The Fife Arms unveils a new bedroom inspired by Coco Chanel and her love affair with Scotland | News
The Fife Arms, the award-winning hotel in the village of Braemar, in the heart of Scotland’s Cairngorms mountains, has added a new bedroom inspired by fashion designer Gabrielle Bonheur ‘Coco’ Chanel, whose connection with the fabrics and pastimes of the Highlands inspired her legendary collections. The bedroom resembles the nest of an exotic bird and pays tribute to this free-spirited and wild character who first came to Scotland in the 1920s during her romance with Hugh Grosvenor, the second Duke of Westminster. Over the next decade, Chanel fell in love with the culture of the Highlands and became an avid fisherman and renowned fly fisherman.
The opulent and elegant new room, brought to life by Russell Sage Studio, the interior designer behind the Fife Arms, draws diverse influences from Chanel’s life and designs. Known for her aversion to doors and placing screens in front of them in the hope that her guests would forget to leave, the new ‘secret’ room is hidden behind a trompe l’œil door with details of her Paris apartment and discovered by following the path of a special Camellia symbol.
Specially commissioned tweeds in rich green and burgundy from the Linton factory (discovered by Chanel in 1928 and which still has an ongoing working relationship with the house) are featured throughout the room, complemented by decorative accents from Chanel’s 31 Rue Cambon apartment in Paris, including the wheat leaf chandelier and the art deco vanity mirror on the dressing table. The headboard and furniture in the room are painted in Scottish Chinoiserie and the wallpaper is a copy of Rosehall Hall, the Scottish country house near Lairg, which Chanel decorated during her relationship with the Duke.
Warm and romantic, the room also features a walk-in wardrobe, a special bar and a freestanding copper bath, tucked into an arched alcove. The bathroom celebrates the monochrome color palette that Chanel regularly used in her work.
The new room is located in the former Fife Arms family room, which has also been carefully relocated and redecorated into a dedicated space on the ground floor of the hotel. A treasure trove for curious minds of all ages, the room is filled with board games, books, craft materials and more to stimulate imagination and play. Even the red squirrels have made the move. You will find them hidden in the new space, each lovingly knitted by the ‘Deeside Knitwits’.
Starting fee: £1,000
The Fife Arms, Mar Road, Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
E-mail: [email protected] | Phone +44 (0)1339 720200 | www.thefifearms.com
