Skis and Skins

In days gone by, animal hides were routinely attached to the bottom of skis.  The direction of the fur would either speed your descent or assist your climb to the top of the run.  The arrival of chair lifts and T-bars has seen an end to those exhausting but necessary uphill struggles and nowadays you are much more likely to see skins adorning the floors and furniture of ski chalets across the Alps.

We are specialists in kitting out Alpine homes.  As well as providing chalet owners with packages, including everything from furniture down to the teaspoons in the drawer, you can also shop all of our products here.  So, if you want to create a little Alpine charm in your own home, this is a great place to start.  Here are some great tips for adding natural furs and hides to a room.

A cowhide tub chair or set of bar stools creates a contemporary Alpine look that fits the bill perfectly in a contemporary ski chalet – a style that can easily be re-created in your own home.  Here are some of our favourite cowhide products that we know our customers love!  The cowhide armchair has always been an extremely popular statement piece and of course due to the nature of cowhide, no two are ever the same.  So, yours will always be unique.  [one_third class=”” last=”no”]

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Cowhide rugs make great floor coverings as they break up the monotonous wood and are super practical. This chalet living room is a perfect example.  The shiny wooden floor and neutral tones of the furniture are given a lift by the striking cowhide on the floor and the soft texture of the sheepskins on the chairs.  You can see how the addition of sheepkins works equally well to soften industrial style dining chairs and outdoor wooden seating where the extra warmth and comfort is a real bonus.[one_third class=”” last=”no”]

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Skins on skis was a very practical solution to navigating the mountain.  The practical nature of animal hides is not lost on us – it is hardwearing and can cope with the inevitable spilt glass of red.  But, who says practical can’t be stylish?  Not us, that’s for sure!