Home Of The Year: Fairy-Tale Finish

A home once caught up in recession is completed as a bespoke gem

by Darla Worden, Mountain Living
Jackson Hole, Wyoming

This is the story of a duckling that became a beautiful swan, a home tarped mid-construction in the 2009 recession to reemerge as a residential masterpiece years later. It began in 2005 with Carney Logan Burke Architects designing a vacation home for a UK couple at the new Snake River Sporting Club, a luxurious home development in an idyllic setting along Jackson Hole’s Snake River. Constructed by Teton Heritage Builders on a highly visible site near the club entrance, the home was rustic and refined, its stone-and-barnwood siding contrasting with smooth copper, its roof peaks mimicking the scenic ridgeline.

“The homeowners brought a more modern, European sensibility to the project,” recalls Carney Logan Burke principal Eric Logan. “It was a great opportunity to design a home that was responsive to place, not derivative of the National Park Lodge style that we saw so often back then.” But the recession halted construction, leaving the project in search of new owners.

Fast-forward to an afternoon in 2013, when a California couple walked into WRJ Design’s King Street showroom in Jackson and met with owners Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer. “They were looking for a home at the Snake River Sporting Club,” Jenkins says. “I said, ‘why not buy this house?’”

Immediately recognizing the home’s extraordinary potential, with “the exterior finishes and sloping lines of the design merging the home into the surrounding terrain,” the couple hired the WRJ team of Jenkins, Baer and senior designer Sabrina Schreibeis to complete the project.

“We selected WRJ Design specifically for their expertise in cultivating this experience,” says the wife, referring to the home’s harmonious quality. “In collaboration with our general contractor, Teton Heritage Builders, WRJ emphasized a contemporary aesthetic focusing on clean lines with minimal wood trim” to create “a quiet and calming” interior space.

Looking back on the 11-year journey from beginning to completion, Teton Heritage Builders’ Greg O’Gwin is proud of the finished home. “The homeowners gave us the opportunity to build a masterpiece out of their exceptional collaboration with WRJ Design.”

The first step for WRJ was learning how the homeowners planned to use the home. “Lifestyle comes first, before style,” Jenkins says. “How we are going to live, not just how it looks,” he adds. “Great design lifts the soul.”

Responding to the homeowners’ lifestyle cues, the WRJ team reconfigured the original seven-bedroom floor plan to include five bedrooms, a media room and offices. “We were hired to complete the interiors, from soup to nuts,” Jenkins says. “Interior architecture, electrical, plumbing—a bigger project than we had ever done before.”

“Great design lifts the soul.” –Interior Designer Rush Jenkins

Inspired by a recent trip to the Salone del Mobile market in Milan with its spare European contemporary approach, WRJ began by thinking about lighting, sourcing cutting-edge decorative fixtures that installed directly in ceilings and outlets recessed with nary a bump marring perfectly smooth surfaces. The futuristic features, installed by SAV Digital Environments, continued with solar window shades that disappear into ceilings, automated drapes and virtually invisible speakers hidden behind walls.

“The architect had brilliantly designed lift-and-slide glass doors in the living room and master bedroom that disappear into the walls,” says Jenkins. “The automated insect screens descend, and you can lie in bed and feel like you’re camping … but without bugs.” “Camping on cashmere!” adds Baer. “It’s glamping at a whole new level,” agrees Jenkins.

WRJ approached the home’s interiors like a work of art, designing and commissioning every element of furniture, art, drapes and finishes. And while the floor plan honors the unbroken line, the arrangement of furnishings allows for flexible use within the spaces, tailored to the homeowners.

In the living room, subtle layers of texture in floor-to-ceiling Loro Piana drapes and sumptuous cashmere throws warm sleek surfaces. A seating area in front of the fireplace invites entertaining, with swiveling captain chairs that allow guests to put their feet on the hearth or turn back to the sofa for conversation. In a more intimate grouping, four custom-made Holly Hunt chairs seat two people each, so four couples can chat comfortably.

Throughout the home, bespoke pieces telegraph the talent of area artisans, including draperies fabricated by Jackson’s Stitch Upholstery and a leather-covered entry console by Idaho woodworker Jim Berkenfield, crafted to a design by WRJ’s Schreibeis and leatherwork by Amanda Jordan. “The homeowners were intentional about wanting to support local artists,” explains Baer. “We also helped them select the home’s gorgeous art from artists around the region.”

In the master bath, a special commission by Jackson artist Kathryn Mapes Turner of two cranes references the bird’s association with good fortune and longevity. Mating for life, cranes are Japan’s “bird of happiness.”

