Juliette Byrne is an award-winning luxury interior designer in Chamonix. Her London studio has won four times at the UK Property Awards, and The Telegraph lists her among the twenty best interior designers in Britain. Founded in 1988, the studio designs chalets and apartments in the Mont Blanc valley, among them a family chalet at Chamonix, designed and furnished over 12 months around a double-height atrium facing the mountain, and Chalet Floralie in Les 3 Vallées, a bed and breakfast turned into a five-star chalet in 10 months.

Juliette takes the brief at the chalet and leads the design, with a team of six designers and the local contractors and craftsmen the studio works with in the Alps. The first consultation is complimentary, and projects of every size are welcome.

Family Chalet, Mont Blanc

Family Chalet, French Alps

Interior design for chalets and apartments in Chamonix

The Chamonix valley runs from Les Houches, through the town and the hamlets of Les Praz, Les Bois and Les Tines, up to Argentière and Vallorcine at the Swiss border. Its homes are farmhouses and stone-and-timber chalets older than the resort, the villas and hotels of the early 1900s in the town centre, apartment buildings from the decades since, and modern chalets built for the view of the massif. About seven in ten of the commune's homes are second homes, and since the local plan of 2026 reserved the remaining building land for permanent residents, a home in Chamonix usually means renovating one that already exists.

A Chamonix brief is written for two seasons: an open living space facing the mountain, a ski and boot room by the door the family uses, and a cellar, a media room and a bedroom for every guest, so the house works when it is full at Christmas and in February. Lighting, heating and the AV are set up to be controlled remotely, since the house is empty for more of the year than it is lived in. The studio's other work outside the UK is on the International page, and its journal has a longer piece on chalet interior design ideas.

A family chalet at Chamonix, designed around Mont Blanc

The brief for this family chalet put the mountain first, so the studio made a double-height atrium the centre of the house, framed its windows in carved timber beams and hung three circular Moooi lights at staggered heights across the glass. A wide deck in grey oak extends the entertaining space outside, and inside the seating is arranged symmetrically around stone coffee tables. Below, a wine cellar with vaulted brick ceilings, a stone table and a bronze pendant was built for a large collection, the media room has an L-shaped sofa, a pool table, a log fire, stone-clad walls and oak plank floors, and each guest bedroom was finished in its own way with antique finds and joinery made for the room. The whole project took 12 months.

Renovating a chalet in Chamonix: permits, the local plan and holiday lets

Work inside the house needs no permit; new windows, a change to the roof or an extension need a déclaration préalable, decided within a month, or a permis de construire, which takes two for a house. Chamonix adds rules of its own, because the local plan approved in 2026 protects the character of older chalets: the roof keeps its shape, timber cladding is left to weather and never varnished, new windows are vertical and few, and any extension stays lower than the house. The same plan reserved almost all remaining building land for permanent homes, which is why nearly every project in the valley is now a renovation.

Anyone who lets their chalet has a second set of rules to meet. Since May 2025 a second home in the Chamonix valley needs a change-of-use authorisation from the mairie before its first paying guest, granted to one property per owner for three years at a time, and only to homes with an energy rating of A to E. Insulation, glazing and heating are therefore part of the design brief, and in an apartment the copropriété must agree anything that touches the common parts. The studio and the architect settle all of this before the drawings are fixed.

Between the seasons: how a Chamonix project runs from London

The calendar in Chamonix is set by the snow: the lifts close in April and open again in December, and a renovation that is to be ready for the following winter has to be designed before the season ends. The studio therefore likes to take the brief at the chalet during the winter, when the owners are there, and draws up the scheme in Chelsea while the season runs: plan, elevations and joinery, kitchens and bathrooms, lighting, and every finish, fabric and item of furniture, each priced and approved before the package goes out to tender.

Building starts once the season is over, with a contractor based in the valley running the site, the studio coming out for site meetings at each key stage and reviewing the rest by video call. Owners who are abroad for most of the year usually ask the studio to make more of the decisions on their behalf, inside the brief they have signed off. When the building work is done the studio procures every item, from the dining table to the bed linen, and installs it before the first guests arrive. The interior architecture and design service page describes the three stages.

