Amandork

4 min read

ORC 2024 Fall | Week 2

Hayy guys Amanda here from Foster Decor Consulting, creator of vibrant spaces that are bold and edgy. As the rebel interior designer of our industry, I'm always thinking outside the box, crafting unique and fun spaces that showcase personality. I champion a maximalist design philosophy. While trends come and go, I preach: if you love it, keep it. Your home, your rules! (And if anyone tells you different, just tell them Amanda said so!)

Apartment Therapy Feature

I had a blast doing the Spring ORC in 2024 and was honored to be featured in Apartment Therapy for their Before-and-After featuring MY kitchen.

They cherry-picked a select few that really wowed with their space transformations. It was like finally winning my oscar. But as summer rolled around, I felt a few things were still pending. The makeover I had finished needed some tweaking, so I decided to do a light refresh.

So before we jump into tackling the foyer which opens into the entryway and kitchen (it’s a bit TOO open concept). So I wanted these two areas to be cohesively themed. I remembered collaborating with Stephanie from Stephanie at Home Michelle on my kitchen's early mood boards.

Of course, with the ORC, there were plenty of twists, turns, and on-the-fly changes. It’s kinda like a rollercoaster ride, but instead of screaming, “Wheee!” I was screaming, “Why is this not working?!” So things didn’t go as planned to say the least But yall know how the ORC IS.

BEFORE & AFTER:

First order of business: painting over that dark wine purple. While I loved it initially, it felt a bit EXTRA. The rug, though nice on its own, just wasn't vibing either. It was like trying to make fetch happen – it’s not going to happen, Gretchen!

We toned down the walls from dark wine to light periwinkle. As you might've guessed, I'm all about that periwinkle life. I love lilac, light purple, periwinkle, and royal blue – colors you'll see reflected in my Foster Decor branding. It just made sense, like putting pineapple on pizza (don’t @ me, it’s delicious).

Time for the Floors!

With the walls taken care of it was time to look at dem floors. Enter: Peel and Stick tiles! These bad boys are perfect for hiding weird, cheap linoleum flooring. Since we're renting, they're a great way to make a bold statement without breaking the bank or our lease.

Plus, they're easy to remove without leaving a mess. It’s like a temporary tattoo for your floor, but way cooler. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to make their floor feel like a rebellious teenager?

The art situation was also getting a makeover. Out with the old, in with the new! We kept the blue stripe, which makes a bold statement without breaking the bank (it’s a $17 dollar can of paint people!). It draws your eye up, a signature Amanda move. Come on designers you can design above eye level and go vertical!

Now the wall has a DOPE focal point, a beautiful abstract art piece called “Starry Eyed Chica” You might know this RAD artist Windy O’Connor. This was a steal from HomeGoods encased in an acrylic shadow box. Like are you kidding me? It ties all the colors together perfectly.

Ok this Snake Jonathan Adler rug by Ruggable I snagged off Facebook Marketplace WAS so worth the $50 and is a total upgrade. It’s normally a $200-$300 rug from Ruggable, so I felt like I’d won the lottery (minus the actual money, but who needs that when you have great decor?). I mean, who knew that finding a rug could feel like a high-stakes treasure hunt?

For the backsplash, I found rhinestone disco ball tiles. Now it’s sparkling along the countertops, adding a fun touch. It’s like my kitchen is ready for a dance party at any moment!

With 5 disco balls hanging from the ceiling, new backsplash, silver elements, and even more disco balls in the corner, it’s a bit of a disco party in here. I usually turn on my 80s New wave music while cooking.

I found a great art piece that says, “It’s not hoarding if your shit is cool.” This pretty much sums up my whole apartment.

Yes, I’m a maximalist designer, but at the end of the day, my shit is cool. It’s not just stuff – each piece reflects my personality or holds sentimental value Thank YOU. It’s like a 3D scrapbook of my life! And if anyone tries to call it clutter, I just tell them it’s “artistic layering.” Face it, if your decor doesn’t make you smile, what’s the point? It’s like putting a funny cat meme on your wall – instant joy!

Above the fridge, I took Stephanie’s advice and added some cool black and white IKEA boxes with an abstract stringy pattern. They’re empty because no one wants to freakin climb up there, but we could fill them if we wanted to. I added some ivy because no space is complete without a touch of greenery HAAAY.

I love playing with scale and making sure your eyes look up. There’s so much potential above the 5-foot mark, people! It’s like a whole new world up there, just waiting to be explored.

That’s pretty much it for the light refresh makeover to help prep for the main event - the foyer. It feels so much brighter now, like we let the sunshine in and told it to stay awhile.

The periwinkle color is now echoed in the foyer, making these two spaces chat with each other like old friends at a reunion.

When I first designed this kitchen for the ORC, I tried to avoid my signature style. But now, I’m embracing it full force. I even painted some of my kitchen items in periwinkle to tie everything together.