Jackson Hole, Wyoming – August 6, 2018 – Architectural Digest recently published its list of the 50 most beautiful clubhouses in America – selecting one from each state – and naming the Snake River Sporting Club in Jackson Hole as its Wyoming pick. Award-winning WRJ Design, also based in Jackson Hole, created the interiors for the acclaimed project in 2013, cultivating an ambiance of relaxed luxury rooted in nature through its choice of palette, materials and furnishings for the exclusive private club.
“In a nation with hundreds, if not thousands, of worthy contenders, the task of choosing just one from each state was by no means easy,” writes AD of its reveal of the country’s most beautiful clubhouses, adding that the final list “reflects a range of styles, but all are distinctive—and most have features that reflect the spirit of their respective states.”
Reimagining the Rocky Mountain region’s traditional lodge aesthetic, top mountain interior designers WRJ Design hand-selected each piece for the 26,000-square-foot Snake River Sporting Club clubhouse, which serves as a base camp for club members to enjoy relaxing, dining and events in between adventures in the stunning outdoor setting overlooking “the club’s namesake river, under the shade of birch, aspen, and pine trees,” as AD describes it. Indeed, the club sits on nearly 1,000 choice acres on the outskirts of Jackson Hole with a fully functioning ranch, and its Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course has been ranked the #1 private golf course in Wyoming 2015-2018 by Golf Digest.
No strangers to designing interiors for active clients in the mountains, the WRJ Design team created a harmonious environment with detailed consideration to the lifestyle of Snake River Sporting Club members, explains WRJ design director and co-founder Rush Jenkins. His deep roots in and understanding of the West date back to a childhood spent on his family’s Idaho farm before serving as Director of Design at Sotheby’s New York City auction house and eventually coming full circle to establish WRJ Design in Jackson Hole with partner and firm COO Klaus Baer.
“We had long admired the Sporting Club before the opportunity arose to redesign the interiors,” Jenkins says. Baer agrees. “We’ve always loved the setting of this sporting club: the way the Snake River meanders below, the way the aspen trees dot the surrounding by hillsides, the way the river bed contains so many shades of greens, and then of course, the eagles that are nesting right near there. So, we were thrilled to do the interiors,” he says.
WRJ Design is always inspired by the natural world in their design choices. On their selections for the sporting club, Baer says, “Defining our color palette for the clubhouse meant looking out to the stunning exteriors, and so the sporting club’s interiors reflect the blues of the sky, the grays of the clouds and the nuanced shades of river rock tan.”
At the same time, WRJ wanted to provide a contemporary and timeless feel. “The club is rustic and felt mountain heavy,” says Baer. “We wanted it to have a lighter feel and a more current look; the fabrics, textiles and furnishings were all selected to create that.”
About WRJ Design: Headquartered in Jackson, Wyoming, WRJ Design imparts the special serenity of its local Teton landscape to interior designs in Jackson Hole and across the country. Begun out of a passion for great design by Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer, WRJ creates experiences and environments through its designs that provide timeless reflections of homeowners and their collections, combining the work of regional artisans with finely crafted European furnishings and accessories, and historically rich one-of-a-kind pieces curated from around the world. WRJ Design has been honored as top U.S. mountain designer by Rhapsody magazine and awarded the 2016 Home of the Year by Mountain Living. Two WRJ projects are featured in the recent book Rustic Modern. For more information visit wrjdesign.com.