We reckon it pays to have friends in high places – and places don’t get much higher than the Swiss Alps where a friend of Mascot has a rather nice chalet. Having seen the work we’d done on Rossopomodoro’s restaurant interiors, our friend thought “I’ll have some of that” and commissioned us to give his chalet the once over and a makeover.
A couple of weekend trips to the fresh mountain air of Haute Nendaz, a skiing resort nestling in a beautiful alpine valley... all expenses paid... it was a tough job but someone had to do it.
During a reconnaissance visit, our intrepid Mascoteer took a selection of quirky photographs of the vicinity, sourced local crafts and bought a selection of vintage postcards and some unusual antique bric-a-brac. Our client friend wanted to avoid Swiss cliché, but we couldn’t resist an ironic nod towards it: not with a cuckoo clock but with a tasteful splash of Toblerone-patterned wallpaper. We got away with this cheeky chocolate reference by throwing in a more conventional wallpaper design featuring intricate local art. Guess that’s two Swiss rolls for the price of one.
As a focal point we created a dynamic set of graphic panels that refer in an offbeat way to cultural elements of the chalet’s location. To give these a touch of genuine Swiss character, the font used is Helvetica – what else?
Finally, to lightheartedly hint that this tiny piece of Switzerland is English-owned, a wood carving that takes pride of place is daubed with a St. George’s cross – simply a colour reversal of the Swiss flag.
We don’t like to blow our own trumpet, but when the photographs were framed, the wallpaper hung and the finishing arty touches applied, we have to say the chalet looked pretty special. So worth a blast on our own Alpine horn.
