by CASSIDY MANTOR view/download a PDF of Elegance Elevated
AWARD-WINNING INTERIOR DESIGNER ANNE BURESH WAS FIRST DRAWN TO THE TETONS BY A PICTURE ON A CELL PHONE. SHE WAS INSTANTLY AWARE OF HER INTUITIVE FEELING, PULLING HER TOWARDS AN UNFAMILIAR BUT WELCOMING LANDSCAPE. SHE KNEW SHE HAD TO VISIT.
“WHEN YOU LAND IN JACKSON, YOU IMMEDIATELY CONNECT WITH THE ENVIRONMENT. YOU CAN’T HELP BUT BE INSTANTANEOUSLY PRESENT AS YOU’RE SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS, ALPINE AIR, AND THE SKY. LIKE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO COME TO JACKSON, I FELT A SOULFUL CONNECTION TO THE PLACE. IT PROFOUNDLY TOUCHED ME.”
–Anne Buresh, Interior Designer
Jackson is a place of transformative relationships. “People come to Jackson for the environment but stay for the people,” says Buresh. “People have an energy of aliveness in Jackson like no other place I’ve ever been. They’re alive because they can ski, hike, and play outdoors, which, in turn, inspires innovation and drives business. There’s an authenticity and connection here between people and place that has set me on a transformative journey both personally and professionally. In precise terms, I fell in love.”
Buresh’s journey to Jackson started in North Carolina, which is also where the foundation for her work as an interior designer began. The design runs in her family and is in her blood. Her grandmother was a decorator who lived in a historical home named Loretta that once belonged to William R. Davie. Davie was North Carolina’s tenth governor and founder of the University of North Carolina.
Buresh’s father grew up in the former governor’s home. As a child, Buresh remembers visiting her grandmother and flipping through her swatch books of wallpaper and fabrics. Buresh’s childhood vocabulary included textures and patterns.
“My grandmother would travel to New York or Paris and bring pieces back for her home at a time when people didn’t do that. I grew up with antiques. When my father built the home that we lived in through my childhood, he repurposed mantles, floors, brick. I grew up knowing the fine foundations and the importance of architectural ‘good bones’ of a home. I always knew we could add moulding or a beautiful paint color to make a space elegant and inviting, no matter what it was,” Buresh remembers.
At an early age, Buresh was exposed to the transformative connection that a well-designed home has on its occupants. “Growing up, we had beautiful antiques that meant a lot to my parents.” As a young girl, her mother recognized her early passion and allowed her to lead the decorating of the family’s house for the holidays. She picked fresh magnolia leaves and wove garlands through bannisters in the common areas.
Her point of view was rooted in the relationships and intimacy of her childhood home. She created spaces with love that were fit for both daily life and also celebrations. As she matured, her passion for transforming spaces gained worldly sophistication and elegance. However, her design vision remained authentically rooted in her legacy of celebrating the relationship between the environment and the people who use the space.
Buresh reflects, “I’ve always been designing and transforming spaces, and I will always do it. My goal is to bring my aesthetic sensibility to life through the lens of sophistication and environmental connection. My work will always have a feeling of welcome, inviting people to come in, sit, and put down your drink. I create spaces that are timeless and rely on functionality for longevity, yet these spaces are also very personal to the environment and to the sponsor’s taste and style. You might see some similar elements to a classic custom feel, but I am not a mass producer. A sponsor’s unique personality and feel will come through in any project we work on, building on the relationship between my design legacy and aesthetic foundational experience.”
“Each project is a blank canvas with results that are entirely unique,” says Buresh. She is equally comfortable designing in small square footage as she is expanding her work in larger footprints. She works on new builds and entire home renovations. Buresh adds, “The common thread is solving how we’re going to function in the room and whether the space works from the perspective of its visceral feeling. How the furniture is laid out and the spacing in the room comes back to creating an environment that flows comfortably.”
WHEN MY FATHER BUILT THE HOME THAT WE LIVED IN THROUGH MY CHILDHOOD, HE REPURPOSED MANTLES, FLOORS, BRICK. I GREW UP KNOWING THE FINE FOUNDATIONS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ARCHITECTURAL ‘GOOD BONES’ OF A HOME.”
