Creating an Elegant Home Office
by Cassidy Mantor
2020 Was A Year Of Transformation.
Safety, comfort, and well-being became our top priorities. Jackson has always been a special place for those seeking adventure and a healthy life, so it comes with little surprise that more people are making it their primary residence. However, unlike the past when Jackson may have represented an escape from daily responsibilities, having the ability to work remotely opens up the possibility of our mountain town becoming a more permanent place to live. With that, comes the need to have a well-designed home office that allows your professional life to thrive while based here.
Anne Buresh Interior Design brilliantly transforms unexpected spaces into functional and elegant sanctuaries. Her signature interior design style blends a sophisticated color palette influenced by the environment with a global aesthetic sensibility. In today’s world of working from home, Anne’s design perspective is particularly valuable. Her expertise transforms a bedroom, basement, garage, or spare room and reimagines it into a functionally inspiring space that gives you more enjoyment and use of your home.
Anne’s ability to create warm and inspiring spaces is highlighted in a recent project that completely transformed a dark and dingy 900-square-foot space downtown across from the Wort Hotel into a well-appointed office. While great interior design is usually subtle, what makes Anne’s work here so exciting is that it is such an overt example of her talent for bringing warmth and elegance into a previously under-utilized space.
The space serves a dual purpose as the office and studio of Jill King, editor-in-chief of The Scout Guide Jackson Hole, who also owns Styling the New West, a professional styling service in Jackson. When King hired Anne Buresh Interior Design, Anne was honored to have won the award for best interior design at the Western Design Conference Showhouse, a multi-disciplinary design event celebrating functional museum-quality creations that capture the spirit of the West. King was drawn to Anne’s balance of elegance and functionality, and wanted to infuse those characteristics into her workspace.
Grand Layout, Scale, and Lighting
One of the key requirements for this particular office was that King needed to be able to entertain her clientele in Jackson. The space had to nurture both King’s individual creativity and also inspire collaboration with clients and give them a sense of place. Accordingly, Anne envisioned a creative sanctuary that would serve as a home to build relationships, think creatively, and allow everyone to thrive professionally.
In light of the office’s small size, Anne knew it had to be well-thought-out and intuitively organized. “We balanced larger pieces for scale and made the L-shaped layout flow,” recalls Anne. “The space is streamlined and everything she needs is at her fingertips.”
Upon entry, a large round mirror and sideboard add interest to one side of the L. The scale of the pieces creates aesthetic drama that gives the impression that that space opens up into a larger foyer. Around the corner, the sofa and sitting area are on the left, while the desk sits to the right. Bulletin boards over the desk offer a place to pin artifacts and visualize creative brainstorming.
Anne brightened up the space with lightly colored paint on the walls. She brought in a wall-to-wall seagrass rug with a softly rugged texture suited for Jackson. Straw and acrylic bins with crisp white file folders immediately inspire feelings of order in the drawers. Custom-made Fortuny pillows from Italy tastefully accent the sofa and create depth in the seating area. Clear Lucite tables give the illusion of space in the seating area. Chic and functional, Anne’s design makes a sophisticated statement that one expects when meeting with a taste-
maker and creative executive.
Anne’s team installed fixed Roman shades on what previously was a narrow rectangular window. They layered floor-length ivory linen panels with decorative Greek key trim over the Roman shades to create more diffuse and inviting light. While the original space had no character or identity, the effect of Anne’s window treatments is that warm light now streams into the room. Additionally, Anne brought in two gilded gold buffet lamps and a vintage Willy Guhl handkerchief planter from France to add to the softly feminine ambiance.
Anne brings elegant organization into the office by minimizing the display of office supplies. Every nook and cranny is thoughtfully planned, such as the printer that sits on a white lacquered file cabinet with gold hardware that is tucked beside the desk. Anne’s primary design goal was to make sure the space functioned well from a professional standpoint and also delivered the feeling of a “home away from home.”
A Personalized Gallery Wall
Where Anne’s aesthetic differs from other designers in Jackson is most evident in the statement wall art gallery. Based both in Charlotte, North Carolina, and also in Jackson, Anne blends elements of Southern hospitality with the clarity of the West and the presence of the Tetons. Her color palette and textures are inspired by the blues of the mountains and Wyoming’s native wheat grasses, creating a refined sense of place that acknowledges the western environment.
“Some things can be brought in new, but the gallery wall is an opportunity to curate your personal artifacts and tell the story of what makes this your place,” explains Anne.
For King’s gallery wall, Anne pulled photos of Jackson’s Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, as well as various awards. She wove framed photos of key moments in King’s career alongside photos of mountains and accessories like beads and antlers that resonate with the textures and tones local to Jackson.
A New Office in Jackson
Anne looks forward to inviting visitors to her new Jackson office. Clients can expect a warm welcome and even get a glimpse of Anne’s vision boards and what inspires her creative process.
As we’re working from home more, our office spaces must support our psychological need for safety and comfort. Anne’s work shows us that our home offices can be elegant, enriching sanctuaries that help us work without distraction and foster our professional growth.
“There’s a distinct feeling when your host opens the door and welcomes you with a glass of wine and open arms,” says Anne. That level of comfort is exactly what an office from Anne Buresh Interior Design delivers. It is a home away from home, or in today’s world, a space at home, that promotes feelings of safety, security, and peaceful clarity to inspire our greatest work.