Chalet Floralie: a bed and breakfast turned five-star chalet

In Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, at the heart of Les 3 Vallées, the studio took Chalet Floralie from a simple bed and breakfast to a fully staffed chalet with its own chef, sleeping up to 18. Enlarged windows and a wide terrace open the house to the view, seven en suite bedrooms were lined in local stone with vintage floors and grey-washed beams, and the top floor became the living space, under a vaulted ceiling with a wood-burning stove. A penthouse for four sits behind a mirrored jib door. Juliette coordinated the renovation from the first drawings to the turnkey finish in 10 months. A chalet that will be rented is designed differently: the finishes have to stand up to constant use by different guests, and the layout has to work for a group who have never met.

What a chalet renovation in Chamonix costs

The size of the chalet and the condition it is in come first, then the specification and how much is made to order, then anything structural: a new roof, new glazing, the insulation a letting authorisation now demands. Juliette discusses costs at the first meeting, and a tailored fee proposal follows. Once the furniture and finishes have been reviewed, every item is costed and documented with complete transparency, and fees are only discussed once the client wishes to proceed. A single apartment in town, or one room of a chalet, is as welcome as a whole house.

How long a chalet renovation in Chamonix takes

The season is the first constraint and the permit the second, with the copropriété's vote and the lead times on joinery behind them. The family chalet at Chamonix took 12 months from brief to handover and Chalet Floralie 10, both with building work. A chalet that needs furnishing but no building work takes considerably less time, and with six designers the studio can usually start as soon as the brief is agreed.

Award-winning interior design, from Chelsea to the Alps

Juliette is registered with the British Institute of Interior Design, appears in House & Garden's Top 100 and is listed by Country & Town House among the best in the country. The four UK Property Awards were won by the Penthouse, Mayfair, the Boutique Hotel, Mayfair, a Chelsea townhouse and a townhouse in Belgravia; the studio also holds two design et al awards, from 2024 and 2025, for its 18th-century villa in Dresden, and the International Property Awards recognised its new-build development in Chelsea. Features in Mansion Global, Tatler Asia, Marie Claire Maison Arabia and Knight Frank are on the Press page, and the studio's recent Riviera work, a villa on Cap Ferrat and an apartment in Cannes, is on its Côte d'Azur page.

Frequently asked questions

Do you design chalets in Chamonix from London?

Yes, and both Alpine projects on this page were run that way: the brief taken at the chalet, the design produced in Chelsea, a contractor in the valley carrying out the building work, and the studio visiting at each stage before installing the finished interior itself.

Do I need planning permission to renovate a chalet in Chamonix?

Not for the interior, but changing the roof, the windows or the footprint needs a déclaration préalable or a permis de construire from the mairie, and the 2026 local plan sets what an older chalet may look like afterwards: the same roof shape, weathered timber, vertical windows. The studio and the architect plan the application alongside the design.

Can I still let my chalet in Chamonix to holiday guests?

Yes, with an authorisation from the mairie, which since May 2025 is needed before the first paying night, runs for three years and is limited to one property per owner. The chalet must have an energy rating of A to E, so if it is to be let, insulation and glazing are built into the renovation.

When is the best time of year to renovate a chalet in Chamonix?

Between the seasons, because building work runs from the lifts closing in April to the first snow, which means the design has to be finished, priced and tendered during the winter before. A project briefed during the season can be on site once it closes and furnished for the next one.

Can you design a chalet that will be rented out?

Yes, and Chalet Floralie was designed to be let, with an in-house chef, seven en suite bedrooms and finishes chosen for paying guests. For a Chamonix owner who lets, the studio also plans for the energy rating the authorisation requires.

Do you work in Argentière, Les Houches and the rest of the valley?

Yes, from Les Houches and Servoz at the bottom of the valley to Argentière and Vallorcine at the top, and in the other French resorts: the studio has worked in Les 3 Vallées and takes on chalets across the Alps.

How much does an interior designer cost in Chamonix?

That depends on the chalet, the specification and whether the structure or the exterior is changing. Costs are covered at the first consultation, which is complimentary, a fee proposal written for the project follows, and nothing is ordered until its price has been approved.

Can the work be finished in one summer?

Often, if the design and the permit are in place by April. A full renovation such as the chalet at Chamonix takes about a year from brief to handover, so a project that starts in the winter is furnished for the following one.

Where is the studio and how do we start?

On the King's Road in the Chelsea Design Quarter, London. The first step is a complimentary consultation to talk through the property and what you want from it. Email office@juliettebyrne.com or use the Contact Us button below.

Contact Us About Your Project

We invite you to collaborate with our interior design studio.
Get in touch to discuss your project.

office@juliettebyrne.com
+44 (0)20 7352 1553

Interior Designer in Chamonix

Chalet interior design projects in the French Alps