Inside the World of Anne-Marie Barton
On thoughtful outdoor living, natural materials and designing in harmony with the landscape.
For interior designer Anne-Marie Barton, the most compelling outdoor spaces don’t feel separate from the home — they’re a natural extension of it.
Inspired by Utah’s dramatic landscape and guided by a deep appreciation for natural materials, craftsmanship and spaces made to be lived in, Anne-Marie brings the same warmth and consideration outdoors that define her interiors.
For her latest collaboration with Harbour, Anne-Marie styles our Chloe Teak Lounge Chairs against the Utah landscape, customized in Sorrento Stripe Caramel from our Signature Textile Collection.
We sat down with Anne-Marie to talk about her design philosophy, the landscape that continues to inspire her, and why the best outdoor spaces should feel every bit as considered as those within.
“Outdoor furniture should not simply survive outside. It should contribute something beautiful to the life taking place there.”
— Anne-Marie Barton
Anne-Marie Barton - Award Winning Interior Designer
1. How would you describe your design philosophy and personal aesthetic?
Anything practical can be beautiful, and I believe it should be. When we surround ourselves with beauty, we begin to live a more beautiful life. Not beauty for beauty’s sake, but beauty that brings emotion, comfort and meaning into the everyday.
There is always a backdrop of traditional living and craftsmanship within my work, much of it rooted in my New England upbringing. That history naturally flows into the more organic and modern side of my design breadth. I am not interested in choosing one language over another. I want them to live together.
My own home is filled with handmade sculpture, sand-cast bronze, ceramics, vintage chairs and deeply modern pieces from makers such as Roman and Williams and Ryan Hughes. There is never a moment when I do not want to layer in one more vintage rug or another piece of hand-painted artwork.
I live for the mix of old and new. It is what I call a heritage-modern aesthetic. It is meant to feel soulful and familiar, but also curious. There should be comfort, history and something unexpected enough to make you pause.
My compass is always the client’s way of living. Beauty cannot compete with life. It has to support it. I listen closely to how a household gathers, rests, moves and changes, then design spaces that serve those rhythms now and into the future. Nothing should feel too precious. A room begins to feel complete when precision has created ease, when every detail carries emotional weight but the home remains ready to be lived in.
2. What do you love most about outdoor living in Utah, and how do you bring that into the spaces you create?
The earth here is endlessly inspiring. We live upon it, look toward it and move through it every day. There are the rumblings of the mountains, the valleys carved by ancient water, salt beds, little ponds and the mountain ranges holding us on almost every side.
There is a harmony woven into the way we live here. We reach for the landscape when we drive through it. We lie upon it to find peace. We look toward the grandeur of the sunsets as a daily gift that should never be overlooked.
People come to Utah because they feel a connection to the heart of the land and to the pull of the mountainscape. Within my interiors, I want that relationship to remain intact. I want the movement from inside to outside to feel almost immeasurable, as though the home and the land have always belonged to one another.
I lean into finishes that feel natural to the touch and familiar to the atmosphere. Clay tones, spruce greens, sandy neutrals, rugged woods and materials that carry the same warmth and imperfection as the landscape.
The earth itself is the art. The rough-hewn texture of the mountains becomes a kind of grounding, and I am always trying to bring some of that strength, warmth and stillness into the rooms I create.
In one Deer Valley project, I framed the mountaintops through a five-foot round opening so the landscape became part of the experience of the home. That is where I begin: with the view, the movement of light and the relationship between the architecture and the land. From there, stone, woods, mountain tones and comfortable, movable seating can continue through the threshold, creating places where people naturally gather and linger within the landscape.
3. You’re known for your thoughtful material palette. What materials, textures or finishes do you find yourself coming back to, and why?
I return again and again to materials that reveal how they were made.
Sand-cast bronze carries an integrity and a sense of realness that is difficult to match. You can feel the hand, the heat and the memory of the pour within it.
I love sandblasted travertine for the ruggedness of its touch and for the grain that moves horizontally through its sedimentary layers. Authentic brass should feel solid, bruised and alive in its finish rather than overly polished or precious.
Bleached walnut and wire-brushed white oak bring warmth without heaviness. They feel honest, quiet and tactile.
Then there are the softer layers. Alpaca and cashmere underfoot, or hanging as sheer drapery across a window opening to an expansive view. Those materials soften the architecture and allow a room to breathe.
Rock crystal also continues to draw me in, particularly when it is left in its most natural cut. It gives off a serene quality, with cloudy champagne tones that feel both elemental and jewel-like.
I am looking for materials with evidence in them. Evidence of the earth, the maker, the process and the passing of time.
I choose these materials because they continue to live. Stone softens, bronze patinates and woods dry, deepen and carry memory. Quartzite grounds, bronze warms and mohair softens. Their performance is part of their beauty. They are durable, tactile and never too precious, allowing a home to age honestly while becoming warmer and more personal over time.
