Hilton Design Summit 2024:  RECAP

Discover our insights from the Hilton Design Summit 2024! From new design trends to key interactions with industry leaders, this summit has inspired fresh ideas for our hospitality projects.

Read the full recap here.

Meet the Team

Julia brings a wealth of transformative design expertise, highlighted by a distinguished education from Abilene Christian University where she graduated with honors. Recognized by the ASID/Houston Chronicle Design Excellence Awards with First Place in Commercial Retail, Her career spans significant contributions across the Hospitality and Retail sectors. Notable projects include the Coushatta Grand Hotel Renovation in Kinder, LA, and the Golden Nugget Casino Expansion in Las Vegas. Her approach skillfully merges deep industry knowledge with a passion for crafting bespoke environments that are both functional and aesthetically exceptional. Branded Environments was officially established in 2006.

CREDENTIALS

Texas Board of Architectural Examiners Registration: #10156

NCIDQ Certification Number: 019066

Bachelor of Science in Interior Design with Honors, Abilene Christian University

ASID Design Excellence Awards ASID/Houston Chronicle: First Place in Commercial / Retail

Twenty-five years of experience in Interior Architecture & Hospitality Design

HOSPITALITY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Cavalier Country Club; Wilmington, DE; Complete Renovation, FFE Procurement                          40,000 sf

Commonwealth Hospitality Mansion Historic Restoration; Horsham, Pennsylvania                           7,000 sf

Coushatta Grand Hotel, Kinder LA; Complete Renovation Interior Design C.D.s                       150,000 sf

Eileen’s Restaurant Renovation; Ambler, Pennsylvania                                                                                           4,000 sf

Extreme Pita Restaurant & Food Court; Custom Branded Designs, C.D.’s & C.A.                             4,000 sf

First USA Bank Cafeteria & Dining Area; Wilmington, Delaware (AIA award)                                     24,000 sf

Golden Nugget Casino [Main Gaming Floor] Expansion; Las Vegas, NV - New Construction, C.D.s      

Gullifty’s Restaurant; Rosemont, Pennsylvania, Dining Renovation 1 & Expansion 2                4,000 sf

Hacienda Real Mexican Restaurant, Fulshear, Texas; New Construction                                                            6,400 sf

Hilton Garden Inn Custom Renovation, Clarksville, TN; 5-STORY,111 Units; Custom Renovation 75,000 sf

Michelada’s Tex-Mexican Restaurant, Fulshear, Texas; New Construction, C.D.s                          6,800 sf

Neca’s Mexican Restaurant, Fulshear, Texas                                                                                        6,700 sf

River City Casino VIP Lounge, St. Louis, MO. - Design Concept & FFA Package 7,000 sf

Towneplace Suites by Marriott, Dodge City KS; Version 3.5, 4-stories, 121 units            71.000 sf

  

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Retail                

  • Alan Murphy Salon: 3,000 sq ft, Spring, TX

  • Alonti Market Cafés: One Houston Center: 3,500 sq ft, First City Tower: 2,000 sq ft, Two Greenway Plaza: 4,000 sq ft

  • Aveda Lifestyle - Dionysus Salon & Spa, The Woodlands

  • Bayshore Ford Truck Sales, DE

  • Beneficial Finance Retail Office, The Woodlands

  • Bikeland, The Woodlands

  • Ikea Retail Showrooms, Canada and CA

  • Jaded Clothing Boutique, The Woodlands

  • Marble Slab Creamery, TX: Brand Update, Renovation

  • Party City, The Woodlands, TX: 10,000 sq ft

  • Playtime for Kids, The Woodlands: 6,000 sq ft

  • Shoe Ballou/Gabor Concept Store, The Woodlands: 4,000 sq ft

  • Thirsty’s Smoothie Shops

  • Westheimer Plumbing & Hardware Showroom, TX: 4,000 sq ft -ASID Design Excellence Award - 1st Place-Retail

Corporate

  • BSRG Advertising, Houston

  • Core States Corporation Headquarters, DE

  • Chart Industries, The Woodlands

  • EDS One City Centre, Houston

  • EDS/Aurum Technologies, Houston

  • KoSa Headquarters, Houston

  • Remington Arms Corporation Headquarters, DE

  • Staubach Realty, Houston

  • Valley Green Executive Suites, PA

  • Westlake Group, Houston

  • Exxon/Mobil Renovation, Houston: 50,000 sq ft

Energy Projects

  • BP Refinery Offices, TX

  • Entergy Office Renovation, TX

  • Hilcorp Energy, Houston: 30,000 sq ft

  • Repsol – YPL/Maxus Energy, The Woodlands: 47,000 sq ft

  • Whitmar Exploration, Houston: 6,000 sq ft

  • Winstar at Three Allen Center, Houston: 13,000 sq ft

Tenant Planning Services

  • 1201 Louisiana Place, Houston: 907,000 sq ft

  • Esperson Building, Houston: 570,000 sq ft

Building Lobby Renovations

  • 5 Sentry Parkway, Blue Bell, PA

  • Rydell Square, Jenkintown, PA

  • Valleybrooke South Corporate Center, Malvern, PA

Educational Projects

  • E.O. Smith Elementary & Middle School Renovation, HISD, Houston: 175,000 sq ft, $5,000,000 Project Cost

