Somewhat unsurprisingly, one of the challenges in designing and building ski chalets is that delivery dates are invariably set for mid December – the start of the ski season. The result of this is, however hard we anticipate and prepare, the workload builds over the Autumn months to a frankly scary and then ultimately sleep-deprived last few weeks in early December. 2017 proved to be no exception to this annual tradition!
This time round we had three handovers in December: a luxury new build chalet – Chalet Joux Plane – which is being operated as a high-end catered chalet by The Boutique Chalet Company, the renovation of a tired ski lodge for TV personality Natasha Kaplinsky, her husband Justin Bowers and their children, and a consultation on a 6 bed chalet, run by Treeline Chalets.
Chalet Joux Plane
Although we had completed Joux Plane at the end of October, we had an additional remit in advance of The Boutique Chalet Company taking possession in early December which kept us unexpectedly busy. Also, as there had been such a buzz about the chalet over the Autumn, we took the opportunity to open the doors to the chalet for a soirée and invite people to visit the property and have a look around with a glass (or two!) of prosecco. It was a wonderful evening, and many thanks to all the people who came, and especially to Rohan for being our barman, and the fabulous Amie Henderson of Origami Media for organising the event.
Natasha & Justin’s Chalet
Hot on the heels of Joux Plane we handed over Natasha and Justin’s chalet. This project was a significant renovation, re-design and enlargement of a dated chalet into a stylish family home. Our brief was “ski lodge meets snow queen chic” with a little bit of Strictly Come Dancing glitter thrown in for good measure! We only had nine months to design and renovate the property, and so with our excellent renovation team we worked worked evenings and weekends in the lead-up to the delivery date to ensure we finished on time.
Chalet Doyen
The most unexpected project that went down to the proverbial wire was Chalet Doyen – a new build chalet that the owners have leased to Treeline Chalets. Due to commitments on our existing projects, we had agreed a reduced consultancy remit for the chalet – assisting the client on the interior architecture, layouts and design decisions during the early build stage. We had all envisaged this being a limited brief through the Spring and Summer, but our rôle expanded, and as the construction process indicated that there was going to be a last-minute handover, I was practically camped at the chalet for the last month of the build – co-ordinating the final finishes as well as the furniture delivery from the UK. Heavy snowfalls pre-season complicated the process, but with epic clients, a gorgeously creative colour palette (and a fair amount of Sancerre!) we handed over the chalet on 23rd December ….. by which time I was looking for a darkened room in which to recover for a few days!
An over-excited six year old daughter a few days before Christmas meant that sleep and relaxation was never going to be viable – instead the Christmas period was full of Père Noël, Christmas presents and a little family skiing – the perfect way to end the year!
