From Wyoming, WRJ’s ‘Natural Elegance’

Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer know a good thing when they see it.

That’s why they moved their firm, WJR Design, from New York to Jackson Hole nine years ago.

It’s why they source materials, fabrics and furnishings from their discoveries at international design shows in Paris, London and Milan.

And it’s why they have a new coffee table book out with photographs by William Abranowicz.

“His use of light and ambience resonated with us,” Jenkins says. “This was an opportunity to photograph some of our best work.”

The majority of the 12 WRJ-designed projects in “Natural Elegance: Luxurious Mountain Living” are from the mountain region, like Yellowstone, Jackson and Atherton. And each is an articulation of the firm’s definition of “mountain style.”

“For us it’s defined as green, with some of the natural elements we see in nature like the color and palette in streams and sage and natural stone that you see in the mountains,” he says. “Those elements are brought into interiors and melded into one.”

Wools and furs are from nature, incorporated into the fabrics in window treatments and rugs, with walnut slabs for dining tables and furniture. “We try to bring in elements connected to nature,” he says.

Projects include a contemporary house that hovers over the Jackson Hole terrain, with furnishings that underscore floor-to-ceiling glass walls and Teton Mountain views. For interiors in a Big Sky home, WRJ’s choice of leathers and modern furnishings play off reclaimed wood and stacked stone for a new take on rustic style.

“We use stone and reclaimed wood, but we’ve also collaborated with Peter Bohlin and Carney Logan Burke,” he says. “We do not do just one type of work – it’s anywhere from rustic to a clean, contemporary aesthetic.”

After all, this is a pair of designers who know a good thing when they see it.

For more, go here:

[slideshow id=2079]