Chalet-style interior design features

A chalet or cottage in the Alps is a shepherd’s refuge in high-mountain pastures. It was he who gave an inexhaustible theme for a new kind of country style. Numerous design developments have made their own adjustments to adapt the archaic chalet-style interior to the conditions of a city apartment. The source of inspiration is the two-level chalet, with its solid wooden furniture, stone walls and a fireplace, which forms this cozy archaic atmosphere..

The chalet-style interior is simple and comfortable

In such a room it is pleasant to take a break from the city noise and plunge into the atmosphere of village life.

What is the difference between architecture and chalet style

The architecture of the chalet and its style of interior arrangement was formed in the Alps, at the junction of the highlands of Italy, France and Switzerland. Alpine pastures are characterized by changeable weather, strong winds and heavy rainfall even in the summer season. Therefore, the quiet refuge of the shepherds should be, first of all, warm, reliable and cozy – these are the characteristic features of the interior in the style of a chalet..

The main attributes of the style are a fireplace, natural wood, stone and sheep skins or their imitation

Successful styling of a gas stove for a fireplace

It is noteworthy that the Swiss consider this style “too French”, the Italians ascribe its charm and modernized architecture to themselves. And the French emphasize that this is a mountain house in Switzerland, with all its paraphernalia. They claim that they have made only a small contribution to it from the Provencal country style. Hence such confusion about the origin of the chalet in the interior..

Sometimes the chalet resembles a Scandinavian style, but there is much less white here.

So, a Swiss house in a modern interpretation is a luxurious two-storey villa in the mountains, built according to the classical model.

Modern chalet style house

A real chalet in the classic version – an ordinary building in the mountains, a shepherd’s “residence” in the mountains, where the basement is a sedan made of stone, the upper one is wooden, with rough beamed ceilings, brickwork and rough plaster with whitewash are possible.

Therefore, all materials are natural and environmentally friendly. All objects and furniture – without pretentious sophistication, handmade, the usual geometry of squat forms. But there is something in this simplicity of a country house with a chalet-style interior that makes this kind of country extremely popular..

The stone facing of the fireplace fits perfectly into the interior of the room

Wooden columns and arches perfectly complement the scenic view from the window

The inhabitants of the mountains value warmth and comfort most of all. Therefore, the squat sloping roof, on which snow lies for a long time on top of the melted crust, helps to stabilize the temperature. Most of the panoramic windows are facing east in order to rise with the first rays of the sun. The fireplace is the center of the most reliable, cozy and warm home, this will be confirmed by many residents of picturesque Alpine villages, regardless of the country..

Today, chalet-style interior design is at the peak of popularity, it is chosen by romantic natures for houses on the plains and luxurious apartments with a layout like duplexes and loft apartments. This may be the best solution for an ordinary country house without walls, standing on the edge of the forest, and arranging a spacious attic.

Chalet style blends well with Art Deco elements

Recently, entire hotel quarters have been built like chalets – they are structurally very simple and attractive. The mass passion for mountain tourism fuels the desire to take with you a piece of the romantic mountain atmosphere, which explains the demand for chalet style in the interior of a country house and city apartment. Even in the Moscow region, whole villages have been built in new buildings, in many ways reminiscent of houses in the Alps. But in essence, the chalet is a semi-basement ground floor and a spacious attic.

This architecture is characterized by a peculiar design of the adjoining territory, with its large terraces under a canopy hanging far from the roof. It is customary to equip them with wicker garden furniture and tables from a natural saw cut of a large trunk, but other variations are possible, emphasizing the chalet in the interior and exterior design..

Chalet-style outdoor terrace

Next to a wooden terrace or veranda, they usually make a small lawn and rock gardens – islands of landscape design that emphasize the choice of the style of the interior of the chalet house. You can even make an artificial reservoir with a cascading waterfall, but opposite a real private building in the Alps is a high-mountain landscape.

Chalet style in the interior of a country house

Chalet style in the interior is a colorful variety of country with its “shepherd’s” attributes. Of course, this is a bundle of firewood right by the fireplace, crude sheep skins, carelessly scattered on upholstered furniture..

Any kind of hunting decor is welcome

Deer antler chandeliers

Chalet-style hunting interior decorations in a country house are also possible:

the skin of a wild animal under your feet or a sofa;
antlers on an empty wall in the living room;
bedspread made of skins or their imitation;
small collection of edged weapons.

All this will not help to fully describe the features of this style, but will give a more complete picture of the typical features of a modern chalet interior. Rough wood and stone are what distinguishes a real mountain lodge, so the greatest attention is paid to architectural features and surface cladding..

