Meet Bryan Graybill – the interior designer and seasoned host who brings elegance and ease to every gathering

Introducing Bryan Graybill

This feature marks the debut of A Designer’s Guide to Entertaining, a six-part series with interior designer and seasoned host Bryan Graybill. Each month, Bryan will offer expert advice, holiday hosting tips, and effortless ways to create a more inviting home – beginning with the spaces where everyday life and memorable gatherings naturally unfold.

Bryan Graybill's roots – hospitality by design

Interior designer Bryan Graybill was raised in the architecture of hospitality. The son of a hotel developer and a Southern hostess, he grew up with a rare dual fluency in both structure and sentiment. 'My father built hotels, and I spent all my free time apprenticing with him,' Graybill says. 'Meanwhile, my mother and grandmother were teaching me the art of hosting – how to make people feel not just invited, but cared for.'

That split influence continues to shape his work today. After earning a degree from Cornell’s legendary Nolan School of Hotel Administration, where he learned everything from wine pairings to management, Graybill worked in hospitality consulting before shifting to interior design. It was at his first interior design job in London where he learned the most lasting design lesson of all: a beautiful room means nothing if it doesn’t serve the people in it.

Designing with emotion – Bryan Graybill’s signature style

Now an interior designer with homes in East Hampton and the Cotswolds, Graybill blends what he calls 'disciplined nostalgia' with a deeply intuitive sense of hospitality. His style, rooted in Anglo-Secessionist aesthetics, draws from Edwardian craft and old English gardens, but without the social rigidity of the past. 'I try to create spaces that feel inherited rather than decorated,' he says. 'Where colors feel balanced, not coordinated. Where objects have stories.'

More than anything, Graybill designs with feeling in mind. 'A room shouldn’t just be pretty – it should make you feel something: calm, intrigue, the sense that you’re stepping into another time.' In his Hamptons snug, for example, that emotion is warmth: a deep banquette, a built-in ledge for a glass of tequila, the quiet comfort of winter. 'It’s a mood you sink into.'

Form that functions – designing for flow and welcome

What sets Graybill apart is his insistence on designing for movement, use, and ease. 'Decorating is about how things look, but activating is about how they work,' he explains. 'It’s the tray that’s ready for cocktail hour, the bench by the door where muddy boots come off. A room comes alive when it invites people to do something.'

He considers flow essential, though often invisible. 'It’s how people move through a space without having to ask where to sit, stand, or put a drink,' he says. 'Good flow isn’t noticed. Bad flow is felt instantly.'

So it’s no surprise that Graybill and his husband, attorney Daniel Dokos, often have visitors popping by. Hosting, for them, is less about orchestrating a perfect evening than about creating an environment where life unfolds naturally. A tray left out with cocktail glasses, a pot of coffee on the stove, a bottle ready to open – these quiet cues signal care. 'A tray is a promise that something good is coming,' he says. It’s not about performance, but presence. 'I’m always half-ready for company,' Bryan adds.

Why Bryan believes in a slow housewarming

But there’s one thing you won’t see Graybill hosting: A housewarming bash. 'I’m not one for big housewarming parties,' he admits. 'I prefer to break in a space gradually. A breakfast for close friends, a quiet supper, or a few overnight guests.' For him, a home is something to be warmed slowly, like a stove catching heat.

'I think of my homes almost like characters,' he says. 'They need to be fed energy – conversations, meals, footsteps – before they start giving back. And once they do, they become the kind of spaces you don’t want to leave.'

For Bryan Graybill, entertaining isn’t about perfection – it’s about presence. It’s in the quiet confidence of a well-placed tray, the softness of layered textures, the ease of a room that seems to know what you need before you do. His spaces don’t just welcome guests – they make them feel at home.

Shop these picks to get Bryan's look

As this six-part series unfolds, Graybill will continue to share his thoughtful approach to hosting, from creating inviting entryways to setting a table that sparks conversation. But at the heart of it all is a simple, enduring idea: the most beautiful homes are the ones that feel lived in, loved, and ready – always – for good company.