Chloe Teak Lounge Chairs & Side Table
4. How did you first discover Harbour, and what drew you to the brand?
I first discovered Harbour while walking through the showrooms at the New York Design Center. I remember seeing the warmth of the natural teak and the softness of the bouclé fabrics. There was an immediate sense of ease, and the love affair began there.
The pieces felt comfortable without becoming casual in an ordinary way. There was refinement in the shapes, but also a low-key quality in the tones and textures that made them feel approachable and real.
It was outdoor furniture that carried the warmth, softness and material integrity I normally look for inside the home. That connection made immediate sense to me.
What felt distinct was the ability to bring an interior level of warmth and refinement outdoors. The pieces felt clean but tactile, tailored yet relaxed, with authentic materials and softened forms rather than anything overly technical or overdesigned. They support life without competing with it, which is the kind of quiet luxury I am always searching for.
Sorrento Stripe Caramel Fabric
5. When designing an outdoor space, how do you approach selecting fabrics and finishes? What should homeowners consider when customizing their furniture?
I begin by looking for the thread that connects the inside of the home to the outside. I do not want the exterior to feel like an entirely separate design language. The privilege of customization is that we can carry a selected sense of color, texture and materiality through the threshold.
The outdoor palette may become slightly quieter or more elemental, but it should still feel related. A tone from a rug, a vein within a stone, the warmth of an interior wood or even the mood of a room can begin to inform the exterior furnishings.
I look for fabrics with depth, touch and variation. Even when performance is essential, the material should not feel overly technical. It should have the richness and tactility we expect from an interior textile.
The shape of the furniture matters just as much as the fabric. Contour, proportion and silhouette create the emotional tone of the space before any styling begins.
For homeowners, I would consider how the furniture relates to the architecture, the surrounding landscape and the way the space will truly be used. Comfort, durability and maintenance matter, but so does the feeling. Outdoor furniture should not simply survive outside. It should contribute something beautiful to the life taking place there.
Customization has to begin with the realities of the household. How will the space be used now and in the future? How often will people gather, move chairs, linger and truly live with the pieces? I invest in durable and impactful solutions, but nothing should feel too precious. The right fabric and finish should support the client’s way of living while still delivering texture, warmth and emotional depth.
6. What made you choose this particular Harbour piece and fabric combination for your project?
As I was moving through selections for a new project in Deer Valley, Harbour’s range of teak, metal finishes and new fabrics felt like exactly what the mountain landscape needed. There was an authenticity to the materials and an interior level of refinement that belonged naturally within that setting.
Then I saw one of my favorite Harbour chairs placed against the mountain view in the Cottonwoods, and I became obsessed. The Chloe chair has these sultry, rounded contours that are beautiful from every angle, but especially from behind. That is a nuance we are always searching for in a dining chair or an outdoor chair. It has to contribute to the view even when no one is sitting in it.
That is really the point. Our outdoor chairs should look every bit as considered as our indoor chairs. The warm caramel tones and deeply threaded texture of the fabric create an incredibly inviting feeling for guests, while remaining beautiful enough to look toward every day. It carries the bark, earth and nutmeg tones of the surrounding landscape without feeling overly thematic.
I also love the travertine side table beside it. The natural movement and texture of the stone meet the chairs with the same level of quality and material integrity. Together, they feel sculptural, tactile and entirely rooted in place. You simply cannot compete with the natural beauty of materials that are allowed to remain genuine.
7. What do you hope people feel when they spend time in an outdoor space you’ve designed?
Why not elevate our exteriors? Why not give them the same emotional consideration, materiality and sense of soul that we bring to the rooms inside?
I want the movement through the threshold to feel seamless. There should not be a sudden shift into something less considered simply because we have stepped outdoors. Instead, there should be a continued connection to warmth, realness and tactile texture.
The shapes of the furniture begin to create the mood. Their contours bring softness and ease, while the materials establish a sense of quality and permanence. Together, they allow the exterior to carry the same elevated sensibility as a beautifully layered interior.
Ultimately, I want people to feel settled. I want them to feel held by the space, connected to the landscape and comfortable enough to stay a little longer than they intended.
More than anything, I want an outdoor space to create belonging. It should give residents and friends a place for meaningful and memorable exchange, somewhere they feel peaceful enough to linger and curious enough to remain present. A beautifully made space should nurture us, restore us and deliver a quiet kind of joy.
Anne-Marie’s approach is a reminder that outdoor spaces can carry the same warmth, materiality and intention as the interiors of a home. We’re grateful to Anne-Marie for welcoming us into her world and sharing her thoughtful perspective on design, materiality and outdoor living.
Explore the Chloe Collection and discover more than 70 fabrics from our Signature Textile Collection to create a setting tailored to your space and style.
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