Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Nicole Roe, who is a tastemaker and authentic lifestyle creator and founder with our R. Nixon Interiors. Welcome.

Nicole Roe: Hi Leah, I’m so excited to be here.

Lee Kantor: While I am excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about our Nixon Interiors. How are you serving folks?

Nicole Roe: We are a full service interior design firm for both residential and commercial spaces were located in Central Florida, but we’d handle projects across the country.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Nicole Roe: I’ve always been someone deeply affected by my surroundings. The colors, the light. The way a room feels. Even as a kid, you know. My bedroom, my dorm, my first apartments all were a really, really big deal to me. And I really didn’t know why until I discovered interior design was more than just someone picking pretty pillows. It was really about shaping how people live and feel. After attending Georgia Tech, I had graduated with a degree in building construction. I started my firm Art and interiors, and now we have the opportunity to design every space authentically for each client. So, you know, it’s not just a beautiful space, but it really transforms the way they experience their life.

Lee Kantor: Now. When did you kind of connect the dots that interior design isn’t necessarily, you know, different kinds of pillows. Like when did you elevate kind of the thinking or maybe had more depth of of understanding about what it could be and what it isn’t like? Did something happen that was like an aha moment for you?

Nicole Roe: Yes. I actually had the opportunity to intern with a luxury developer that was mixed use in Atlanta. We were in West Midtown and the developer worked with a contractor. They worked with an architect, but they also hired an interior design firm to design the condos, to design the office spaces, the restaurants, etc. and this team of women and men would come in and what they were presenting and what they were designing and what they were executing really blew my mind. And at this point, I was already, you know, a few years deep into my construction degree. So I knew construction. I loved construction, but seeing that interiors combined what I loved about construction, the job site, the creation, the beginning and end with the ability to really make something awesome and affect people’s lives. I was all in.

Lee Kantor: And then when did you take kind of that learning and thinking into, okay, now I’m going to help other people. And they might have already finished, uh, apartment or room or condo or whatever. And now I can transform what’s there and use those bones as kind of a jumping off point to something creative from a design standpoint of the interior.

Nicole Roe: The conversation for many people is very similar. Our standard client is a busy, successful professional. They put a ton of work into their company, into their personal image. You know, the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, the events they go to. But so many of them were coming home to these, you know, kind of large, very builder basic homes that really sparked no joy in them. But also they didn’t really want to bring people back to they didn’t want to entertain, they didn’t want to host, and they weren’t utilizing their spaces to the best of their ability.

Lee Kantor: So what are some kind of symptoms or signals that a person might have a builder? Basic home.

Nicole Roe: When your friends walk in and they don’t sense that you actually live there. Does that make sense? They don’t see the things you love. They know you have hobbies. They know you have adventures. They know there should be collections, there should be art. But when they walk in and it’s, you know, the five piece set that was ordered from Pottery Barn and Art from Home Goods and just very, very basic items that check the box instead of telling a story. That’s when it’s time to really elevate your space and upgrade.

Lee Kantor: So do you have any kind of tips or advice for that person right now that maybe looks around their place and says, okay, that’s she’s talking about me. What are some easy, low hanging fruit things that a person could do right now just in their own environment? Um, that they can handle themselves without an expert like you involved.

Nicole Roe: Of course I think. Think about what you love. Where do you like to vacation? What are some of the activities you like to do? Do you like to go to the mountains and go hiking? Maybe. Let’s find some art. Next time you are in the mountains and hang a few pieces of real art that somebody created. Or if you like music, let’s start collecting maybe vintage guitars or records and start displaying them. The more items you have that you love that are around you, you’ll naturally start creating a space that feels like you.

Lee Kantor: And when you’re working with commercial clients, how does it work in that realm?

Nicole Roe: It’s very similar. Founders have a story, even if it’s partners, or even if their desire is to franchise or expand, they still have their core values of what they love, but they also have a branding kit if they’ve worked with a branding agency. So it’s very fun to combine what is given by the agency, but also who is the founder, what is their team, how do they operate, and what would really elevate that experience at the office for their team members and their clients?

Lee Kantor: So when you’re working with your clients, um, what is the kind of the trigger that, um, you know, gets you involved in the project? Is it something that they’ve already been, uh, at somewhere and then they’re kind of, you know, maybe getting tired of it or bored of it and they want a refresh. Or is it? Are you involved at the very beginning of the construction?

