP (www.scp.co.uk), a furniture manufacturer and retailer in London. The wool for her Nos Da collection was specially spun and dyed in England, then woven in Wales using a traditional double-cloth weaving technique that makes the fabric substantially chunkier than others (pouffes from £429).

Chalet chic has to evoke the mountains, however faintly, which can be hard in a city. Danish company by nord (bynord.com) has gotten around this technicality by printing nature scenes onto cushions and duvets. Their "Moose" duvets (£95), printed with the animal on one side and a description of the animal on other (a perfect match for e15's Noah bed) are the politically correct solution to the stuffed marmots and antler chandeliers still widely seen across the Alps.

Write to Helen Kirwan-Taylor at wsje.weekend@wsj.com