News from the Modern West… NEWSLETTER / August 2025 KIND WORDS: “It has been a pleasure working with Word PR to expand our presence in both print and social media … I appreciate the creative thinking that the Word team brings to the table.” – Logan Leachman, Principal, JLF Architects 
WINNING LOOKS One Vail home’s complete transformation brought a win for new Word PR client, Jacobs + Interiors, at July’s 27th Annual ASID Crystal Awards. “The vision was to create a home that felt elevated and comfortable, with warmth and personality in every room,” says founder and creative director Yvonne Jacobs of their (pictured) Refined Mountain Luxury project, awarded Best Renovation Over 5,000 Square Feet. The ASID gala also brought a win for Aspen Design House design duo Denise Taylor and Gigi Podolak Knox, honored this year with Best Residential Single Space Dedicated Room for their success bringing scale, function and beauty to a “warehouse-size” atrium-style great room in their Tree House project (watch for the home next spring in Colorado Homes & Lifestyles). (Photo: Kimberly Gavin) 
RUSTIC REVOLUTION “Rustic architecture will always be tied to its past, but it’s about reimagining those elements in a way that respects their origins while making them relevant for today’s world,” JLF Architects’ Paul Bertelli tells Mountain Living in “The Evolution of Rustic.” The words could be a mission statement for JLF – on the forefront of evolving a modern approach to rustic for over 45 years. That reputation recently earned two of their projects, one with WRJ Design, space in the latest book, Modern West, from Chase Reynolds Ewald and Audrey Hall, who write of the 15 houses featured, “What unites them is a deep respect for the landscape, a pursuit of authenticity, and an understanding that a home in the West is not just about where you live, but how you choose to live.” (Photo: Lucy Call) 
WHITER SHADE OF PALE It’s fun to check out “Color of the Year” choices, but while cozy browns like Mocha Mousse and Warm Mahogany may suit some, everyone loves a good off-white. That’s the theory behind The Spruce’s recent “8 Off-White Paint Colors Designers Use Again & Again,” with the home design mega-website turning to Kibler & Kirch’s Jeremiah Young for recs. One Young pick, Origami White from Sherwin-Williams (pictured), is such a favorite that he uses it for both clients and his own home. “It’s a great sleight of hand that could be used nearly anywhere,” he tells The Spruce. “It’s a little less harsh than a lot of whites … and is white enough to serve as a backdrop for other colors across the spectrum.” Other shades Young uses on repeat? Sherwin-Williams Navajo White and Farrow & Ball’s Wimborne White. PR TIP OF THE MONTH The Power of the Backlink Dating back to Google’s early days, the backlink – the term for another website linking to yours – has been a critical part of their ranking algorithm. In the world of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), they’re like votes of credibility from other sites. Through many algorithm updates over the years, that factor has remained: The more high-quality backlinks you have, the higher your website is likely to rank in search results. In fact, a recent study from SEO company Backlinko found that links remain Google’s key ranking signal. And the better your ranking, the easier it is for potential clients to find you. What are the best backlinks to have? Editorial links are the gold standard. As Hayley Princeton put it in an article for BlueTree, “an editorial link is a naturally earned link added by an editor or writer because your content enhances their piece. It isn’t paid, requested, or part of a link exchange. It’s the link you get when your content is actually useful which is why it’s so hard to fake.” That’s what makes Word PR’s focus on bringing consistent earned media coverage for clients so important. And why we stress a layered approach to coverage that includes the pretty glossy print feature stories that a potential client might see and tear out for future reference or see and pick up the phone – and those digital roundup stories with a link to your website that both get found in internet searches, bringing people directly to your website, and continue to boost your SEO rank through high-quality editorial credibility. |