“It’s glamping at a whole new level.” –Interior Designer Rush Jenkins

Those references resonate with the homeowners. “Upon entering the home, you are drawn to the calming palette, luxurious textures and soft natural light,” says the wife. “The experience is warm and inviting.”

And despite the high-tech features, handcrafted artwork and the remarkable opportunity to create an ideal home down to the tiniest detail, “ultimately we are most proud of the emotion this home evokes,” says Baer, mirroring the homeowners’ sentiment. “The sense of tranquility and harmony. The serene experience as you move from space to space.”

Creating a Bespoke Home

“Our approach starts with understanding the needs and priorities of the homeowner,” says Rush Jenkins of WRJ Design Associates. “We love creating one-of-a-kind pieces, and it’s thrilling to work with clients who appreciate bespoke work for their home.” Below Jenkins offers tips for identifying the best location for custom pieces in a home.

ONE Understand which areas in the home call for unique and bespoke pieces. Often, custom-designed furniture is an investment, so identifying the best areas to showcase pieces should be carefully identified. TWO Harmony between aesthetic, function, scale and material should all be considered. Drawings and detailed specifications are very important to make sure the designer, homeowner and fabricator are all on the same page. THREE Selecting the right combination of materials is key to the overall success of a piece. Woods, leathers, bronze and metal, as well as many other materials, are exciting to use. FOUR To create harmony and balance, the relationship between the custom pieces as they relate to the other furniture, fabrics, wall treatments, floor treatments and lighting in the room must be considered. FIVE Custom and bespoke pieces can become wonderful family heirlooms to pass down to future generations.

Hidden Magic

In addition to the home’s architecture and interior design, there’s an invisible, cutting-edge digital component contributing to its tranquility. Cory Reistad, SAV Digital Environments, worked with WRJ Design from the beginning of this project to provide lighting control, automated window treatments and AV. “This home took dedication and devotion to precision at every level from the entire team. Working with the iconic vision of WRJ on this project was a delight for us,” Reistad says. “We have become adept at weaving technology into homes while retaining design aesthetics, the marriage of the two, and that’s where technology and design align to maximize efficiency, convenience, and enhanced levels of comfort for our clients.” Below, Reistad shares a behind-the-scenes look at technological components in the home.

FLUSH DETAILS To eliminate bulky components such as wall outlets and switches, and preserve the aesthetics of the home, SAV used a trimless and flush mounting solution for lighting and shade controls. AUTOMATED SHADES & DRAPES Electronically controlled shades and drapes are hidden within pockets or recessed into the window casement, creating a seamless appearance with a simple push of a button. INVISIBLE SPEAKERS SAV installed invisible speakers in the walls and then finished over them with the surrounding surface to deliver ambient music that emanates throughout the space with no visual footprint. It’s almost as if the walls become the speakers

RESOURCES:

Architect

Carney, Logan, Burke Architects
Jackson, WY, 307-733-4000

Architecture Project Staff

PRINCIPALS
John Carney
Eric Logan
Andy Ankeny

Interior Design

WRJ Design Associates
Jackson, WY, 307-200-4881

Interior Design Project Staff

PRINCIPALS
Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer

SENIOR DESIGNER
Sabrina Schreibeis

Construction

Teton Heritage Builders
Jackson, WY, 307-733-8771

Construction Project Staff

Greg O’Gwin, Mauricio Alvarado

Landscape Design

Jim Verdone
Verdone Landscape Architects
Jackson, WY, 307-733-3062

Technology

Cory Reistad
SAV Digital Environments
Bozeman, MT, 406-586-5593

Civil Engineering

Brandon Jaques
Mountain West
Etna, WY, 307-413-0005

Lighting

Jarron A. Pew
Helius
American Fork, UT, 800-287-0268

Electric

West Pointe Electric
Victor, ID, 855-973-5500

Hardware

Kevin Rooney
Rocky Mountain Hardware
Jackson, WY, 307-732-0078

Custom Craftmanship

Teton Heritage Builders
All custom building details

Packsaddle Road
Jim Berkenfield: Entry console, living-room coffee table, living room end table, dining console, office printer cabinet

Amanda Jordan Bruemmer
Entry console leatherwork

Stitch Upholstery
Ann Lufkin
All drapery treatments

Ironhaus
Custom living-room fireplace

D&F Steel
Custom entry stair rail

SAV Inc.
Audio Visual

Falls Cabinet and Millwork
Kitchen cabinetry and millwork throughout the home

Board by Design
Brad Reed Nelson, pool table

Zac Seipel
Stair Mirror, game bar table

Summit Marble & Granite
Kurtis McStay, custom powder room sink

Peak Glass
Custom media and entry door

Studio Joseph Watts
Guest master suite vanity pendants, stairwell pendants and all exterior sconces