Welcome to the weekend! It’s Fab Friday, and I’m chatting with Amanda Nisbet of Amanda Nisbet Designs, a 14-year old company known for its embrace of pattern and bold color palettes, its project selectivity, and more recently, its textile and lighting collections, available through Holland & Sherry Showrooms and The Urban Electric Company. Amanda and I have a lot in common...our focus on the client, our appreciation for homes that are accessible and livable, and of course, our love of bright, bold color! Unlike many of her fellow interior designers, though, Amanda was formally trained in art history, and spent years working at Christie’s auction house. Her projects have been featured in Elle Décor, House Beautiful, The New York Times, Town & Country, and The Washington Post. Robin Baron: Tell me about what you do! Amanda Nisbet: As an Interior Designer it is my job to take my clients dreams and turn them into reality in the form of understated elegance and luxury where comfort is paramount. Life is full of color and your home should reflect that. I use color in strategic pops and in combination to make a home come to life.

RB: What have been some of your favorite projects so far? AN: Oh my, that’s a hard question as my personal relationships with my clients are so intimate that friendships always ensue. And so each project has a place in my heart. But on a less sentimental note my favorites are the ones in which I have my hands in everything, from consulting with the architect to selecting the stone, tile, hardware and most importantly the details and finishes. I love decorating on a grand scale. RB: What do you love most about what you do? AN: I love working in many styles and with variety so that I am always engaging my senses and I’m constantly stimulated and evolving. RB: How would you describe your own home décor? AN: My home is the personification of everything I believe and practice as a designer: well appointed rooms that have an understated luxury without being fussy. I want people to truly live and sit comfortably in their homes. I also thrive on the tension created when pairing disparate objects or finishes like my use of a plaster acanthus leaf mirror and contemporary nickel lanterns.

RB: What is the one thing in your home that everyone comments on? AN: How comfortable it is; I think as a designer people who do not know me personally assume that my home would be a museum with everything in it too precious for use. Nothing could be farther from the truth as I want all my guests to be as comfortable as if it was their own home. RB: What’s a favorite trend you’re noticing in home décor lately? AN: Good question! The use of unique and rare materials for all types of products especially a lot of metallic and embossed wall coverings. I just love texture and a little shimmer and bling on walls or ceilings.

RB: What does fabulous mean to you? AN: Colorful, elegant, well-made and above all timeless so it is as well received and appreciated on day one as it will be in years to come. RB: Anything else really that you’d want to include about the company would be wonderful! AN: My first tome, Dazzling Design, comes out this September and I am proud, excited and deeply appreciative for the amazing team I worked with bringing it to reality. The next chapter of AND is bright so look for new designs and colors for my eponymous textile collection and my lighting collection for The Urban Electric Company as well as a new venture into floor coverings.