Watts & Dray is a Brooklyn-based hospitality design studio dedicated to creating spaces that linger and leave an impression. Founded in 2021 by Vanessa Watts and Erika Dray, the studio began with a supper club in San Diego’s Gaslamp District. This first project established the studio’s sensibility: beautiful, atmospheric, and deeply considered. For Watts & Dray, design is more than form; it is the architecture of mood, memory, and distinction.
Specializing in full-service hospitality design, the studio offers custom furniture, art curation, uniforms, branding, and design styling. The studio also brings its considered aesthetic to a select number of private residences. Its portfolio spans luxurious resorts, innovative nightclubs, and iconic hospitality destinations, including The Seagate Hotel and Spa in Delray, Florida, and The Chandelier Bar at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. Across every project, Watts & Dray brings a refined point of view, beautifully considered execution, and an unwavering attention to detail.
A certified Woman-Owned Business in New York, Watts & Dray is shaping the future of luxury design.
Select clients include: Turnberry Associates, MGM Resorts International, Marriott, Davidson Hospitality Group, Hilton Hotels, Recipe Unlimited, Kushner, HRI Hospitality, and Fortuna Hotel Collection.
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VANESSA WATTS: CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Vanessa Watts is the co-founder of Watts & Dray and a hospitality designer with a gift for creating spaces that are as sublime as they are commercially astute. Her work is shaped by more than a decade in the industry, with experience at Ghislaine Viñas, ICRAVE, and Rockwell Group, and by a belief that interiors should do more than please the eye; they should deepen experience, shape memory, and guide movement with intention. She holds a master’s degree in interior design from Pratt Institute and a bachelor’s degree from Temple University, and is NCIDQ certified.
Licenses:
NCIDQ Certified
State of Nevada, Registered Interior Designer
State of Florida, Registered Interior Designer
State of Texas, Registered Interior Designer
State of Louisiana, Registered Interior Designer
Education:
Bachelor of Liberal Arts - Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Master of Interior Design - Pratt Institute, New York, NY
Selected Projects:
Radical Hotel, Asheville, NC
Pelham Hotel, New Orleans
Hyatt Lost Pines, Lost Pines, TX
Westin Times Square, NYC, NY
Dolphin Hotel, Orlando, FL
Stayton Room, Lexington Hotel, NYC
Komodo Restaurant & Lounge, Miami, FL
Liv Nightclub, Miami, FL
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ERIKA DRAY: MANAGING DIRECTOR
Erika Dray is the co-founder of Watts & Dray, where a background in fashion, jewelry, and object design informs interiors with a rare feel for materiality, proportion, and precision. Over two decades in New York’s fashion world, she developed a disciplined eye for the beautifully made as a sought-after technical designer for brands such as Calvin Klein, Nautica, and Betsey Johnson. At the studio, she brings that same exacting sensibility to each project, shaping spaces that feel considered, tactile, and uniquely transportive. She holds a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oneonta and studied at American Intercontinental University in London.
Education:
Bachelor of Science - State University of New York at Oneonta
American Intercontinental University, London, England
Selected Clients:
Calvin Klein
Simon Miller
Champion
Kendall and Kylie
Nautica
Betsey Johnson