August 2011 - thoughts are turning to Winter holidays

As Summer starts to wane in Europe thoughts are turning to Winter holidays and we have started to receive enquiries and bookings for both Apartments. As detailed in our July Post most of the furniture has been selected and will be installed during October and November. First items will be the 2 fully fitted kitchens and the final touches of interior soft furnishings will be complete by mid November
Unfortunately this means our interior photographs are not very interesting and we appreciate that this makes choosing Chalet Vache Bleue for your all important ski holiday a little bit difficult. We hope that you will remain patient and understand that the time taken in choosing the interior elements will result in a great end result and give you a true home away from home.

In the meantime here are some interior pictures which we will add to from the end of October as the delivery vans start to arrive.



One of the en-suite bathrooms Apartment A



One of the bedrooms Apartment A. French Oak flooring and plenty of radiators to keep warm.



En-suite Apartment A



Each of the en-suite bathrooms has a heated floor together with heated towel rail to keep extra cosy.

View of the dining area from the staircase in Apartment A. Both Apartments have staircases with inset lighting

Part of living area Apartment A. The "Occulus" allows you to see who is at the front door without leaving your comfortable leather sofa

The Boot Room Apartment A - a warm dry place for your gear. Handily situated next door to a cloakroom because we all know what happens when you have all your gear on ready for a day on the slopes. It's no problem in Chalet Vache Bleue we have been skiing long enough to have thought of that one!

Oak staircase Apartment B

Apartment A living area

Apartment A built in wardrobes in every bedroom

Searching for the right furniture and fittings

Beds, dining tables, work surfaces, light fittings art work.......the list is long and the choice is massive, so getting the right quality and the correct contemporary look is no easy matter. Selected items include high quality solutions from:

• Schmidt Kitchens - designer granite kitchens and Neff Appliances  http://www.schmidt-kitchens.com/
• Bo-Concept leather sofas http://www.bo-concept.fr/
• Clei Italian Wall Bed for small apartment http://www.clei.uk/
• Sparxs Eco Friendly, Bio Ethanol fire with steel / glass fireplace - http://www.sparxs.fr/
• Artwork by bungalow graphics http://www.bungalowgraphics.com/

Currently under assessment:

• Dining table with polished concrete work surface from Hemisphere Sud
• Queen / King Beds - to take advantage of over sized rooms, large high quality beds are a prerequisite for a good nights sleepfollowing a day on the slopes
• Curtains and blinds - always a challenge to blend modern with mountain style 

Furniture will be installed by mid November enabling interior photographs to be taken.


Example of  art work from Charlie Adam Bungalow Graphics



The snow is falling again. June 2011

Spring in the Alps and winter in Australia although the seasons could have been reversed. On the 1st June 30cm of fresh snow fell in Meribel at village level and it was time to bring out the snow ploughs again. Sadly the lifts are all closed and the warm ground temperature meant the snow soon melted which was probably a good thing as the cows were somewhat confused.

The Chalet Vache Bleue website is now "live". The site includes prices, availability and floor plans for both Apartments, as furniture is installed and kitchens are fitted the interior photographs will be updated.

 http://www.chaletvachebleue.com/ 

Although it is "between" seasons in Meribel the Lift Company are busy commencing their scheme of improvements for next season including phase 1 of a new Plattières gondola, the main lift from Mottaret towards Les Menuires and Val Thorens. The link between Chaudanne and Courchevel will also benefit from changes, the Saulire Express will replace the existing Saulire gondola. This new, fast 8-man gondola lift will be installed over the next two summers, cutting travel time from around 20 minutes to 12 minutes.

Plattières Gondola soon to be upgraded

Change of Season. May 2011

 Spring arrives in the Alps and the builders return to complete jobs postponed until the threat of frost had passed. The outside steps are completed with stone and other small finishing touches are added. Bathroom accessories are added to each of the 5 bathrooms and the time and energy spent selecting them feels worthwhile. Underfloor heating and heated towel rails ensure bathrooms will be cosy warm when winter returns.



En-suite bathroom small Apartment







En-suite bathroom large Apartment



Spreading the word. March 2011

As the builders complete the final interior finishes it's time to start thinking about sharing Chalet Vache Bleue with the rest of the world. Deciding on the name is a lengthy process, we felt the name should be unique, perhaps related to Australia, not too long, easy to translate, it became quite a task.
Finally Chalet Vache Bleue was chosen, by naming the Chalet after Blue Cow Ski Resort in Australia a little piece of the antipodeans arrives in Meribel. In recent years possibly helped by favourable exchange rates more Australians are discovering Meribel so at least there will be some who understand the name. The French meanwhile are interested to hear about the Cows which are coloured Blue and live in Australia!

Now there is a name the development of the Web Site can commence. It is not easy condensing so much information into a web format, numerous draft pages are written before we can even get to layout stage. Finally by the end of March the first draft of the Web Site is produced and yet another milestone reached.

Shopping. January 2011

With Christmas and New Year over most Europeans return to work leaving the slopes blissfully quiet and the sun shines through cold January days. Despite the perfect skiing conditions shopping is required. The Apartments will be furnished in a contemporary style with occasional nods to the more traditional mountain decor. A ceiling light discovered hanging in the stairwell of a small shop in Moutiers fits the bill perfectly and is the first purchase.

Both Apartments will have fitted kitchens the purchasing of which is a lengthy process. Having said that if you have to spend 1.5 days in a Kitchen Showroom the Alpine town of Annecy would be one of the best places to do so. Having final understood the subtle differences between French and Australian kitchen design the reward is more interesting shopping in the Town centre. Annecy is a lock town at the northern end of Lac D'Annecy just 35km from Geneva. The town is a warren of lanes, passages and tiered houses, below and between which flow branches of the canal. Annecy is the town elected for the French bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, if successful events will be held throughout the surrounding area which will boost visitors numbers dramatically.