Government Projects

  • State of Delaware Legislative Hall Expansion Wing, Dover, DE: 37,000 sq ft

Professional Services

  • Watts & Heard Attorneys at Law: 17,500 sq ft

  • Ford & Bergner Attorneys at Law: 9,000 sq ft

  • Taylor & Taylor Attorneys at Law: 7,000 sq ft

  • Stewart Title of Montgomery County: 2,000 sq ft

  • Stewart Title of The Woodlands: 7,800 sq ft

  • Avante Rivela Plastic Surgery Medispa: 6,000 sq ft

  • Crow & Little Attorneys at Law: 3,000 sq ft

  • Dr. Guiffreda Medical Office: 3,000 sq ft

  • Dr. McPhail Dental Office: 4,000 sq ft

  • Maternal & Family Medical Office: 6,000 sq ft

  • Chronic Pain Recovery Center: 2,000 sq ft

  • Spring Creek Medical Clinic: 3,000 sq ft

  • Tops Breast Imaging Center: 3,000 sq ft

Ecclesiastic Projects

  • Woodlands Oaks Church of Christ, The Woodlands

  • Iglesia Bautista Hispana Maranatha, Cypress, TX

  • University Heights Baptist Church, Huntsville, TX

  • Selah Church, Magnolia, TX

  • First Baptist Church Huffman Education & Youth Worship Building, Huffman, TX

  • First Baptist Church Willis, Willis, TX

  • Cardinal Anthony Bevalaqua Estate Renovation, Philadelphia, PA

Cheryl L Marchand

LEED-AP BD&C

Cheryl has 20 years of experience in Interior spaces for Hospitality and Commercial projects.  As Project Lead at Leo A Daly she and her team of 6 designers were responsible for coordination and production of two full-service Sheraton Hotels in Dallas and Denver (1800+ keys) simultaneously with budgets exceeding 90 and 80 million dollars respectively.

For Remington Hotels/Premier Project Management [Dallas, TX] Cheryl supported multiple large-scale hospitality projects creating construction documents with intricate details and coordination with specifications from internal designers. She coordinated with external consultants and managed project documentation. Cheryl has extensive expertise in property field verifications to update existing floor and ceiling plans.

As Senior Interior Designer with Carter & Burgess, Inc., Cheryl planned (2) 350,000 SF buildings for the AmeriCredit call center campus, including finishes, furniture and equipment.  She prepared bid documentation for furnishings, reviewed bids for accuracy and pricing following through with awarding  the project to the furniture vendor.  Concurrently, AmeriCredit was also moving their corporate headquarters to 8 floors at Burnett Plaza.  Cheryl was responsible for the same level of responsibility for managing and producing project documentation, coordinating external consultants as well as construction administration.

HOSPITALITY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Major Hotel Renovations

  • Dallas Sheraton Hotel: $82 million renovation

  • Denver Sheraton Hotel: $115 million renovation

    • Dallas + Denver Sheraton Hotels: 3,067 guestrooms, including presidential and hospitality suites, 355,000 square feet of meeting space, lobbies, front desk areas, pre-function areas, fitness centers, pool areas, restaurants, bars, and club lounges

Key Projects

  • Condado Hotel & Casino, San Juan, Puerto Rico: $50 million renovation, 3,067 guestrooms with presidential and hospitality suites, lobbies, registration areas, pre-function areas, meeting space, fitness centers, and casino

  • Westin Hotel: $25 million renovation, public areas and 536 guestrooms

  • Sheraton Hotel, Arlington, TX: $20 million renovation, public areas with 26,000 square feet of meeting space, 311 guestrooms, and 16 suites

  • Le Pavilion Hotel, New Orleans, LA: 226 guestrooms

  • Churchill Hotel, Washington, DC: 173 guestrooms

  • Renaissance Hotel, Palm Springs, CA: 410 guestrooms and public space package

  • Marriott Research Triangle Park, Raleigh-Durham, NC: Lounge space

  • Westin Princeton, NJ: Ballrooms and public space

  • Sheraton Annapolis, MD: 197 guestrooms and public space

  • Dallas Market Center, Dallas, TX: 184 guestrooms

  • Silversmith Hotel, Chicago, IL: 144 guestrooms

  • Dallas Marriott Market Center, Dallas, TX: 265 guestrooms

  • Sofitel, Chicago, IL: Guestroom package for 415 rooms

  • Hilton, St. Petersburg, FL: Public space package

  • Sheraton, Indianapolis, IN: Executive lounge

  • Sheraton, Ann Arbor, MI: Executive lounge

  • Sheraton Hotel, Anchorage, AK: Executive lounge, public areas, 370 guestrooms

  • Marriott DFW Airport, Dallas, TX: 499 guestrooms

  • Pier House, Orange Beach, AL: Presidential suites

  • Hyatt Windwatch, Hauppauge, NY: Meeting rooms and restaurant

Corporate & Building Renovations

  • AmeriCredit Headquarters, Fort Worth, TX; 8+ floors, 350,000 SF Campus, Planning & Construction Documents & C.A., All Phases from Programming, Space Planning, Design Development, C.D.’s, C.A, FFE Selections & Procurement & Move Coordination

  • AmeriCredit Operations Center, Arlington, TX; Planning & Construction Documents & C.A. for (2) 254,000 SF Campuses [508,000 SF Total]. All Phases from Programming, Space Planning, Design Development, C.D.’s, C.A, FFE Selections & Procurement & Move Coordination

  • Burnett Plaza Corporate Headquarters, 8+ floors, Planning & Construction Documents & C.A.

  • Anthem Oil & Gas, Midland, TX, Building gut & Complete Renovation, Planning & Construction Documentation & C.A.

  • Bank of America Bank Lobby Renovation, Midland Texas, Planning & Construction Documents & C.A. & FFE with Custom Artwork Commissions

    Ecclesiastical Projects

  • St Elizabeth Church, a $15 Million renovation, Presentations, Renderings & Construction Documents & C.A

Julia Gray

Principal - Registered Interior Designer