Some designers can point to the exact moment they fell in love with the work. For Emily Bagala, it was at thirteen, walking through a mansion in New Jersey.

Where she grew up, there's a beloved tradition called Mansions in May - every other year, the city opens up grand, abandoned homes and invites designers to transform them, room by room, to the fullest extent of their imagination. For one month, hundreds of people wander through before it all comes down. Emily was one of them. "I immediately had an interest in the entire design process," she remembers - the different styles, the personal touches, the way each designer left something of themselves in a room. That fascination never left her.

It led her to the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she majored in production design with a minor in interior design - and then, fittingly, into the world of film and television, designing sets for movies and TV. It's an unusual path into interiors, but it shaped everything about how she works. Designing for the screen meant learning to build entire worlds around a character: studying how someone lives, what matters most to them, and letting those details drive every material and choice. She carries that same instinct into every home. "Whatever the client finds most important," she says, "is what you should find most important in their design."

That philosophy shows up in the details she loves most. Emily has a deep appreciation for the customized and the handmade - specialized tile, mosaics, pieces that aren't mass-produced. She's drawn to the things that make a space feel unmistakably yours. "I like to have things feel unique in someone's space," she explains. "Those customizable touches make a design work for the client, but they also make it one of a kind."