Tino Zervudachi's Gstaad chalet

Trains pass right in front of Tino Zervudachi's Gstaad chalet; but they glide, rather than chug or rattle like an English train. Tino - a partner at Mlinaric, Henry and Zervudachi interior­ design firm, with offices in Paris and London -points out that in Switzerland it is thought desirable to live next to a railway line. And there is something magical about these two-carriage MOB trains that pass so silently - the glistening mountains and blue, blue skies acting as their foil.

Tino and his family-cousins, aunts and uncles, as well as his parents-have been wintering, and summer­ing, in Gstaad for years. Several years ago Tino decided he wanted to buy his own place and, at the time, an architect acquaintance was building this chalet. Tino bought the top apartment, while his parents bought an apartment below. As the last chalet on the edge of the building line, its spectacular views will never be disrupted -which was a huge selling point. And it is just five minutes' walk into the centre of the village.

Tino, who has designed projects all over the world, is no stranger to chalet design. Last year he completed the award-winning Aurelio hotel in Lech, Austria, and he usually has at least one chalet project on the go. He would not want to work on more than a couple at a time, but he likes the challenge of creating something slightly different for each one. For his own, he says, 'The last thing I wanted was red-and-white checks, but I wasn't striving to be radically different either.'

Tino first saw the apartment when it was just a blank concrete slab with a roof, but no walls or doors, so was able to dictate exactly the layout and look he wanted. It had been planned as a holiday apartment with lots of bedrooms and bathrooms, but Tino needed just one bedroom and a study-he has a guest flat on another floor -so the rest could be open-plan living space. 'I wanted a loft-in-a-barn feel... for it to be open to the rafters, with skylights,' he explains. What Tino has created is a luxurious, light-filled, airy living space, filled with personal and interesting things. There are no Alpine trinkets here - tribal arte­facts, oriental and African textiles and large beds, instead of sofas, produce a sophisticated yet laid-back look. 'The beds are perfect for throwing yourself on to after a hard day's skiing,' he explains. They also provide places for friends to curl up on at parties, particularly the one tucked under the rafters.

On one side of the space is the sitting area, domi­nated by a huge fireplace; on the other is the kitchen and dining area - although when Tino has friends over, they are just as likely to eat at the coffee table. You sense it is a very different way of living from that in his more classically decorated apartment in Paris.

There is plenty of wood, as befits a chalet - Tino chose local pine, typical of Alpine architecture, for the floors. The kitchen units, as well as the large cup­boards in the entrance hall and bathroom, are also clad in pine planks, laid horizontally as is traditional, but 'brushed' for a textural, more modern look. To balance the darkness of the wood and the lowness of the windows in such a tall space, Tino added skylights. 'I'm very lucky; I get sunrise and sunset in the same room,' he remarks.

Other than the bedroom, bathroom and study, the apartment is open plan, but Tino has skilfully created the semblance of an entrance hall, off which the rooms lead, with a console table by his sculptress sister, Manuela, and a large circular mirror screening the kitchen. The latter was designed by a Danish architect for the fur section of a department store - it amuses Tino that it is now being used in a chalet.

The bedroom and study both have stable doors - 'I thought they were fun,' Tino explains, 'and I really wanted to let a bit of light in without opening a full view into the rooms.'

His bathroom, which can be accessed from the hall through a neatly designed cloakroom, as well as from the bedroom, is the essence of chic - the beautiful curve of the wood-clad, free-standing bath set off by the straight lines of the room and the black slate floor and surfaces. 'I wanted to be able to lie in my bath and look out at the landscape,' Tino says. The first time he had a bath here, he spotted a deer running across the mountainside.

While you are very much aware that you are just minutes away from the glamorous social whirl of Gstaad - the parties, the music festivals and the tennis tournaments ensure this continues all year round - Tino's deeply comfortable apartment, with its roar­ing fire, cushion-strewn daybeds and just the faintest sound of the occasional train, seems a very private and personal haven.

Mlinaric, Henry and Zervudachi