A Swiss Chalet Reborn (with Rooms to Rent) - Remodelista
Brücke 49 Hotel Pension, a modern-rustic guest house in the alpine spa town of Vals, is exactly where we’d like to be right now. Located in a 1902 house with four guest rooms, the B&B is the work of Ruth Kramer and Thomas Schacht, a Swiss-Danish couple who traded careers in Denmark–she as a designer, he as a business developer–for mountain village living. The century-old house is painted slate gray with white shutters. We love the B&B’s glossy black front door. Vals is famous for its limestone, and the B&B entrance has its original, locally quarried stone floor and stairs. The side chair was in the house when they bought it and is emblematic of the way Ruth and Thomas introduced a mix of old and new: They upholstered the seat in a Paul Smith stripe from Kvadrat. All the floors in the house, including the living room, shown here, are original wide-plank pine–”long, massive planks that came from the local woods.” The couple added new panels to the walls in the old style. The rug-free room is furnished with Danish classics, including a 1940s armchair by Finn Juhl. At Brücke 49, guests are not only welcome in the stainless-steel-appointed kitchen but also encouraged to cook if inclined. Note the apples stored in a wooden crate on the floor and the for-the-taking drinks on the window ledge. A guest room under the eaves. Above L: A turn-of-the-century doorknob with its original key. A patchwork-upholstered vintage Danish chair in a guest room. A case for the (nearly) all-white bathroom. A montage of Brücke 49 details, including tasseled towels designed by Ruth and made for Brücke 49 by a friend in Turkey; a Royal Copenhagen mug; and a window railing that Thomas describes as “a little bent and bitten by time.” Breakfast is served on Royal Copenhagen’s hand-painted Multicolored Elements porcelain. An alpine arrangement that we plan to replicate. The 1902 knob on a bathroom window. Folding wooden chairs for taking in the mountain air year round. For rates and reservations, go to Brücke 49 Hotel Pension.