Episode 14 - From Healing Environments to Haute Interiors: Susan El -Naggar’s Inspired Path

Transcript

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[Music] Here we go. Hello, powerhouse smart friends and colleagues. Wendy Cohen here. I'm so honored and excited to have Susan Alagar here, one of our fabulous cool leaders in the luxury design build real estate industry. That's what this podcast is all about. I find the coolest people who are in my network and I bring them to all of you so we can learn a little bit about their history and what they're doing now. And we, you know, weave that with the fact that I know Susan cares about giving back and living with an

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attitude of gratitude. So Susan El Nagar's firm today is Susan El Nagar Interior Design and her focus is luxury interior design. But I'm gonna ask her a few questions and we're gonna learn about how she got started and what really is behind the talent at her firm. So Susan, welcome. Hi Wendy. Thank you so much for having me here today. I really appreciate it. You're such a blessing. Yeah. Everyone who meets you says, "Oh my god, what a classy lady." They just love you. So yeah, so share with Thank you so much.

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Yeah. the first time you dipped your toe into being an interior designer. How did that all happen? I would have to say my interior design journey started when I started working on my own home on the interiors and I just like to um create and make things. And so, you know, I would hang all the wallpaper and the draperies and just do all the interiors myself. And then a neighbor came over and asked me who did my interior design in my home. And I said, "Well, I did." And then uh so from there, that's what happened. And it just

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spread through the neighborhood. And uh so I just started working on all my neighbors uh homes. Uh and then I thought, you know, I really wanted to um you know, take this in a a business direction and I already had clientele. So I decided to attend the International Academy of Design and Technology in Chicago and I absolutely loved it. I loved learning and I just loved everything about design school. Uh so um once I was in school then uh I ended up feeling like it was really important to be around other professionals. So I

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found out that American Society of Interior Design had a chapter in Chicago. So I started attending their meetings and uh just found out that it was really important to be around these um designers who were already professionals and to learn from them. So smart, Susan. A lot of interior designers that we all know today um don't really realize how important it is to learn from each other, which is one of the things I love about you and I know um in our community um people people often say that about you. You're

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so willing to share your knowledge and your wisdom. So you got very involved with is that that's as Chicago. Yes, it's all of Illinois. Oh, but there it's actually the office is in Chicago at the merchandise mark. Wonderful. And then you started you were younger. Were you just like one of these sponges that just listened or did you get involved in in working with the you know the association? How did that go? Uh so with ASID I ended up loving it so much that I became a president of the ASID uh student chapter and then uh

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throughout the years it's been a journey with ASID just consistently uh being involved in committees and then that evolved into being president after you know years later because this was just a few years ago I was president of the American society uh interior designers chapter in Illinois which like I said the office is in Chicago. Um and then uh then when I was done with that then last year uh I was on the ASD national committee which they're out of Washington. Um so amazing amazing let's talk about giving back. I mean

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that's really giving a lot of your time and energy. We all know you're you know a board member or you're a president the enormous amount of you know you're representing others and you know it's a task that you know is enjoyable if you are a giving person like you are but not always building your own personal business with that. So, I want to go back a little bit because um today health and wellness and interior design is, you know, obviously everyone's talking about it, but you were doing this way back in what 2012 when you did

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your was your first company's name. What was your interior design firm's name then? Uh so I was healing environments back then uh in 2012. And the reason I was healing environments is because my own life had transitioned through health and wellness and cleaning out my home of toxic products and bringing in green products, um, cleaning personal products. And then it spilled over into our business, healing environments. And so, uh, ended up that I designed homes to be healthy. And as far as materials

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um and then also we bring in um healthy um um products, I I share green products, cleaner products with my clients as well. Some of them have animals and they're very thankful that I share the the green side of design with them. So, um, yeah. So, I I did get a lead green associate cert certification and then also a welacredited professional. Wow. You are ahead of your time. And then I understand your husband is also an architect. So, do you and he work together on all your projects or just some of your projects? Uh, no. We

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do not work together on all of our projects. It just depends. is if I have a project that uh it's a remod and we're going to tear out everything and I need floor plans, my husband will uh do the floor plans for me. So, it just depends on the project. Um but I am I feel very blessed that I have him to do drawings for me whenever I do need them. Sure. And so you were telling me um earlier about your first healing environments project was a home for two doctors, husband and wife doctors. So was that

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like an eyeopening experience? And were they helping educate you or were you educating them and learning together? Tell me about that. uh my client it they found out that uh I was working on creating healing environments and they wanted to know you know how that all worked. So um I just shared you know with them about healthy materials. So we brought in um porcelain flooring and we also incorporated um stone to bring in a natural bofilic design. Uh so bofilic design is bringing nature into your room. Uh it doesn't have to be a

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tree. Uh you can bring it in through you know leaves on fabric. It could be texture. Um variety of lighting. So, we worked on incorporating bofilic design into their space. In the shower, we did rocks on the wall. We added textural uh elements to the room. Uh so, they wanted their uh their they wanted their uh master suite to feel like a spa retreat. And so, when we got done, they definitely said it felt like a spa retreat. We incorporated lighter tones. um you know blues and creams and so it's

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very elegant and restful and peaceful. Wow. So this is when you know really health and wellness was really kind of a newer thing. So, I'm very impressed, Susan, that you were so um you know, future forward. And then and so you did that all through 2012 up until and um you did both commercial and residential, but I could see that your you know, clients that you gra that gravitated to you were high in residential and then you you rebranded. What was that all about? Was that last year? And tell me

