Elements of Style

In the Austrian Alps, a rustic inn is reborn as a chalet handcrafted from natural materials.

- By Jeff Chu

THE GERMAN WORD Gemütlichkeit means geniality, coziness, and comfort—essentially hygge, but with an added dash of hospitality. At Eriro, a new lodge high in the Austrian Tyrol, the object that best embodies that word is the pair of thick, hand-knitted wool socks given to every guest on arrival. They're meant to be worn as you pad around the lodge. “Be at home,” general manager Henning Schaub told me and my husband shortly after we arrived.

And what a home it is. Though Eriro's exterior is classic Alpine chalet, the interior is beautifully modern. Everything is framed by warm wood, including the huge windows and balconies of the nine guest rooms. Hand-hewn faucets, also made of wood, resemble tree branches. Egg-shaped banquettes in the dining room, carved from tree roots, are at once sculptural and cozy.

Opened in August, Eriro is a labor of love by three families who grew up together in the nearby town of Ehrwald. The name is derived from an Old High German word for origin, hinting at the innkeepers' respect for the region's traditions, the delicate Alpine ecosystem, and its bounty. Nearly all the materials used to build the lodge were sourced locally: pine harvested sustainably from the surrounding forests, wool sheared from the sheep that graze in the pastures outside, stone from nearby quarries.

To safeguard this nature preserve, local authorities prohibit new developments—the construction of Eriro was possible only because an abandoned inn once stood on the site. Artisans dismantled it, salvaging wood from the old structure to panel the ceilings of the new one.