A sports-loving family's traditional wooden house in the Kitzbühel Alps has been transformed into a sophisticated family home that completely reimagines the classic chalet concept. Munich-based interior designers Robert Stephan and Peter Schlagböhmer from The Rope Studio created a design that deliberately avoids typical Alpine décor clichés, instead embracing collectible design pieces and refined materials.

The story began with a family's dedication to their children's passion for skiing. The clients and their family regularly drove more than 200 kilometers from Lech am Arlberg to Kitzbühel so their children could participate in ski races organized for young athletes. Eventually, the lengthy commute became too much, and they decided to relocate entirely to the Kitzbühel Alps. They found a suitable house built in the early 1970s, large enough for their family of five and their friends.

However, finding the right property was only the beginning of their challenges. The house appeared historic but was actually constructed in the early 1970s. The owners had a strong aversion to typical Kitzbühel chalet-chic style, as designer Robert Stephan recalls. "Fake aged wood, ostentatious champagne lounges, antlers from deer and stags that were definitely not hunted by the owners themselves – you could chase him away with all that," Stephan explained. It quickly became clear that he and Peter Schlagböhmer, Stephan's business partner and co-founder of The Rope gallery, would handle the renovation.

The renovation required extensive clearing out, as the house had come fully furnished on the market. All the fake wood had to go, along with the floors, false stone cladding, and quaint fireplaces. Stephan and Schlagböhmer developed the rough concept for the redesign during a single memorable night. "We had asked to spend 24 hours in the house to get to know it," Stephan explains. "We arrived in the afternoon, made ourselves something to eat, and later opened a bottle of wine. Before we knew it, it was half past five in the morning, and the new interior architectural plan was largely finished."

To avoid even the slightest hint of Alpine kitsch, they chose light gray clay plaster for the walls and spectacular paneling made from bog oak – a wood that definitely doesn't occur around Kitzbühel. They installed dark, gray-stained ceilings and laid long, wide planks on the floors that have a particularly tactile quality due to special surface treatment. "You want to stroke them all day," says Peter Schlagböhmer, who was also responsible for the new, completely un-Alpine fireplace with its imposing exhaust hood.

The designers replaced the small windows on the ground floor with large Sky-Frame windows, providing beautiful views of the landscape. Schlagböhmer, who worked in leading positions in the fashion world for 25 years before founding The Rope with his wife Vicky and Robert Stephan (including work for Breuninger fashion house and Tommy Hilfiger in Amsterdam and New York), suggested enlarging the windows to better showcase the landscape. Stephan then had the idea to rotate the house's floor plan 180 degrees to improve the view even further.

For furniture selection, design expert Stephan explains, "We looked where we know our way around: Paris, Milan, New York. The only antlers you'll see here are on the 'Stag Table' by Rick Owens." The rooms feature chairs, loungers, and lights, sofas and coffee tables by Carlo Scarpa, George Nakashima, Angelo Lelli, and Angelo Mangiarotti. There are impressive large ceramics by Helmut Schäffenacker, a painter and sculptor from Ulm who is now unfairly almost forgotten, as well as works by Thierry Lemaire, Pierre Chapo, and Arno Declercq, who, like the glass designers from 6:AM, are exclusively represented by The Rope in German-speaking countries.

The ensemble is cosmopolitan, as one would expect from the two designers, with refined taste that's tangible. "It was important to the couple who would move in that this house wouldn't just be a vacation home," says Schlagböhmer. "They wanted to come here year-round, even for longer periods, so it had to function in both winter and summer." The house includes three bedrooms, several living rooms, a playroom, a spa, and a guest house with additional sleeping accommodations.

Some elements survived the fresh wind that swept through the renovation. For example, the ceiling beams in the living room, one of which has the year 1810 carved into it. They came from a castle in southern Styria. "That was their luck: no Kitzbühel style," the designers note. "That's probably why they were allowed to stay." The custom-made Boomerang sofa by Thierry Lemaire in the living room is complemented by a coffee table from Liaigre, while a vintage Carlo Scarpa sofa sits newly upholstered next to the kitchen.

Throughout the house, carefully curated pieces create sophisticated vignettes: an Angelo Mangiarotti chair at the stair landing with a Derick Pobell mobile hanging from the ceiling, Angelo Lelli's 1956 Televisione floor lamp, and Helmut Schäffenacker ceramics displayed on custom shelving. Even the hi-fi system reflects the attention to detail – a McIntosh system sits on a metal sideboard with doors covered in buffalo leather. On the balcony, a side table and chair by Pierre Chapo complete the thoughtful design scheme that successfully reimagines Alpine living without relying on traditional clichés.