The exterior of a mountain retreat at dusk surrounded by wildflowers with mountains in the background.

This Mountain Retreat in Jackson, Wyoming Nods to the American West

2022 Best of Year Winner for Medium Country House

Working with local firm Ankeny Architecture and Design, New York–based Messana O’Rorke brought its clean, modernist aesthetic to this 5,000-square-foot mountain retreat that effortlessly blends the past and present of the American West. Comprising four volumes of stained cedar and stone that are connected by glass-enclosed bridges, the home appears to be a series of independent pavilions arrayed in a line. The end walls of the central structure—a single space containing the kitchen, sitting, and dining areas—feature massive pocket doors that open onto paved terraces for free-flowing indoor-outdoor living. The interiors showcase Messana O’Rorke’s signature attention to refined details, which here include crisp, wide-plank French-oak flooring stained warm gray and cove lighting that turns a passageway’s beamed ceiling into a floating, poetic vision.

wide-plank French-oak flooring stained warm gray and cove lighting turns a passageway’s beamed ceiling into a floating, poetic vision
The bedrooms in the mountain retreat feature cedar plank ceilings and floors with minimalist furnishings.
The exterior of a mountain retreat at dusk surrounded by wildflowers with mountains in the background.
project team
Messana o’rorke: brian messana; toby o’rorke; viktor nassli; juan espinosa; pious ashe; agnes love
ankney architecture and design: shawn ankeny

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