Panel Shown: Galvanized Corrugated
The ideal interior design against a mountain landscape can be unique to each individual. Understanding the uses your design will play in daily life can be a great step in deciding on how to bring the mountains into your build (or not).
When approaching an interior design project in any area, a key point to consider is when you will be using the space. Will this be year-round primary residence, or a part-time escape from your normal life? What type of experience are you trying to have while at the residence? Are you looking for an activity-driven experience, or a space that allows for decompression?
With permanent alpine homes or mountain escapes there are typically two types of experiences that drive a build in the natural environment. The first is activity driven, with an emphasis on hiking, skiing and other outdoor activities. The second type of experience is often more of a relaxing, minimal experience that relieves stress and offers the natural environment as a place of rest and relaxation. While mountain homes can be a combination of both types of experiences, understanding whether your vacation home is more of a basecamp for activities or a place for relief from stresses will give you some focus on your design.
A unique and appealing aspect of mountain living is the draw of sun in the summer and snow in the winter. Whether you are living in the home year-round or visiting throughout the year, keep in mind how the design will work with the green tones of spring, the reds, oranges, and yellows of fall, and most importantly for mountain designs, the white of winter snow. Will the interior experience complement the natural beauty happening outside your window? Will it provide a warm feeling in the cold, or a cool feeling in the summer?
Once you have an understanding of how your interior design will work with your needs, you can begin to look at incorporating different materials into your interior design.
A popular trend in architecture is the seamless transition from the interior to the exterior design of a build. Bringing materials inside creates a natural transition and often complements the impressive mountain landscapes. The use of metals like Weathering Steel, a popular exterior finish, to transition into an entryway or to continue the exterior wall through the window into a hallway is popular in mountain designs.
Natural wood is often used in mountain builds to help bring the outside scenery into the interior design. Metal, a material not naturally found in the landscape, is often used as a complement to the warmer tones of wood, rather than the centerpiece itself.
Dark metal finishes can help draw the eye to other areas in the room, or help the designer create depth and change sightlines. Using corrugated metal as a ceiling panel between large wood beams provides a unique appearance.
Metal can be used in lighter tones to complement the snow-covered landscape as well. Often though, the darker natural finishes are chosen to highlight other materials. Vintage is an extremely popular finish due in part to its darker finish, but all in the qualities of the finish itself. Rather than a painted single color, Vintage provides a range of dark tones and reflects the natural and raw beauty of steel.
Popular Finishes – Vintage, Truten A606 Weathering Steel, Bonderized, Rustic Rawhide, Steel Gray Rawhide, Matte Black, Weathered Copper
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