Designer Spotlight: Amanda Sims

Imagine designing your dream home again and again — and doing it for a living. That’s the life of Amanda Sims, Design Studio Manager at Ashton Woods in Austin, Texas. Amanda’s passion for interior design began just after college and today, she brings her eye for timeless trends to Ashton Woods homeowners as she helps them bring their vision of home to life.

Check out our Q&A with Amanda for tips on creating a home you love and how to work with a designer to find your unique aesthetic.

How did you get into home design?

I started out designing model homes after college, working for a company in Houston. Now I’m a Design Studio Manager at Ashton Woods in Austin, and my favorite thing to do is design our model homes! I am basically designing different versions of my dream home every time.

Outside of design, what are your other hobbies and interests?

I love making jewelry, doing yoga, traveling and spending time with my beautiful daughter!

Where do you find creative inspiration?

Most of my inspiration comes from Instagram. I love being able to find designers, architects and craftspeople doing amazing things all over the globe! I also find so much artistic stimulation from art museums and art of any kind. I could spend an entire day in a museum and be in total bliss.

What is your favorite AW home model and why?

My favorite home is the Hathaway we are building in Provence, and it’s the closest to my own personal style.

What’s your favorite AW Collection and why?

I LOVE the Rosemary collection. It has dramatic green cabinets, a modern Ann-Sacks-inspired backsplash and a moody black countertop. Perfection!

How would you describe your own personal style?

My style is an eclectic mix. I love the clean lines of modernism, but really appreciate the warm wood tones and bulbous shapes of ’70s design styles. I like low, comfortable furniture, big, cushy pillows and nothing too sharp. My artwork is a mix of vintage art, new abstract works and lots of handmade textile art as well.

One of the most exciting parts of buying an Ashton Woods home is that homeowners get to personalize their design. What design advice do you have for buyers as they build their new home?

Trust your gut and bring all of your ideas to play when you work with our designers. It can feel like an overwhelming process, and so often I see buyers second-guess themselves because they don’t know how to hone in on what they like.

By creating a Pinterest board or something similar with images you like, our designers can review and interpret your style from them. They can help you understand the similarities of the images and bring in specific products that will fit your style. They can also recommend products and styles that you may not even know you like! Trust the process, trust the designer.

What are one or two key tips you’d give Ashton Woods homeowners for decorating their new space after move-in day?

Most of the time you’ll have an idea of where the furniture pieces go, but not things like artwork, pillows, accessories, etc. I would say start to group things by color stories for cohesion. I like to start by laying out all the artwork so I can get a sense of what colors are going to be pulled into the design for that room. From there, I work on bringing in wall paint, rugs and textiles that coordinate, and finally, I work on accessories that reference other items in the room.

Working in stages and working with particular colors really gives each space its own personality. I think homes that carry the same color story throughout the entire home feel very homogenous and a little boring, to be honest. In my house, I currently have a bedroom that is predominantly cooler tones with hints of Asian minimalism and wabi-sabi, a secondary bedroom that has more desert, global vibes and my office that features bright colors brought in through concert posters and photography.

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