Chalet style – a suitable option for spacious attic-type rooms

There is no place for plastics and synthetic materials. But in a city apartment, designed in the spirit of chalet design, you can widely use an imitation of a real tree. The advantage is given to aged wood and a laminate of a rough texture – this is a typical “feature” of this kind of country. In the natural environment, the tree becomes soaked and darkened by water and snow, which gives it the signs of natural aging..

The interior is usually done in pleasant pastel colors.

Basic colors for the style of the chalet interior:

1.	Main background	Light (milky, cream, light beige, gray, sand, pale green).
2.	Cold gamut	Sky blue, muted blue, green, cornflower blue, emerald, aquamarine.
3.	Warm gamut	Muted shades of red and yellow, flower tones, purple and terracotta.
4.	Linear contrasts	Black tone, dark brown, all shades of woody, dark blue, blueberry.

The main range is selected from 2-3 shades, for example, white, brown and gray, as in the photo

In rooms with low ceilings, it is better to use light shades.

Alpine theme is appropriate in the decor – conifers and meadows, birds and animals, mountain peaks and snow-covered landscapes. Hand-made rugs from colored yarns, coarse textiles and animal skins are an additional Alpine entourage of a chalet-style living room interior. Dry ikebana, bags of herbs and bunches of medicinal plants tied on beams give a special spicy aroma characteristic of country interiors. The kitchen compartment is filled with ceramic utensils and simple handmade utensils.

The furniture is deliberately simple, but not rough and “clumsy”, homemade versions of tables and chairs are quite appropriate

In this style, different types of wood, differing in texture and shade, can peacefully coexist. However, elite wood has no place here – an emphasis on simplicity and availability of materials.

In such a bedroom, you can survive a cold winter.

A chalet in the interior of a modern interpretation is very much in demand when it comes to building a country house or choosing one of the varieties of country style. In its pure form, chalets do not exist on our territory, especially in the design of apartments. Everything that is presented in the photo is adapted options, where a lifestyle close to nature is glorified..

Chalet-style apartment interior

Although until now there is no single concept of how a chalet-style interior should look, the style is very recognizable. It has absorbed the features of some related directions, such as Scandinavian minimalism, retro, vintage and shabby chic. There is in him something of French Provence and the desire to live luxuriously even in poverty in a purely Italian way..

Open plan priority

Artificially aged wooden surfaces will add special charm

In the original chalet, the surface of the walls was left without cladding, the lower basement was high-quality masonry that did not require modification. The upper attic was all made of wood, including the beams on the ceiling. Today, the lower level is often plastered, but they do it with imitation of natural materials – the color of cement and sand. Or paint the walls with a rough imitation of lime whitewash.

The texture of natural wood should be the main cladding – lining, timber, blockhouse and even imitation of wood in synthetic counterparts, such as eco-veneer and laminate. This is the best decor to highlight the chalet-style interior. Whitewashing on the ceiling is also appropriate, only imitation of beams should be present, in their hollow “cores” communications (pipes and wires) are often hidden. It will not be superfluous to use wood carvings that cover some objects, for example, a ventilation window..

Only natural materials or high-quality imitations are used for decoration

Chalet style does not tolerate excessive light, so the number of lamps is strictly limited

There should not be a lot of furniture, only everything you need

If you take a closer look at what is characteristic of the chalet style in the interior, then natural stone and its synthetic counterparts are also appropriate:

porcelain stoneware;
flexible stone;
“Wild” stone;
stone wallpaper (sandstone cut).

Stone masonry can be complemented by red brick and rough plaster. It is sometimes applied with bald patches, “bald spots” or gaps, partially revealing the base – this is a specific design technique. A more urban finish is possible, for example, wallpaper, but their design should be strictly in the country style. They will be appropriate in the bedroom of an apartment or accentuate a chalet-style design inside the house. You can decorate an empty wall with a photo wallpaper with a mountain landscape..

Cast iron chandeliers with retro shades are well suited as lighting fixtures.

It is worth considering that the interior in the style of a chalet in an apartment cannot be reflected to the extent that it is obtained in buildings consistent with all the canons of a mountain house. But all decor items should be subordinate to this theme, pictures with mountain landscapes can be hung on the walls.

Chalet is simplicity and naturalness, so this style is more suitable for lovers of peace and quiet

The auxiliary rooms and the kitchen are decorated as usual country. And only the living room with low handmade furniture (its imitation) and carelessly scattered sheep skins will emphasize the mountain theme with a rural flavor.