RB: What project in your portfolio are you most proud of? AS: The project in my portfolio I am most proud of is an apartment I did in Miami. The client was going to sell this space and gave me a minuscule budget to make magic. I refinished furniture and created interesting paint details on the walls that brought up the level of the apartment from drab to glam. In the end, they were so proud of the result they kept the apartment and sneak off on regular holiday weekends from New York.

RB: What do you love most about your work? AS: I actually love being hands on. I like getting dirty. I am often covered in paint and plasters. I tell my clients after the first meeting they will never see me in a blazer or collared shirt again. They, in turn, feel confident that they are getting that personalized result that comes with my touch.

RB: What impact has working in the design industry made on you? AS: Working in the design industry has had an enormous effect on who I am as a person and how I relate to people socially. I started my business at age 24, shy and inexperienced. I learned the hard way that talent is not enough to get by in this business. Communication skills and service are essential every step of the way. The first impression you make is often the thing that will make a potential client take a second look at your portfolio. I’ve also come to embrace the unknown and even enjoy the unexpected. Believe me in this field, juggling a million details, there is always changes and deviations that take place. Being calm under pressure is a skill that can be learned through experience. Often times, a problem in the process—discontinuation of a fabric, an awkward space, can lead to more creative solutions. Tension is the secret ingredient of success. RB: What's your design mantra? AS: After a designer show-house I participated in this summer on the Jersey shore, I was overwhelmed by the positive response I received to my work from both my colleagues and the public at large. One designer commented that given my hands on approach my work represented to her “A New Conversation in Design.” In this one simple sentence she helped me clarify who I am as a designer. I am not content to fill a client’s home with just things and pieces. I want their home to be a transformative experience. We all have bad days and mundane days and we are looking to escape and recharge. A special room, or a whole home filled with energy and spirit can uplift the soul and give one the stamina to face the responsibilities of family and work. I’m addicted to the look of wonder and pride of the faces of happy clients; Knowing that when I leave them, they feel special and hopeful for another day.

This three story Sultan-designed stairwell was a showstopper in a New Jersey Shore designer showhouse last summer

RB: How would you describe your own home décor? AS: My own home décor is bold, eclectic, sexy and layered. As an artist and designer I need constant stimulation to be creative. My philosophy at home is "More is More!" Almost every piece in my home has a history. The “Tulip Chairs” in my living room are a pair of 1950s parlor chairs. I paired them with a fabric from an Australian company. The pattern on the fabric mimics the unusual shape of the chair frame. I look at these chairs every day and get excited. The soft feminine lines of the chairs are a counterweight to the two bold industrial landscape panels carved out of scrap metal I have hanging on my living room walls.

RB: What do you love most about your home and why? AS: My home was originally owned by my grandmother for decades. The space stayed on in the family serving as a home successively for my sisters before they married and now me. I can still remember as a boy visiting my grandmother on the holidays and the fresh scent of middleastern foods wafting throughout the apartment. This space is infused with generational love.

RB: What is the one thing in your home that everyone always comments on? AS: People always comment on my zebra stenciled doors. People often times will paint walls, wallpaper them and adorn them with art. But doors? They are relegated to being obscured, necessary evils of functional living. To me they are just another surface waiting to be transformed.