Nicole Salvesen brings a colourful English sensibility to her Alpine chalet
It is early December when we arrive at interior designer Nicole Salvesen’s chalet in Morzine, a French Alpine town nestled in the heart of Les Portes du Soleil ski area, just over an hour’s drive from Geneva. Outside, frost glistens on balcony railings and a faint scent of wood smoke drifts through the air. Inside, the scene is equally appealing, if a little unexpected.
Nicole, one half of the London-based interior design studio Salvesen Graham, discovered the chalet in the summer of 2021, just as the post-pandemic property market began to stir. She and her family had been visiting the area for years, drawn in winter to the slopes, long walks through meadows of edelweiss and buttercups in the summer, and year-round sightings of alpine chamois and roe deer. ‘We weren’t looking seriously for a house,’ she recalls. But when she and her husband Tom came across this one, on a quiet turning in the centre of town, an idea began to take shape. ‘It was the eureka moment,’ Nicole explains. ‘In Morzine, we’d found a place we could enjoy all year round.’
Built in the 1990s by a local family of farmers-turned-ski instructors (which speaks volumes about how the economy of the region has shifted), Chalet Sarcleret had charm but also several limitations. Its small rooms, awkward layout and glut of orange pine might have tempted others to tear it down and start again. Instead, they decided to work with the existing structure, commissioning local architect Alexandre Losfeld of Piste B Architecte to rethink and extend the house. ‘It was an incredibly collaborative process and he was open to us doing all sorts of things that might not have been the norm in the area,’ says Nicole.
The addition of a new, three-storey wing nearly doubled the size of the house without it losing its chalet identity: a gabled roof is punctuated by dormer windows, while long balconies wrap around its timber-clad shell. Inside, the original pine panelling was painted over to temper its brightness, while in the new extension, oak joinery has been left raw, creating a quiet contrast. But the decorating owes a debt to the English country house style that is a signature of Salvesen Graham. It is a look the designers have freshened up for 21st-century living and, somewhat surprisingly, it translates beautifully to this French Alpine context.
This is particularly evident on the first floor, which is the most transformed part of the original structure. At one end is a large sitting area and, at the other, a dining space; acting as a buffer between the two is a fireplace with a surround of hand-painted Balineum tiles, flanked by two skirted armchairs. It’s all terribly pretty – without a sheepskin or other chalet clichés in sight. Instead, vintage kilims cover the floor and the walls are hung with framed textiles, contemporary photography and modern paintings. Nicole worked closely with de Gournay to create a bespoke wallcovering for this room: a finely hand-painted design inspired by alpine flora, realised in a colour palette of soft ochres, smoky greens and twilight blues. ‘I wanted it to reference the mountains without feeling too literal or seasonal,’ she explains.
Adjacent to this space is an oak kitchen made by Guild Anderson, featuring worktops in local marble and a sociable island. Food plays a central role in life at the chalet. ‘We spend a lot of time cooking and eating when we are here,’ Nicole says. The winters bring slow roasts, fondues and tartiflettes, while summer means barbecues in the garden. ‘We didn’t want the house to feel like a place that was just for stopping off after days on the piste, but somewhere you would want to spend time. It had to work as a proper home rather than a rental.’ That said, the family does occasionally rent out the chalet when they aren’t in residence.
Practical spaces are as carefully considered as the decorative ones. Upstairs, seven bedrooms – including a cosy bunk room for children – make the house flexible for extended family and friends. At ground level, there is a newly created entrance hall and, beside it, a boot room big enough to store and dry plenty of skis. There’s also a pantry and flower room at the back of this floor.
Off the hall is a comfortable snug with room enough for more than a dozen children to pile in and watch films. Rugs are layered up, a robust blanket covers an ottoman and floral patterns dress a generous L-shaped sofa. As elsewhere in the new extension, the walls – and, in this case, also the ceiling – are covered in wallpaper. It’s a neat trick that Salvesen Graham repeatedly uses to soften the edges of a newbuild.
Though the chalet is set in a bustling ski resort, it has a pleasing feeling of seclusion. And inside, it adapts gracefully to the rhythms of French Alpine life, shaped both by the seasons and the family members who return throughout the year.
salvesengraham.com | chaletsarcleret.com | The chateau can also be rented via AliKats.
Christopher Horwood1/9Antique alpine dining chairs with seat cushions covered in Sanderson’s ‘Truffle’ in rowan berry pick up on the tones of the banquette cushions opposite, in Guy Goodfellow Collection’s striped ‘Olive Sacking’ in rosewood and ‘Baies’ linen from Antoinette Poisson. Wall lamps by Balineum and candles cast a soft glow over the dining table, which is covered with a large tablecloth from Maria de la Orden.
Christopher Horwood2/9
Christopher Horwood3/9Woodwork painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Olive’ provides a warm backdrop for recycled wool blankets from TBCo, which are on the beds and also used as curtains. The moss flatweave ‘Greek Cane’ rug is a collaboration between Salvesen Graham and Jennifer Manners
Christopher Horwood4/9The curves of a 1930s-style ‘Soho’ bath from The Water Monopoly and a ‘La Chapelle’ console basin by Lefroy Brooks contrast with chequerboard flooring in marble ‘Rosso di Scacchi’ tiles from Mandarin Stone. Vintage plates create a characterful decorative effect
Christopher Horwood5/9Textiles in an earthy palette establish a restful feel. The bed canopy and upholstered base in Salvesen Graham’s moss ‘Zig Zag Stripe’ cotton/linen balances the Indian block-print cotton used for the curtains, pelmet, bed hanging and cushions; the mustard trimmings are from Salvesen Graham’s Sanderson range. The headboard is in de Le Cuona’s ‘Duchess Paisley’ wool mix and the wooden bench is a Vinterior find
Christopher Horwood6/9
Christopher Horwood7/9
Christopher Horwood8/9
Christopher Horwood9/9
