Boutique Design - March 2019 - 50

UP-AND-COMING DESIGNERS

ALWAYS ENTRENCHED IN: The ever-growing
pipeline of Embassy Suites new-build properties
and renovations in North America.

You never do
anything alone. I compare designing a project
to making a movie, except at the end of a movie
there's a list of every person that contributed
to making it. The number of people it takes to
make a project happen is immense, and for every
one of those people it's usually very personal.
Before working on hotels I designed restaurants.
I'll often hear my mom tell someone, "Katie
designed this or that restaurant." Every time I
correct her and say, "I did not design it; it was a
team effort." That lesson is impactful because of
how it translates to so many other things in life.
Life is a team effort. There are people who have
helped get you where you are today and will help
get you where you're going in the future. For me,
the list of those people is endless, and I hope that
I've paid it forward.

HER LIGHT-BULB MOMENT:

Design Manager,
Embassy Suites and HGV
Hilton

TIGER FORK, WASHINGTON D.C.
(INTERIOR DESIGN FIRM: EDIT LAB AT STREETSENSE)

BIGGEST CAP 'N' GOWN MYTH, DECONSTRUCTED: Budget! We maybe touched lightly on material

pricing in school, but the impact of construction costs on a design cannot be overstated. I
think there could have been a better balance in school between thinking outside of the box and
thinking creatively within the box. I've always said that some of the best designs we'll never see
exist only on paper. So many times, I've watched value engineering significantly change a project.
Sometimes it results in very creative solutions, but sometimes it can alter the entire design
essence of a project. That's a difficult lesson to learn and a difficult thing to accept even now.
shaped who I am, not only as a designer but as a
manager to younger junior designers.
WORK IN PROGRESS: The presidential suite at the

Cache Creek Casino Resort-a new hotel and F&B
expansion in northern California set to open by
summer. We took inspiration from the surroundings.
The closest town has an annual almond festival and
the suites have double-height windows that look
across an almond field. So we used a deGournay
hand-painted silk wallcovering with painted almond
blossoms on it. We used walnut wood-another
important material to the region-and work by local
artist Jen Garrido was also featured.

EMILY MARSHALL

Interior Design Discipline
Leader and Senior Associate
HBG Design

NOTE TO SELF: I'm
WINSTAR WORLD LONDON BAR

ALWAYS HONING: Communication skills. There
are so many types of communicators, from verbal to
visual. The way others interpret information, whether
it be creative work or direction on a project, is so
different from person to person. That plays into my
intuition, which is a huge factor in my day-to-day.
From being able to read a room when presenting, to

boutiquedesign.com MARCH 2019

working with internal designers, paying attention to
others' energy helps me navigate situations better.
FIRST PINCH-ME PROJECT: My very first project
as a junior designer at Wilson & Associates, the
Atlantis Dubai on Palm Island. I was working
with the most talented designers at Wilson and it

going to make mistakes
and that's OK. A hospitality interior
designer makes thousands of decisions,
just in one space, so to think you're going
to hit a perfect game is not realistic
and can sometimes be a creative block.
Mistakes in the field can spur a super
creative detail that you might not have
thought of in the first place.

D I O N N E M C D O N A L D ( K E L C H N E R ) ; R E Y L O P E Z ( T I G E R F O R K ) ; T H O R H A R L A N D/ H B G D E S I G N ( M A R S H A L L ) ;
P E T E R M A L I N O W S K I / I N S I T E P H O T O G R A P H ( W I N S TA R W O R L D L O N D O N B A R )

FAVORITE TECH TOOL: The measure tool on my
phone! That's something I never knew I was lacking
until I had it.

KATIE KELCHNER

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - March 2019

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