‘When I first saw this Victorian home in Great Barrington, MA, it felt very sterile,’ says interior designer Jess Cooney, founder of Jess Cooney Interiors. ‘The floors were painted gray, the entire house was white; it was all very fresh, but it didn’t have any personality. This wasn’t going to suit the people who lived there – a pair of grandparents from New Jersey who love to host their large family, love to have parties, and are very lively.’
Jess’s goal was to make the home feel warmer and more energized, and to find a way to add a butler’s pantry and make the whole house design feel a little less… disjointed. ‘I wanted to layer spaces so they were decorative and charming, each with its own unique personality, but also ensure that no design decisions were made in isolation – if you saw a color in one space, it would pop up again somewhere else,’ Jess says.