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about that. Yes. Uh thanks Wendy. So last year uh we rebranded in um 2024 and um it seemed like uh the last few years my business was really focusing on residential luxury design. The majority of my clients um were doctors, lawyers, seauite executives, business owners and I was not getting very many commercial projects. Um so I really wanted to hone in on my clientele and have my website and my business cards and everything feel like high-end luxury residential design. So that's why I rebranded, came

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up with a new logo and a new website and just new materials and everything. But at the same time, when I rebranded, it is for high-end luxury uh clientele, busy professionals who want to come home to a luxurious spa, you know, peaceful retreat. Wow. Yeah. So can you can you just from a a a big picture perspective since you've been doing this healing environments and this luxury design with you know just well-appointed finishes and as you had said you know all the the building materials like the wall coverings but

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then all the furniture and art and everything that complements that. What how is it different today? Are there more things to choose from or were there equally as many things to choose from? It's just that now everybody's talking about it. I believe back in uh 2012 when we were starting this, there were some products, not as many, and I had to do more research and looking at the products and what's in them as opposed to uh in the last couple years, you're hearing green design everywhere. Um and in Chicago um

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they really just in the last couple years have embraced green design and really putting everything into it. So um the mart now they have a lot of products that they're offering green sustainable products. So it's much easier now than back then to find those products. What's your favorite what's your favorite new product or new application of you know this you know building within your home and it could be something that you you just apply it doesn't have to be you know it could be just a retrofit um but what what are you

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seeing that that just says to you ooh ah that's it just makes me feel great um well I like to uh incorporate uh nature in um ways that you would not expect it. Uh so bringing in say if there's a column in a room, bringing in um the porcelain mosaic tiles which are healthy um in a glass with the iridescent and then um making a planter around it and bringing in live birch trees from floor to ceiling. Uh, so I like to bring it in in unexpected ways so it doesn't feel like, you know, just a tree, right? That's so cool. Yeah, I

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heard that, you know, not from a lot of people, from a few elite people that um, you know, the trees inside pro inside residential properties is becoming much more um, available and possible. But that's so awesome. And yes, being in nature, I mean, there's nothing more, at least for me, and I know for a lot of people, you know, just even taking a step outside and being in the sunshine, but being surrounded by Mother Earth is just so rewarding. I love the fact that you continue to give back to the

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interior design industry, and I want to thank you for all of your being involved with Powerhouse Smart and being an expert moderator at the Naples Luxury Conf. Thank you. Oh, it was great. you flew in and you got to meet a whole new group of people, but you were really it was great having you there. So, what what's it what's in it for 2020? What do you got on the on the on the architectural boards? What's going on in 2025 for you, Susan? Uh, well, what's going on is my husband and I, we love to

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travel. So, we travel abroad a lot and uh we were just in um Paris, French Rivier, and Rome. And also I incorporate all my travels into my designs as well. Uh so my goal would be for us to have a client that has a second home abroad and uh do some international work. I have clients that have second and third homes in the United States and so my goal would be to expand into international market. Great. Wow, that's fabulous. Okay, I can't wait. Maybe we could have a little virtual tour with slideshow and

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you can share with all of us. Sure. Yeah, that would be so much fun. Yes, definitely. Awesome. So, one of the things I like to always ask my guests and believe me, you and I could talk for hours. Um, we try to make this a 20 minute commutable so that we can really um hit the audience that's maybe driving from one place to other, riding the train into the city or whatnot. But um there's always a couple questions that are important to me like you know how do you um how do you wake up every morning

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with an attitude of gratitude? Susan, tell us what's what's in your heart. What's in my heart every morning when I wake up is that I'm so thankful and grateful that I am in a career that I absolutely love that I'm passionate about. Um I grew up, you know, painting and sewing and fabric. So just doing something that I love doing and being surrounded by others, architects, um, and also, you know, builders and all the subcontractors, realators, being surrounded by all these people who also love interior design and the whole um,

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building, you know, the whole building environments. Yeah. Building environment, right? Yeah. We're part of a family that's very creative and and there, you know, we are as human souls. We're creators, right? So, how how fortunate that we get to wake up every morning and be in that world? Um, absolutely. And I love that you have really committed yourself to sharing with other professionals. So, are you going to continue speaking in 2025 and beyond, sharing your wisdom? are you still um on the being involved with

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other organizations like ASID? You know, share with us what's what's ahead for those great u communities you're in. Uh actually, I would um still be a part of American Society of Interior Designers um on different aspects and I will speak uh right now I don't have any engagement set up. Uh my last I spoke at uh the High Point in North Carolina a couple times um last year. So I'm working on that um for this year as well. Just speaking engagements. We'll put the November 5th Powerhouse Smart Chicago Luxury Conference on your

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calendar then. No traveling on November fourth and fifth this year. Okay. All right. Great. Awesome. Thank you, Susan, for being with us. We're so happy to share you on our Powerhouse Cool Collabs podcast. We love having you in our community. If you want to reach um Susan, the link below. So, you have a website and it's is it Susan Elnagar? Um interior design. Yes. And how about social media? Instagram, LinkedIn, and all of those. I'm on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Okay. Fabulous. Fabulous. Well, thank you again. my my

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you know gratitude to you and we love you and thank and we hope to spend lots more time together. Yes. Thank you so much Wendy for having me again. I really appreciate it. You're such an amazing person. A well you know what you are and that's why I wanted to honor you today. So blessings to you. Namaste my my dear friend. All right. Thank you so much Wendy.

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