–Anne Buresh, Interior Designer
Buresh says, “I’m not intimidated by the size of a project and I don’t want to create intimidating spaces. No matter how big, my focus is to create spaces that feel calming and welcoming. I edit spaces with a goal of bringing together elements that are lifetime investment pieces. I aspire to create places for entertaining that invite people to put their feet up and live joyously.”
“I’ve dedicated my career to transforming homes into serene sanctuaries,” says Buresh. Her creative process is transparent. From the first meeting, budgets are discussed and presented with complete clarity. There are no hidden expenses or surprise overages. Next steps are clearly outlined so everyone is on the same page throughout the entire process.
Ultimately, her Sponsors’ passions inform everything. “I love to uncover inspiring ways to highlight what brings a sponsor joy, such as fine art, antiques, or travel. I listen closely and put together a vision based on aesthetics, lifestyle, and personal passions. Once this comes together, we create a budget estimate and the steps to take for sourcing and installation. We manage all of the operations and execution and are personally there to oversee placement of rugs, furnishings, window treatments, fine art, and accessories.”
The final step in the sponsor’s journey is the reveal. Buresh says, “Transforming spaces can be stressful, and the reveal is our favorite. It’s our chance to see our work come together with our sponsor’s goals, and experience what it feels like to bring a beautiful vision to life.”
When asked about her favorite projects, Buresh enthusiastically refers to a project named the Lake House. The home was a 10,000-square-foot new build that celebrated the calming nature and charm of a relaxed Southern home. The Lake House exuded her sophisticated style of elegance and serenity.
The Lake House was “a second home that truly married form, function, and beauty. The owners wanted a retreat that honored the way they used their home, an elevat – ed aesthetic, and some special requests.” The end result was a curated environment with attention to all elements from furniture and art, down to rugs and candles.
“TRANSFORMING SPACES CAN BE STRESSFUL, AND THE REVEAL IS OUR FAVORITE. IT’S OUR CHANCE TO SEE OUR WORK COME TOGETHER WITH OUR sponsor’S GOALS, AND EXPERIENCE WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BRING A BEAUTIFUL VISION TO LIFE.”
–Anne Buresh, Interior Designer
Buresh is also proud of her most recent project, an award-winning showhouse at the Western Design Conference in Jackson earlier this fall. She was honored to have won the Best Interior Design award at the conference in September. The showhouse space brought together soft, powder-blue pillows in a hue reminiscent of the Tetons with materials of leather, wood, and metal. The showhouse created an organic environment that was both locally sensitive and globally elegant.
Buresh says, “The space is what I call Elegant Elevated. As a designer, I’m very sensitive to the environment and local artists. I might pull in elements such as horns, a cowhide rug, or an ottoman with a saddle leather treatment. I then incorporate universal elements that speak to a global sophistication, such as pillows with textures similar to native grasses and rugs woven with hues that reflect the natural environment around us.”
The end result of Buresh’s work is sophisticated and speaks to the West as well as a greater design perspective. It is not siloed in something as localized as “mountain” or “beach.” Instead, it is an elevated space with a global perspective.
Buresh is currently working on both a commercial and a residential project in Jackson that celebrate the “environment elevated” look she is fluent in. The commercial project will bring to life an editor’s studio space. Buresh says that the project is driven by the sponsor’s desire to “create a cohesive elevated environment that inspires her work as a tastemaker.”
The space also had to be welcoming to the editor’s Sponsors who are visually driven as well. “She wanted to bring the warm and soft colors I used in the showhouse to her studio. I’m creating an environment of innovation that is both soothing and inspiring for her work,” explains Buresh. For this project, she will have an opportunity to bring in more work from local artists, such as a custom antler chandelier she is currently designing with a local sculptor.
The residential project is also inspired by Buresh’s award-winning designer showhouse. In addition to local pieces, Buresh will source from some of her favorite vendors whom she has had relationships with for over ten years. The end product will be a place of joy that inspires innovation and also provides serenity to appreciate life in Jackson.
As Buresh says, “Moving to Jackson for me was a leap of faith. My personal transformation along this journey has reminded me of the experience my Sponsors go through as we design new spaces together. Working with a blank canvas or doing a complete renovation can be terrifying. It’s important to keep an open mind and heart to be able to go with the flow. I leverage my legacy of experience as an interior designer with my Sponsors’ passions to create their dream spaces. My goal is to create beautifully peaceful environments that bring people together to celebrate relationships and live joyful lives.”