Nicole Roe: A combination of both. Of course we do new builds and we will start with the architect and builder. The kind of the three of us can really help steer a project, but more often than not, the clients gone on vacation, you know, it may be international, it may be just to another city for a conference. And they realize the feeling they get when they go into that hotel where details have been thought about. Art is on the wall. The lighting is really good and they realize it’s an experience. But then when they come home, they have, you know, the 2010 gray paint on the wall and nothing else beyond, you know, can lights on the ceiling and nothing that gives them that same feeling. And that’s when they normally reach out and say, hey, I was just at this hotel in New York, and I want that for my house.

Lee Kantor: And then when you start meeting with them, what are some of the questions you ask them? Or maybe some of the pre-work you ask them to do before you actually begin an engagement?

Nicole Roe: We really want to understand how they live, how they function, what their day to day is, but also their goals. What are they not doing in their home that they hope to do in the future? This could be a wellness area in a gym. Like they want to start working out at home in the morning. Or it could be we want to start hosting events at night. We want to host fundraisers. We want to host, you know, events with our friends or school age kids or whatever it is that they’re not doing now. So the end goal is, how can we get there?

Lee Kantor: So what’s the ratio of clients you have that are for the home versus the for the office?

Nicole Roe: It varies season to season, but it tends to be about two thirds residential and a third commercial.

Lee Kantor: And then sometimes do the commercial turn to residential and vice versa.

Nicole Roe: Almost every single time.

Lee Kantor: Almost every single time. So if you start with a business owner, you might get their their home as well.

Nicole Roe: Yes, we’ve done dental offices and you know, we finished the dental office or the med spa. And 3 or 4 months later they’ve hired us to begin at their home.

Lee Kantor: Now, is that a niche for you, those kind of medical practices?

Nicole Roe: Not necessarily. I think that is a level of commercial that requires contract grade. It doesn’t allow those business owners to just get online in order whatever chairs or sofa they think looks great. You know, on the internet it requires a certain level of fabrics and fire protection and honestly, like weight limits.

Lee Kantor: And then when you’re working with them, um, they obviously they want it to look good. But like you mentioned, there is some practicality that’s involved as well so that you have to take care of that as well. Is that more challenging when you have those kind of parameters, or is that make it easier in some ways because you have those parameters.

Nicole Roe: It almost makes it easier, even though the business owner has the ownership of the space and they want it to look good. They’re very busy, and they trust that we are going to create something that their team is going to love and clients are going to love, and they’re not as attached to every single detail. Whereas in their home, we find people might overanalyze a little bit more and not give as much freedoms until they’re comfortable.

Lee Kantor: Now. Are you doing most of your work in the interior design side? Are you still, you know, kind of leveraging that, uh, building degree that you have from Georgia Tech?

Nicole Roe: Great question. I think one of the things that really helps us succeed is my knowledge of construction. A lot of designers were never formally taught, you know, the construction process or really understand the intricacies of construction. They can come in with these great ideas. They can design an awesome space, but then more often than not, the contractor will come back and say, hey, this can’t work or be, you know, the cost of this is so insane that no one is actually going to go for it. So I believe that my knowledge really allows me to kind of skip those steps. The trades respect me tremendously, and it’s really just fun to be part of construction, but not have to be the contractor.

Lee Kantor: So are you working primarily in Florida right now or is it? Or do you go anywhere that your clients are?

Nicole Roe: Yes. We will really go anywhere. Often interior design clients will have multiple homes. You know, they may have a home that they live in in Florida in the winter, but then they have a house they live in in North Carolina in the summer or out in Montana or really, you know, across the country. So it allows us to continue on the process. And with technology now, it really is feasible for us to do a project anywhere.

Lee Kantor: So you can do the design part. But even the execution of the stuff with boots on the ground in those local markets.

Nicole Roe: Yes. When we provide the spec book and all of the materials, we have the ability to ship everything to a receiver that’s local, we can coordinate deliveries. And of course, we set a schedule of when we fly out there or drive over And there are certain milestones that we explain to the client that are very important that we do in person. And then at the very end, we come in and the local moving companies get all of our items from the receiver. And, you know, a few days later the house is finished.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned working with architects and builders. How do you kind of this is maybe some advice for other people who rely on other partners like this. How do you kind of vet and choose who is the right fit for your firm? Uh, from a culture, from a, you know, a deliverable standpoint, because I’m sure you only want the best for your clients and you don’t want to be associated with someone who would kind of damage your brand. So how do you choose the right partners?

