Can Fishing Be Glamorous? With This Chalet, We Think So.
Michael Sinclair
This chalet, which interior designer Tino Zervudachi and architect Peter Helletzgruber were tasked with building for a family, is set in the epitome of Austrian lands, according to the Österreich Bundeshymne (their national anthem):
Land der Berge, Land am Strome,
Land der Äcker, Land der Dome,
Land der Hämmer, zukunftsreich!
(Land of mountains, land beside river,
Land of fields, land of cathedrals,
Land of hammers, full of promise!)
Michael Sinclair
The aesthetic of the house was inspired by the family’s many summers fishing for trout and salmon in the area. Usually, they’d rent a fishing lodge from a friend—so humble it had no electricity.
Michael Sinclair
Throughout the new house’s walls are paintings of local wildlife and mounted horns, personally collected by the owner. It exudes the same rustic, understated appeal but does well to deliver luxuries like heated floors via the several kachelöfen (traditional tiled stoves) around the house.
Kachelöfen come in many shapes, patterns, and colors, and the ones in this house are specially selected antique pieces. We’re particularly drawn to this emerald green one!
Michael Sinclair
The house features many other antique pieces, including but not limited to an assortment of bold kilims covering most of the floors, wingback and carver chairs found in Paris, eighteenth-century bedframes painted in local Bauernmalerei folk art, and eighteenth-century Tyrolean bauernstuhl chairs in the dining room that were already a part of the owner’s collection.
Michael Sinclair
The kitchen maintains a sense of mystery, with much of the modern appliances disguised behind rustic cabinetry. A wood-burning stove serves as a partition between the kitchen, dining, and seating areas. Lighting, via wrought iron chandeliers and many pendant lights throughout the rest of the house, is topped with parchment lampshades that feature hand-painted images of local wildlife.
Michael Sinclair
Pattern mixing seems essential to creating an inviting, cozy, and warm atmosphere. To add to the textures of the kilims, a lot of the furniture is covered in custom textiles. The chair below, for example, is covered in ‘Nuages Chinois’ jacquard by the family-owned silk textile mill Prelle in France. The prints on the chair and striped pillows and tablecloth work to contrast from the simpler, solid texture of a custom sage-green sofa.
Besides custom fabrics, there are several pieces of wooden furniture that have also been custom painted. We think it’s the perfect way to bring the eclectic combination of colors together. The greens, reds, and blues especially complement the earthy tones of the wooden panels lining the house.
Michael Sinclair
We saved the best for last: the front door! We’re not certain of the details, but it looks like it’s either painted or naturally rusted. The heavy yet cool industrial feel doesn’t reveal much of what’s inside. The brighter green, almost turquoise, color offers a hint of the warmer days even in the middle of a bleak winter.
Michael Sinclair
