Holiday Set Design & Art Direction for Hotels, Pop-Ups & Film/TV in Nashville
The past few months have been some of the busiest of my career — the kind of season where you’re fully immersed in installs, timelines, and logistics, and marketing naturally takes a back seat. Between hotel holiday décor, immersive pop-up bars, and large-scale seasonal installations, my team and I have been deep in the work of building environments across Nashville.
As the season wraps, I wanted to pull back the curtain and share what this work really looks like behind the scenes — and how my role has continued to evolve from traditional holiday décor into set design and art direction for hospitality spaces, branded environments, and film and television projects.
Holiday Décor for Hotels: Designing at Scale
Holiday décor for hotels is about far more than placing a tree in a lobby. These are high-traffic, highly photographed environments that directly impact guest experience and brand perception.
Each installation requires thoughtful planning around:
Guest flow and operational needs
Durability and longevity throughout the season
Visual storytelling across multiple spaces
Creating moments that feel intentional, elevated, and memorable
From lobbies and lounges to rooftops and bars, hotel holiday décor has to function seamlessly while still delivering visual impact. The goal is always to create spaces that guests remember — and want to return to.
Pop-Up Bars & Seasonal Installations: Creating Immersive Experiences
Seasonal pop-ups have become a major part of the hospitality landscape, especially during the holidays. Guests aren’t just looking for décor — they’re looking for an experience.
Pop-up bar design blends:
Set design principles
Art direction and visual storytelling
Lighting, mood, and atmosphere
Custom backdrops, props, and photo moments
These installations are designed to feel immersive and transportive. Every detail matters, from how guests enter the space to how it reads from across the room — and through a camera lens. This is where decorating ends and environment-building begins.
From Holiday Décor to Set Design
Over time, my work has naturally expanded into what many brands, venues, and production teams would call set design. Rather than focusing solely on individual decorative elements, the process becomes about building a complete visual world.
Set design asks different questions:
What story is this space telling?
How does it feel to step into it?
Where are the focal points and sightlines?
How does the environment translate both in person and on camera?
Much of this evolution has been shaped by my work in film and television, where design, storytelling, and experience are inseparable.
Film & Television Influence on My Work
In addition to hospitality and seasonal installations, I also work in film and television set decoration and art direction, supporting productions with set dressing, prop styling, and environment building. That crossover has deeply influenced how I approach pop-ups and holiday installations.
Working on set sharpens your understanding of:
Scale, texture, and layering
Designing for multiple angles and perspectives
Creating believable, lived-in environments
Styling spaces that photograph beautifully in varied lighting
Whether the project is a hotel lobby, a pop-up bar, or a film set, the goal remains the same: create a space that feels intentional, immersive, and story-driven.
Art Direction for Hospitality, Brand Activations & Seasonal Pop-Ups
Art direction is where concept becomes a fully realized visual experience — a process I use across hospitality spaces, branded activations, and film/TV projects.
This often includes:
Concept development and creative direction
Environmental storytelling and scene-setting
Set dressing, prop styling, and custom moments
Lighting and mood considerations
Overseeing execution from planning through install
These projects live at the intersection of design, storytelling, and experience — whether they’re meant to be lived in for a season or captured on screen.
The Logistics Behind the Magic
While the finished environments feel effortless, the behind-the-scenes work is anything but. Holiday and seasonal installs often involve:
Tight timelines and overnight installations
Coordinating crews, deliveries, and storage
Working around guests, staff, and operating businesses
Solving problems in real time
This past season involved multiple installations happening simultaneously across different locations — a challenge that underscores just how much this work has grown.
Looking Ahead
As hospitality spaces continue to invest in immersive, experience-driven environments, the line between interior design, set design, and art direction continues to blur — and that’s exactly where this work thrives.
Looking ahead, my focus remains on:
Hotel holiday décor and seasonal installations
Immersive pop-up bars and experiential environments
Set design and art direction for hospitality, brands, and film/TV
These projects allow for creativity, storytelling, and strategy to come together — creating spaces people don’t just walk through, but remember.
Set Design & Art Direction in Nashville
If you’re a hotel, bar, restaurant, brand, or film/television production looking for a set designer, set decorator, or art director in Nashville, I’d love to connect. My work spans hospitality installations, seasonal pop-ups, and production design support — bringing cinematic storytelling into real-world environments.
