Spring 2021 Preview

The preview Immerse yourself in pure luxury Hotel Carmichael Carmel, IN Photos: Hotel Carmichael Design: HBA Purchaser: HPG International

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Graduate Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC

Residing in lively university towns across the country, the Graduate Hotel collection celebrates the unique spirit of each community.

Photos: Steve Freihon Design: AJ Capital Partners Purchaser: Slate Procurement

“ Expect the unimaginable while indulging at this five-star luxury getaway in the heart of Chapel Hill.”

Seamlessly blending the nostalgia associated with college, the convenience of being centrally located, and an amazing design, the Graduate Chapel Hill provides tourists, alumni, and business travelers the perfect accommodations. Guestrooms adorned in shades of Carolina Blue with basketball hoop headboards and Tar Heel nightstands will make

Meet a team member Chris Gossy What is your position at Bryan Ashley and what is your tenure?

I am a Senior Project Team Manager and I’ve been with Bryan Ashley for 5 years.

What do you like most about working at Bryan Ashley?

Every project is so unique - we get to see and produce a wide range of products, so every day gives us something new or challenging to tackle.

What animal do you think closely matches your personality and why?

I had to phone a friend - their answer, “Something that is quiet and unassuming, but can be very deadly and is generally socially awkward.”

Yep, that sounds about right.

your stay a memorable one. Just a short walk from the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, the Graduate Hotel is located near a multitude of shops, restaurants, and entertainment options. Although Chapel Hill is a city in a large metropolitan area, it conveys a small-town vibe and is quickly becoming a hot spot for American cuisine.

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Creative we love Malcolm Berg EoA Recognized as the 2020 Designer of the year, Malcolm Berg, President and Design Director of EoA, Inc., focuses his designs on the human element - the intimate relationship people have with their environment.

This award is the oldest in the hospitality industry, and Malcolm and his group are ever so deserving of this prestigious recognition.

How do you feel hotel design will be changing post Covid and what trends might we see develop?

It’s interesting that some of us are talking about post Covid, somewhat hoping that it will just go away. Whether it does or doesn’t is yet to be seen, but how we deal with it, I believe, will be an ongoing issue for a while. Despite how difficult it has been, this pandemic has definitely taught us a few lessons about hotel design. To me it has taught us that formulaic is never the answer, that typical buzzword applications are no longer relevant. What is relevant is what is right for the place, what is right for the guest in that specific environment, in that specific moment. It has taught us that guests are not looking for pomp and circumstance, for flash and bang, they’re looking for meaningful, for memorable, for physically and emotionally nurturing spaces. To that end, wellness has taken pole position - the recent focus on landscape integration, on biophilia, on spatial introspection, all lead to an appreciation of a healthier environment.

Any words of wisdom for new designers?

One of the most difficult things for us as designers to accept is that we don’t know what we don’t know.

As a young designer we tend to feel empowered, we are ready to take on the universe, to kick ass and take names. But as soon as we get out into the field, we realize how much there is to learn, how beautiful and difficult the profession actually is. The learning curve is steep, the amount of information is vast, so the sooner we tackle it the better the chances we have at mastering it. So my advice is to never let an opportunity go by. If one arises, take it, it might not be there tomorrow - and if you don’t take it somebody else will. If the music starts, get your ass out on the dance floor...

What was the most challenging yet successful project you led, and how did you overcome the obstacles?

We worked on a complex ceiling for a restaurant where the ceiling panels were faceted in compound

Interior Design

Wild Dunes Resort

shapes. We had designed it on paper, developed it in sections, and fully articulated every detail in 3-D drawings. The ceiling was part of a much broader project, a full resort that had taken a few years to build.

We were only two months away from opening when the contractor stated, in a meeting in front of the client, that we had to redesign the ceiling. When I asked them why, the response was clear, “it could not be built.” I asked them to start working on a mock up, that I would happily help them through it, but they refused to work on a mock up that “could not be built”. So I took the drawings to my garage and built a 6 foot portion of the ceiling, actual life sized mock up of a section, to show them how it could be done. I recorded it detail by detail in the assembly process, compiled a video presentation and ran it in front of them and the client at the next meeting. They requested a copy of the file - the next time I saw them was at a millwork shop with the entire ceiling laid out on the floor for my review.

What was the biggest lesson you learned as a designer?

I remember as a little kid drawing sections of buildings that showed little people in their personal spaces.

