Winter Escape
With panoramic views of the French Alps, Le Coucou reinvents alpine style with Pierre Yovanovitch’s bold yet elegant aesthetic
“A hotel of this scale is a big challenge as you need to handle a lot of specific constraints while breathing atmosphere into it,” says Paris-based interior architect Pierre Yovanovitch, who spent two years working on Le Coucou — a member of the French boutique hotel group, Maisons Pariente. “As a 55-room hotel including two private chalet suites, two restaurants, a bar, a spa, a fitness centre and two swimming pools, this was a particularly ambitious undertaking.”
Nestled in a timber chalet — built specifically for this project — Le Coucou sits in the mountains of Méribel, France. Comprising 10 floors and 12,000 square metres, the hotel is one of Yovanovitch’s largest endeavours to date.
Yovanovitch’ team carefully designed each aspect of the interior, from 130 site-specific pieces of furniture and lighting made in partnership with skilled craftspeople throughout Europe, to the wallpaper in the fumoir.
“It was no small feat but an absolute joy to watch it all come together,” says Yovanovitch. Vintage and contemporary pieces, rich hues and patterned floor coverings adorn the spaces, showing the designer’s talent for mixing regional references with contemporary elements and a playful aesthetic. In every nook, wood, leather, metal, ceramic and glass subtly intertwine.
Yovanovitch’ vision for Le Coucou was to create a space that is “warm, radical and cool at the same time…My aim was to bring some fun into the interiors while referencing the traditional decor of the surrounding area.” The result is a cosy and colourful space, which also serves as an inviting solace for guests after a long day on the slopes.
My aim was to bring some fun into the interiors while referencing the traditional decor of the surrounding area
An avid collector, Yovanovitch used his expertise to select 160 works by renowned artists such as Ugo Rondinone, Eduardo Chillida, Natalia Jaime-Cortez, Alexander Calder, François Morellet and Claude Viallat, among others. The designer commissioned artist Matthieu Cossé to create a fresco on the 5-metre-high dome ceiling in the hotel’s entryway, which is accompanied by custom circular seating. “It is a place to stop and reflect in what would otherwise be a bustling throughway,” he says.
Blending art, design and architecture, Le Coucou features a bespoke approach that brings to life an exclusive winter escape where anyone feels at home.
