I just got back from the French Alps – these are cozy apres ski decor tips I am bringing home

The best thing about my recent trip to the new Experimental Chalet Val d'Isere in the French Alps wasn't the skiing. It wasn't the perfect snow we were lucky enough to get, or all those blue skies, or even the bowls of fries eaten with a glass of wine on top of a mountain for lunch. It was that the hotel itself was so full of decor ideas, with such a rich, modern take on the classic ski look. So I have of course come home brimming with new inspiration for how to make my own home more cozy.

The Experimental Group, known for its cocktail bars and hotels around Europe, has been pushing the design needle for over a decade. I stayed in the revamped Cowley Manor in the English Cotswolds last Spring, and it was a haven of classic county wood paneling and cosseting carpets in bright colors. And the new Val d'Isere outpost is equally as enticing. It felt so cozy yet really contemporary.

'This is exactly what we wanted,' says Dorothee Meilichzon, who looks after all the designs of the Experimental group's locations. 'To feel you are in a ski resort but move away from the usual full wood/fur /tartan atmosphere.' And so this is the 2025 take on cozy decor that I'm most inspired by, new ways to make your home warm.

1. Be inspired by outdoors

It might seem counter-intuitive to take a design nod from the big outdoors when creating a cozy interior, but Dorothee looked to the expansive forests of the US as a starting point.

'Quite immediately, this massive building made of stone roof tiles, concrete and wood made us think of an American-style lodge: logs, branches, stone layout, and woodwork, and we therefore felt this should be our starting point!' she explains. '"The spirit of the forest" was our architectural system, in order to design the door frames, cupboards, headboards, handles, bathroom furniture and benches around the stoic stone fireplace.'

This meant finding unexpected ways to include wood as a contrast to the layered textiles. The hard bedframes, you can see above, with their broad, varnished wood boards truly made all the blankets and linens and quilted headboard seem even softer, even more inviting.

2. Contrast bold colors with warm shades

Whereas the classic ski lodge is all about decorating with neutrals (think white sheepskin blankets as the only accent), the Experimental Ski Chalet layered in orange-y reds, rich blues, and underscored them with blacks and whites to make them stand out even more.

'We always aim to bring comfort and an atmosphere so you feel taken care of,' Dorothee says. 'It is super important to me. I am not into minimalism when it comes to hotels. So we brought very warm colors, and materials, lots of wool, carpet, and a lot of contrast: pine tree and walnut, red and green, black and white, and many details to remind us of the Alps.'

3. Embrace wall-to-wall carpet

One of the most show-stopping moments for me was the daring use of wall-to-wall carpets. They were in the public spaces, in the hallways, in the bedrooms, in colors like a gray-tinged sage green and orange-tinted red. It was daring because this is a high-traffic hotel, with guests traipsing snow and wet and the outdoors in with them every time they step foot back into the hotel. But this reversal of the long-held design flooring trend for all things wood and rugs felt just so right for now.

'It was a bit complicated to find the appropriate flooring as we will have people in ski shoes, others in snow boots, some in socks and even some in slippers!' Dorothee says. 'We have stone flooring fitted in opus incertum for the reception area, and 90% of the rest of the space is in wool carpet, together with a few oak floor details, mainly surroundings and floor frames.'

I've always shied away from carpet – I have two dogs, the floor is muddy the moment it has been cleaned – but this chalet has given me hope they can remain pristine, as these carpets were immaculate (despite all the traipsing). And they felt so, so plush underfoot.

4. Use sculptural wall lights to create an upward glow

The final flourish at the Experimental Chalet Val d'Isere was the sculptural wall lights. In the restaurant, a large Mushroom lamp by British brand Porta Romana gave off a subtle and warming glow, while the hallways were studded with spiked sconces that looked like sea urchins, shown above, and were just as intriguing.

'The sea urchin – that could also be a chestnut – has been designed by Alan Louis, a designer I have known for quite some time now,' Dorothee tells me. And it's this addition that really elevates the coziness of the decor, creating pockets of light that shine their illumination up instead of down, bathing the area softly instead of creating downward spotlit glows. A neat trick I know I'm going to be referencing time and time again.

As hotels become more and more like a home away from home, rather than the minimalist spaces they often once used to be, I find myself looking to them for inspiration all the time. The lessons I have learned from the Experimental Chalet are all about making a space feel welcoming and cozy, while also remaining very chic and elevated, all of which are so easy for me to replicate in my own way at home.