I would designate specific locations - bedrooms, kitchens, parking areas, etc. I remember walking into friends’ houses and telling their parents, to their astonishment, how much I appreciated the architecture in their homes. They looked at me someone bewildered, not quite knowing what to say back. I really had no choice other than to become an architect, nothing else seemed to fit. But as my architecture career

Interior Design

121 Marina

developed I realized I wanted more, that architecture alone wasn’t enough, so I started migrating into landscape architecture as well. Once I married those two, I felt like I was reaching some semblance of design maturity. Years later, when I started dealing with interior design teams under my umbrella, I realized how little I knew about experiential design, how much interior designers actually influenced the overall experience. It was only then that I realized how little I knew about the field, how shallow my perception had been as to the human experience. Having to take a step back to better understand the intricate

Architecture, Interiors, and Landscape Design

The Ben - Autograph Collection

nuances of interior design, and to do so in complete humility, was one of the best lessons I ever learned.

Do you feel there is a benefit for the designer and furniture manufacturer to have a business relationship, and why or why not?

I don’t think it is a benefit to have a relationship with the manufacturer, I think it’s an absolute necessity. The work that we do is not based on dots and dashes - it is based on relationships, on trust, on interpretation of intention. It is imperative that the designers know the specific manufacturer’s capabilities, styles, methodologies, and track records. It is equally important that the manufacturers know the designers’ intentions, their expectations and their overall goals for that project. Successful projects live or die by communication.

We are proud to have created the Wild Dunes Resort, located in Isle of the Palms, SC, with the EoA and Bray Whaler teams.

About our cover

Hotel Carmichael This architectural masterpiece, located in Carmel, Indiana, inspires a journey through history with all the modern-day amenities guests desire. Upon entering the lobby using tall black pivot doors, guests are greeted with a bold black-and-white checkered floor and a black marble check-in desk. Situated next to the Palladium, one of the greatest music halls of its time, the Hotel Carmichael sets the stage for a relaxing stay with classical décor, leather headboards, lush blue sofas, and baroque style chandeliers creating a symphony of classic elegance.

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Made to order

Connect with us on our Instagram account @bryan_ashley_inc for inspiration

Studio Twist Top-of-bed knits with a twist

Studio Twist creates beautiful, long-lasting top-of-bed knits that help tell a story about a place, bryan_ashley_inc This one is on us... request a free model room! We offer free model rooms so you can see your design in reality and test our quality craftsmanship yourself. This way you can feel confident that your order will be exactly the way you want it!

reinforce a property’s brand, and – most importantly – make people comfortable. Their blankets, throws, the patented BedSok® box spring cover, and fully fabricated pillows are custom designed and thoughtfully made to order in the U.S.A. for hotels, spas, cruise lines, healthcare, and assisted living. They are shipped directly from the factory to the property with no added stops for treatments or fabrication, and offer life cycle costing advantages: they can be laundered in house with non-chlorine bleach, at low-medium temperatures with a short drying time. With proper care, they can last until the next renovation.

Their experience has given them unique insight into trends, preferences, and the needs of designers, housekeeping staff, and property owners. Their priority is to inspire designers and collaborate with them to achieve their design vision for each distinctive property. Their unique collections demonstrate endless possibilities and provide ideas for stitching, construction and color. They have been in the trenches on many projects from planning to installation.

Studio Twist has developed new yarns over many years to address the ongoing demands of

bryan_ashley_inc A moodboard inspired by our next featured installation! We love the muted colors, the balance of warm and cool, and variety of textures that make this flatlay (and the space) pop! Stay tuned for more next week!

bryan_ashley_inc Andrew Alford (@theandrewalford) is a creative human, artist, and interior designer with more than 20 years of design experience in the hospitality industry.

Hospitality, ideally positioning them to responsibly respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. They continually monitor relevant governing bodies and evolving technologies to maintain their position as a leader in providing safe solutions for hospitality spaces.

Studio Twist’s offerings are knit from one of the finest synthetic fibers, polypropylene; their products are lightweight, colorfast, recyclable, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and resist stains, mold and mildew, abrasion, and UV rays. They meet ACT Standards for contract textiles, and are inherently FR, passing NFPA 260, British Standard 7175 and International Maritime Organization (IMO) Standards. Polypropylene is a dynamic insulating fiber; it traps heat in cold weather and releases moisture to cool when it’s warm, keeping the user comfortable in all conditions. `