“Working with Jess Cooney Interiors was an exceptional experience. She and her team managed every aspect of the projects from design and planning to custom furnishings. Her team worked seamlessly keeping the projects on track. I've worked with many designers before and JCI is by far the best.”
Sandy M.
New Jersey Renovation and Berkshires New Construction Custom Home
Jess Cooney Interiors is a full-service interior design and build firm that is unparalleled in its ability to handle every aspect of a clients needs for their home and to make dreams a reality
What sets JCI apart from other firms is our ability to take care of every aspect of a client’s needs. We specialize in long-distance communication, meeting deadlines, and taking care of every detail from start to finish so our clients can relax and enjoy the process. Yes, this is actually possible!
JCI provides clients with comprehensive oversight of their projects from conceptualization and construction to the final touches. The team includes architects, contractors, project managers, and designers to cover varied scopes of work. Our implementation is grounded in our strong local knowledge and connections to the top Berkshire talent as well as our network of contractors around the country.
We excel at communication throughout all phases of a project. This emphasis on simplified and streamlined contact is a key tenet of our design process - it’s also critical for clients that may need our management services from afar.
MEET THE TEAM
Jess Cooney Principal, Founder
As principal and founder of Jess Cooney Interiors, Jess has lead her team as head designer on construction and custom furnishing projects for the past 21 years. Jess and her team have received national attention for their designs and have been featured in Architectural Digest, Martha Stewart Living, HGTV and are often spotlighted in the New York Times and Boston Globe for their ability to create smart functional tranquil spaces.
Jess is passionate about renovating older homes, smart green new construction, and designing custom built-ins and furnishings for her clients and their families. Jess has built a team of designers and support staff whose focus is on execution of every detail of her firm’s projects and effective long distance communication throughout the process. Her vast knowledge of construction and custom furnishings paired with her down-to-earth sensibility has brought success to her ever-growing firm. Her signature style is a mix of smart, durable design - clean lines, modern sensibilities, and rustic elements. Clients of Jess Cooney Interiors crave laid-back elegance complete functional storage solutions for kids, dogs and house guests to throw their feet up for the weekend without any worries.
"Families have such limited time to spend together these days. We work to ensure that every detail has been thought through - from where the towels for the pool will be stored, to finding the best place for the coffee maker for guests and visiting friends. Our clients seek spaces where the stresses of everyday life are minimized and the relaxing nature of the Berkshire Hills is maximized.”
Jess lives in a historic home in Great Barrington with her husband, three children, and three dogs. She is an active member of the local community. She is the Vice President of the Berkshire Hills Soccer Club, an active board member of the Railroad Street Youth Project, Berkshire County Youth Soccer League, a sponsor of the Berkshire International Film Festival and a board member of the Great Barrington Fair Grounds Committee. Jess attended Holy Cross College where she was nominated as an All-American Soccer player. She started her design career in the Mountains of Colorado in 2000 and then relocated her family back to the Berkshires in 2003 to open her own firm. In her free time she enjoys hiking with her dogs and each year traveling the globe to a new destination for design inspiration.
Lauren Cresswell Creative Director
Lauren has a varied background that includes experience in the fields of urban design, policy, and visual arts. After earning her MPA at The University of Texas at Austin and working for a historied architecture and design firm in Austin, she moved to closer to her native New York to continue pursuing her interests at the intersection of design and problem-solving. Lauren has experience with both residential and commercial projects, managing varied scopes of work. In addition to her creative oversight on projects, Lauren helps coordinate JCI’s marketing and branding strategies.
Rachel Duchesne, Senior Designer
Rachel brings extensive experience from her long tenure in luxury residential interior and private club design. Add to that her early experiences in commercial design including daycare, office, medical practice design. During her professional career, Rachel has also enjoyed teaching Interior Design and AutoCAD for RISD in Providence, RI and Capital Community College in Hartford, CT. Rachel earned a BA in English Literature with a Minor in Art and Religion from Bucknell University and her Masters of Science in Interior Design from Drexel University. Born and raised outside of Philadelphia, Rachel has lived most recently in coastal Rhode Island, but her love and knowledge of the Berkshires began long ago.
Benjamin Anderson Senior Project Manager
Originally from Illinois, Benjamin received his MFA in Interior Design from the New York School of Interior Design. Specializing in high-end residential design, he has managed numerous projects, focused in NYC and throughout the Hudson Valley. He has a deep appreciation for the connections that clients develop with their spaces and believes that well designed interiors have the ability transform and enhance daily life. Benjamin is trained in Computer Aided Design (CAD) and 3-dimensional renderings to increase efficiency and innovation, while allowing clients to have a full understanding of the creative vision from day one.
Leila Hirvonen, Senior Project Manager
Leila recently relocated to the Berkshires to be closer to her upstate New York roots. With 13 years’ experience at Manhattan design firms, she has worked on a wide range of projects from private renovations through large-scale commercial and residential new construction. Following completion of a master’s program at Pratt Institute, she spent several years designing environmentally focused LEED and WELL certified projects in the city. Influenced by Scandinavian design tradition, she enjoys the process of crafting warm, layered, liveable spaces with an eye toward sustainability and longevity.
Grace Mendel, Project Manager
Grace grew up in the Berkshires and attended Grinnell College in Iowa, where she graduated with honors and a BA in English. She has extensive experience in the publishing industry, where she honed her organizational and editorial skills. She supports JCI project managers with a focus on all construction projects.
Anne Albert Procurement Manager
Anne is a fashion designer and comes from a varied fashion background. Over the course of her career, Anne has run her own clothing business, collaborated with numerous fashion, lifestyle and beauty brands and has worked producing, casting and styling everything from catalogs to advertising campaigns. She began her career in fashion working in Europe and Japan before moving to New York City to study fashion design at FIT. During this time she also began producing fashion shows in New York, Paris and Milan.
Anne moved from NYC to the Berkshires 18 years ago and never looked back. She brings years of organizational skills, experience, an eye for detail and design knowledge to JCI.
Jacque Ivory Expediter
Born and raised on Long Island, Jacque fell in love with the Berkshires at 19 after meeting her now husband, a native of Great Barrington. Despite living all over the world (15 moves in total), she settled back in Sheffield in 2017. Through her travels and resettlements, Jacque developed a love for design and renovation. Having to quickly turn a house into a home became a well-honed craft, as did organization and precision. This arsenal of skills is put to use each day in managing receiving and logistics for JCI. Jacque ensures each moving part for thousands of details, from order to final installation, runs smoothly.