Designing Around

To transform an empty room into an exceptional space that is as comfortable as it is refined, can sometimes seem like a task that is equal parts inspiring as it is overwhelming. The design team at Blackberry Farm Design, headed up by Director Jason Bell, is continuously faced with that challenge – whether having to conjure up the eclectic modern atmosphere of the Whippoorwill Lounge at the Blackberry Mountain Lodge or the resort’s bright, welcoming wine cellar. For Jason and his team of interior designers, each project often expands from a central idea, color palette or found object. “A concept for a room might be born out of a remarkable find from a flea market, an idea from Proprietor Mary Celeste, or it might be something as practical as a budget,” says Jason, “But ultimately, it’s key to start with a central concept or story that informs the other design decisions.”

START WITH ART
Nest., Blackberry Mountain

The concept for the lounge of Blackberry Mountain’s spa, called Nest, originated with two catalysts: an artist and a color. “A soft, slate blue that one often sees in our skies here in the Great Smoky Mountains,” describes Samantha Feuer, the team’s design manager. “We are often inspired by the landscapes around us, although we never try to compete with the outdoors,” she clarifies. The artist in question is Jeremy Holmes, who makes ethereal sculptures by bending and shaping impossibly thin wood boards and whose work was introduced to Jason on a scouting trip to Manhattan. Samantha felt so strongly that Jeremy’s organic wood sculptures would be a perfect fit for the aesthetic of Blackberry Mountain that he commissioned a series of three small wall sculptures without knowing what the final result would be. The only thing that he specified was the color: that soft, smoky blue. The end result was a triptych of foot-high pieces that hang on a white wall over a bookshelf, looking like abstract clouds. With the palette and centerpiece established for the room, many of the other objects for the room emanated from there. “We color-matched the fabric for the chairs with that smoky blue which then helped us select the rug,” describes Samantha. They wanted the guests lounging in the room to feel complete serenity, so it was decided that even the book titles on the books, as well as the view, might be distracting. To that end they flipped the books around so that only the white pages are showing and then used a sheer curtain to obscure much of the glass windows. “In some cases at Blackberry, the art is the view,” says Jason, “but in the case of Nest, we wanted to tone it down and create a glow.”

LET THERE BE LIGHT
Whippoorwill Lounge, Blackberry Mountain

A successful interior designer requires a diversity of skills, but possibly the most challenging and absorbing is the role of treasure hunter. Jason and his team are on the road at least three months a year searching for singular objects that can transform a room from common to captivating. One of the places that he and the team have consistently discovered gold is the Round Top Antiques Fair in Texas, but not without a lot of patience and tenacity. This fair is made up of more than 4,000 vendors from around the world who show their wares in tents and barns and containers, scattered on dozens of fields that line Route 237. Most of the experts and amateurs that flock here have their insider secrets, and for Jason and his team, that trump card is a charismatic European dealer. “Every time we walk into his tent, we find exciting pieces,” says Jason. Most recently, he and Samantha found two monumental, vintage Italian lighting fixtures that were in several pieces. Despite the obvious amount of labor it would take to put the fixtures together, Jason and Samantha knew that they would make for just the right spectacular moment in the lounge they were designing for Blackberry Mountain. “We knew that we wanted to create a space that would be equally welcoming to someone wearing hiking shoes and someone wearing heels and drinking a martini,” explains Samantha. That meant the room needed to balance rustic patina with glamour, and for Jason and Samantha those vintage lighting fixtures added just the right spark, “like atoms or fireworks,” describes Jason. “The room needed that. The scale of the room is huge but the lights capture the eye and make the space more human.”

TAKE A SEAT
Living Room, Blackberry Mountain Private Residence

Although meeting a budget might not seem quite as exciting as commissioning a monumental art work, Jason says that, often, a budget can inspire creative and crafty solutions. For a residence on Blackberry Mountain, the remit from the owners was that the rooms have a stylish retro vibe. They had a specific budget in mind, so the Design team had to push themselves to make the interiors look unique and upscale. “When you don’t want to spend $4,000 on a sofa,” says Jason, “you may only budget $1,500, so you are either forced to buy something that doesn’t last or you have to find a used one that can be given a new life.” The key to this particular project, said Jason, was to upcycle and reinvent flea market finds that he and his team recognized as having good bones. The most significant example of this was when Jason and Samantha found a ‘70s-era leather couch at Round Top among a jumble of forgettable items. “It had some awful stains,” laughs Jason, “but we knew the shape was right.” After buying the couch, they sourced some chic but affordable fabric and had it reupholstered. “We got rid of the square tufts and had channel tufts made,” he describes, “which is much more au current and didn’t cost extra.” It took more effort and time, but the couch ended up being the centerpiece of the room, and most importantly, fit the budget.

A WORD ABOUT WINE
The Wine Cellar, Blackberry Mountain

Mary Celeste Beall is extremely hands-on when it comes to design and is constantly sending the design team a stream of images and ideas that inspire her. At a meeting where the team was discussing the choice of chairs for Blackberry Mountain’s Wine Cellar and tasting room, Mary Celeste inspired a solution that ended up defining the room. “We had found these bamboo chairs that were small enough so we could fit a lot of them around the table,” recalls Jason, “and we were talking to Mary Celeste about how to make them cool and special.” She suggested custom patches, and it sent the design team down a rabbit hole that resulted in them commissioning custom stitching, each chair labeled with an individual word that had to do with wine, such as “burgundy” and “sip,” from a maker on Etsy. “Sometimes one word is the only direction you need,” said Jason. The patches also gave the room just the right amount of humor that Jason and his team were aiming for. “Every space needs a touch of whimsy,” he said, “so it’s not too perfect. It’s like that faux suede patch on a cashmere sweater. It doesn’t just give you ten more years of wear; it evolves it and gives it additional character.”