Nicole Roe: Of course. You know, nearly a decade of doing this, we’ve learned who we like working with and who we prefer to work with. But I would say collaboration is great. And as long as you know the contractor is licensed and willing to collaborate, as long as the architect is skilled, licensed, and also willing to collaborate, more often than not, it can be a really great relationship. And as long as we’re all honest with each other, I think there’s times that really hard conversations need to happen and scopes would need to be clearly defined. And as long as that happens early on, we really haven’t had any issues.

Lee Kantor: So like, what are some kind of yellow flags for you or, or hints that maybe this wouldn’t work out?

Nicole Roe: We’ve had it happen and it’s been a while, but when contractors just decide to go rogue, you know, they don’t, you know, reference the drawings, they decide to lay tile their own way or they do not reach out to us because there’s times where, especially in a renovation, you know, walls get opened up and they discover that maybe the plumbing can’t actually go where we were all hoping it could go. And as long as the contractor communicates with that, drawings can be updated and we can all pivot successfully. But there has been times in the past that the contractors just kind of made their choice and not really informed the architect or the designers or really anyone else.

Lee Kantor: So good clear communication is kind of a must have.

Nicole Roe: Yes. Of course.

Lee Kantor: And then and if you don’t have that, that’s kind of might be a hint that maybe there could be trouble brewing down the road if if your partner is kind of ghosting you or not telling you the whole truth, those are kind of signals that, hey, you know, we got to really stay on top of this or else we could be blindsided by something down the road.

Nicole Roe: Of course, we never go into a project with the desire to throw someone under the bus. It’s not professional, and it never ends well for anyone. But we once again have those hard conversations with the client in the beginning of whose responsibilities are Or what? And occasionally, you know, the client may have to get brought into a hard conversation that we would rather, you know, keep them out of. But, you know, all of our goals in the end, is to do a successful project that leaves the clients extremely satisfied.

Lee Kantor: Right. And giving them the outcome they desire. They don’t care how the sausage is made. They just want a nice product when they’re done.

Nicole Roe: 100%.

Lee Kantor: So, um, is there a story you can share? Maybe one of your more rewarding projects? Share. Don’t name the name, but maybe share what the challenge was and how you were able to kind of maybe surprise and delight them.

Nicole Roe: Of course, this past summer, we completed a waterfront beautiful project on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The gentleman who had purchased the home, he was actually my boss over a decade ago, which is just wild that, you know, everything has come full circle. But he was recently separated, had purchased this property on his own, but never really had a place that was fully his or designed for him. Because as a lot of us know, you know, husband, wife, you’re raising children, you’re starting businesses. It was never a priority. He brought me into this house and we looked around and he said, I want to walk in and make it feel like me. But of course, he didn’t fully know what that meant. He’s like, I love fishing, you know, kind of gave the list of, we’re going to have clients come in. I’m going to have team members come in and family and friends, mostly men. So we were able, over the course of the next nine months to fully renovate the place, fully furnish, hang art, put towels in the bathroom, forks in the drawer. So the day after install he was able to come in and it nearly brought, you know, tears to this man’s eyes because it felt like him and he had never experienced that. And he thought this was going to be, you know, just a vacation home. He came to occasionally to go deep sea fishing. But now it’s where he wants to be all of the time. And we’ve already started another project near that beach house, you know, kind of for overflows for guests. But they were able at that home to host a wedding event for his son. And he’s now I spoke to him this week. He hosted 17 fishing trips for clients and vendors this year, and everyone had a great time and loved the house.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Nicole Roe: I think to give permission to everyone you know to reach out to us, obviously, but you deserve a space that functions for you if you’re, you know, a successful professional who really wants your home to reflect the success you’ve earned. You know, to allow us to remove the overwhelm of the design process and really elevate your personal brand and lifestyle in your home like that is what brings us joy. You know, you can find us on Instagram. We are our as the letter Nixon and I c k Essonne interiors. And we’re on you know YouTube and all the social channels. But as well as our website, we do virtual consultations, which can be extremely helpful if you just want somebody to, you know, start the process with you, kind of talk through what your goals are and what your needs are. And maybe like we started this conversation like, what are some small things they can do in their own space to really elevate.

Lee Kantor: And the website is R Nixon interiors.com and Nixon and Nixon.

Intro: Correct.

Lee Kantor: Well Nicole, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Nicole Roe: Thank you so much.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.