Hotel Tiefenbrunner

Austria - Kitzbühel - Summer 2021

For more than 200 years, the Hotel Tiefenbrunner has belonged to the same family. Once Kitzbühel’s post and coaching station, it is built into the town’s old city wall and has been part of the town’s history for generations. Giving the ground floor a new face had been talked about for years. When the pandemic closed the hotel’s doors in 2020, the family used the moment, and we redesigned the entrance, reception, lobby, lounge, office, restaurant and buffet in time for the summer season of 2021.

The renovation arrived alongside a change of generation, which brought fresh air in more ways than one. The brief was clear: the hotel’s warmth is what its loyal guests love most, so it had to stay. We kept much of the existing building and worked almost entirely with regional craftsmen. Oak joinery came from Tischlerei Hofer, the Taj Mahal quartzite from Steinmetz Neumayr in Oberndorf, and the brass details from Krumböck, under a seamless micro-concrete floor.

The concept is built on earthy tones and a balance of textures. Hard, angular lines are softened by pattern and colour. In the restaurant, six types of banquette are upholstered in Marvic Textiles Fiamma in coffee, red and green. Each is paired with Sunbury Design Lux velvet seats and cushions by Prestigious Textiles. Ninety Gaia chairs by KFF, in vintage leather and almond velvet, surround solid oak tables. Soft, full-length curtains in Bergamo by Bisson Bruneel frame the windows. The window seat in the entrance and the reception sofa are dressed in leather, Marvic Cristallo and Madera by Manuel Canovas.

Every piece of art and lighting links the building’s past to its present. Above the restaurant, Brass 95 and Brass 96 pendants by Gervasoni form a golden sky beneath which the family’s ancestors look down from their portraits on the walls. In the entrance and over the buffet hang Drop chandeliers by 101 Copenhagen. The reception glows with Cubistic lamps by Guaxs and a brass Clam lamp, and a brass side table by HK Living sits in the lounge. Lanterns, mirrors and lamps come from Society of Lifestyle. Ancient Sumba stone figures from Bazar Bizar and coffee table books add quiet curiosity, and carpets by Mellau run underfoot.

Plants play a big role, too. They make the rooms warmer and more organic, add colour and bring calm. The result is a contemporary design that invites guests to linger, while still feeling like the Tiefenbrunner they have always loved.

This renovation was a true project of the heart. Thanks to the wonderful work of everyone involved, it came to life during a very unusual and uncertain time, and it is only the beginning of an exciting reinterpretation.