
04.29.24
Sighted
Fritz Hansen Blends In With the Furniture — Literally — at the Catskills Retreat Piaule
These days, it’s not terribly uncommon for a hotel group to launch its own homeware line. A homeware line that launches a hotel, however, is slightly more novel. But that’s exactly what Piaule founders Nolan McHugh and Trevor Briggs did: bought 50 acres of land in the Catskills, built a dreamy eco-friendly boutique resort designed with Garrison Architects, and opened to guests in 2021 with the primary aim to better connect them with nature. Surrounded by woodland and overlooking the mountains, this idyllic setting and its Scandi sensibility was a no-brainer for Danish furniture brand Fritz Hansen to install and showcase its first outdoor furniture collection.
Fritz Hansen acquired fellow Danish company Skagerak in 2021 and developed its new collection of solid wood outdoor furniture with the help of several designers. All of the pieces are fabricated without harmful chemicals, and their teak surfaces are untreated so they patina to a silvery-gray hue over time — just like the cabins at Piaule. And since McHugh and Briggs very much view themselves as stewards of the land, their commitment to conservation practices became a key driver for “a symbiotic partnership that celebrates the brands’ shared values and commitment to rejuvenating their respective environments.”
Items from the Skagerak Outdoor collection are now permanent fixtures across the property, offering places for reflection in the serene landscape. The Fritz Hansen and Piaule teams worked together to create vignettes in multiple locations where the furniture would look and feel like a natural extension of the hotel’s modernist design. On the patio that stretches towards the expansive view, guests can relax on Fritz Hansen’s take on the classic Adirondack chair, the Between Lines Deck Chair. The Selandia Square Tables and Armchairs designed with Danish architects Anders and Lars Hegelund are put to use as dining set-ups for Piaule’s locally celebrated restaurant, and can be shaded by the Atlantis Umbrellas that also offer cover in inclement weather.
At Piaule’s spa area, several of the renowned Riviera Sunbeds by Danish designer Povl B Eskildsen flank the temperature-controlled outdoor pool, providing spots to sunbathe or relax after a dip. And along the hiking trails that criss-cross through the oak and ash trees, benches and chairs from the Plank Series by Parisian designer Aurélien Barbry are placed for guests to discover amongst the trees, pause for a moment, and take in their surroundings. The best thing about this collaboration is that Fritz Hansen’s furniture appears as if it was created specifically for Piaule, but the fact that it blends so effortlessly with both the architecture and the landscape is simply a happy coincidence.
PHOTOS BY SEAN DAVIDSON