Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Sep 21, 2025

BraytonHughes Design Studios Creates Canopy by Hilton in Baltimore

BraytonHughes Design Studios Creates Canopy by Hilton in Baltimore

When last we met up with Kiko Singh, BraytonHughes Design Studios principal, it marked the opening of the Grand Hyatt at SFO.


Inside the new Canopy by Hilton in Baltimore. Photography by Durston Saylor.

That was March and the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. In the unprecedented year since, Singh and the firm have kept busy. Taking the studio 3,000 miles cross country, Canopy by Hilton, a recent project, gives folks another reason to visit Baltimore. The hotel coupled with the city’s lively waterfront (come post-pandemic), its century-old, still operational Domino Sugar factory, and crab cakes, of course.

Located at Wills Wharf in the city’s Harbor Point neighborhood, the hotel is part of a mixed-use, new-build structure by Beatty Harvey Coco Architects. It’s one of Hilton’s “lifestyle” brands. Translated, that means that "while it is not a five-star luxury experience with several amenities, it is a boutique hotel experience," Singh explains. "Small, intimate, and when you wake up you know exactly where you are." As such, Canopy by Hilton offers the utmost flexibility stemming from a pragmatic floor plan and strong ties to place through literal and figurative interpretations.



The deck offers guests waterfront views in a laid-back atmosphere. Photography by Durston Saylor.

Check-in is a minimal affair, just a simple desk of wood planks at one with the lobby. This, in turn, is super-comfy and somewhat residential in flair with two seating groups of leather sofas and high-back, velvet-covered chairs divided by a freestanding, double-sided fireplace. Oak millwork with shelves for books, ceramics, found objects, and a TV contributes to the vibe. Meanwhile, references to Baltimore’s industrial heritage come with oversized pendants, their armature, and the fireplace itself, all of blackened metal.



A seating area for guests references Baltimore’s heritage with industrial accents. Photography by Durston Saylor.

An extension of the lobby, a transparent boardroom is delineated with a blackened steel and glass storefront. Its sliding door opens to a custom oak table, surrounded by Charles and Ray Eames classics. More than just a formal setting, the space offers solitude to guests when not booked for events.

“What’s different about this property,” Singh continues, “is a larger restaurant program than usual.” Here it takes over a prominent corner of the floor plan with wraparound windows and is dominated by a freestanding copper and black-painted bar. The exposed ceiling and dark ductwork hue industrial as does the gutsy, suspended storage fixture. Meanwhile, everything opens onto a deck set with ample seating. As for the restaurant proper, it’s run by a local. Cindy Lou’s Fish House is undeniably elegant. Leather banquettes, ebonized walnut tables, and custom floor lamps comprise the mix.



Cindy Lou’s Fish House. Photography by Durston Saylor.

Speaking of locals, Singh with curator Nathalie Beatty and artist Karl Connolly put together a knockout collection of works from Baltimore’s art community. To wit: the main elevator lobby with exposed concrete walls boasts an oil on canvas by Connolly while a mixed-media piece in an elevator lobby for guest rooms is by Charles Mason III, and the boardroom’s acrylic on linen is by Timothy App. Arguably most striking of all is Jonathan Maxwell’s triptych of paint, resin, and concrete mounted on an armature of gears that allow the three components to be moved closer together or farther apart. The assemblage faces the restaurant’s screen wall of beer bottles, “from a local brewery and is part of the story.”



A sliding barn door of painted steel in the guest rooms separates the bathroom from the sleeping area. Photography by Durston Saylor.

Rooms number 156, eight of them suites that extend to 800 square feet. Singh devised a standard scheme for all with custom furnishings and minimal millwork to keep costs at bay. The standout is the canopy of bent oak that frame the bed, easily construed as nautical. It’s lit from behind for an ambient glow. No ceiling holes here. A sliding barn door of painted steel separates bathroom from sleeping quarters, while another sliding door of wood closes off the shower from the powder-coated steel and quartz vanity. Meanwhile, a clever open steel and oak unit set within a niche at each room’s entry replaces closets as a chic but compact dressing area. All said, plenty of reasons to book Baltimore when travel rebounds.



The bent oak canopy lights up from behind for an ambient glow. Photography by Durston Saylor.



Neutral hues and plenty of natural lights offer guests a soothing space to unwind. Photography by Durston Saylor.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
Documents Reveal Mandelson Failed to Declare Epstein-Funded Flights as MP in 2003
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Harris Memoir Sparks Backlash from Democrats for Blunt Critiques in ‘107 Days’
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Japan’s ‘Death-Tainted’ Homes Gain Appeal as Prices Soar in Tokyo
Massive Attack Withdraws from Spotify Over Daniel Ek’s €600M Defence-AI Investment
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders Third Lethal Strike on Drug-Trafficking Vessel as U.S. Expands Maritime Counter-Narcotics Operations
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
Why Google Search Is Fading and AI Is Taking Its Place
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Federal Judge Dismisses Trump’s Fifteen-Billion-Dollar Suit Against New York Times, Orders Refile
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
DeepSeek Claims R1 Model Trained for only $294,000, Sparking Global Debate Over China’s AI Capabilities
SoftBank Vision Fund to Cut Nearly Twenty Percent of Staff in Bold AI Strategy Shift
Intel’s Next-Gen Manufacturing Gets a Lifeline from Nvidia’s Strategic $5B Deal
Erika Kirk Elected CEO of Turning Point USA After Husband Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
×