Amanda Amato
OUR INTERIOR DESIGN STUDIO IS NOW IN LITTLE ...

We are excited to announce that AMA Designs & Interiors, an award-winning interior design studio, is now located in Little Falls, New Jersey!

We will miss our start-up location in Caldwell, NJ, which was within a real estate office, and the friendships we have developed over the years from working there. As our business expanded and our team grew, it was time to open up a studio to support our needs and service our Clients.

OUR INTERIOR DESIGN STUDIO IS NOW IN LITTLE FALLS, NJ
design, DIY
Amanda Amato
Reasons Why you Should Hire an Interior Designer

Regardless of the scope of your project, any home project is an investment. We manage projects anywhere from full-room decoration to full-scale renovation. When you are investing thousands into your home, the thought of professional fees for an Interior Designer may raise concern. However, you know in your gut that you don’t have the time or bandwidth to take on the project yourself without the help of an expert.

The value of hiring a professional Interior Designer far outweighs the monetary value.

Reasons Why you Should Hire an Interior Designer
design
Amanda Amato
What is the difference between Full-Service ...

If you have been researching an Interior Designer for your project, you may have seen the terms Full-service, Turn-key Design, E-Design, or Virtual Design. These industry terms are different tiers of service and appeal to Clients at two different price points. If you are confused what is the difference between Full-Service Design and Virtual Design, this post is for you.

What is the difference between Full-Service Design and Virtual Design?
design, local
Guest User
When Should I Hire An Interior Designer?

Have you have been tossing around the idea of hiring an Interior Designer but don’t know where to start? An Interior Designer gives you the reinsurance that you will have the dream home you’ve always wanted, help you stay on budget, and reach your target end date.

When Should I Hire An Interior Designer?
design
Amanda Amato
Remodel or Move? 5 Things to Consider Before ...

In today’s blog post, we will share our expertise whether you should remodel or move. If you are unhappy with the current state of your home, you are not alone. Home improvement projects have been on the rise since the pandemic started. Home projects are not the only thing on the rise but the cost of real estate as well. In New Jersey, we have reached a housing boom with homes selling $100,000-$200,000 over asking. Of course, this doesn’t happen with every listing but it is happening more frequently in today’s market. As my husband is a New Jersey realtor, I have an acute awareness to the real estate market and the experiences he has encountered over the past year and a half. With mortgage rates being historically low, more homeowners are considering whether to remodel or move.

Remodel or Move? 5 Things to Consider Before you Decide

middle school

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The Inner Struggle

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As you may now, I have been participating in Alex Beadon's "Feel Good Blogging Challenge" this week. I am approaching the end stretch with today being DAY 6. UNDERVALUE

In middle school, I never really felt comfortable being who I was. Middle school was definitely the worst stage for me growing up. Think about it - you are going through that "awkward stage", you have no idea how to apply makeup or style your hair, and boys suddenly don't have "cooties" anymore. On top of that, you have the evil "cliques" that you have to deal with.

I was very outgoing and friendly in school. Regardless of the amount of people that I seemingly got along with, I was still bullied. When a group of kids are calling you names, of course you will question if is true. You start to question who you are and then you become insecure. The voice inside my head was worse then the voice of those girls.

But I broke free ..

One day, I woke up a NEW person. It was the day I found my voice. Surprisingly, my voice was so strong that it stopped all the bullying. It was that day that I realized who I was. It was the same year that I ran for Student Council President and won!

I managed to master middle school, but I haven't mastered self-doubt. Tell me if you can relate to some of these --- "Am I good enough? Can I handle it? Do I deserve this? I'm not smart enough. I'm not creative enough. I'm not skinny enough. Why aren't I more successful?"

It is time to start mastering the negative voice inside. I feel that we can be our worse critique! Our mind makes up excuses and reasons for not doing something and we end up holding ourself back. We skip out on opportunities to grow because of the voice of fear. It's time to listen to your "inner cheerleader" and start believing in yourself. If you don't believe in you, WHO will?

I have realized that these negative thoughts and feelings no longer serve me and they are NOT who I am. Sometimes it is best to do things in spite of our mind. I recently was in a "funk" and lacked passion and creativity. I was torturing myself inside. One day, I said "THAT'S ENOUGH." I took all my paint brushes, all of my drawing tools, all of my sketch pads, and got to work!! That day I surrounded myself with creativity and all the things that make me happy. I proved to myself, "Hey, I really am creative. I can do this".

A few months back, I was preparing to film an episode on how to create a home office. The night before I began to psych myself out. You're not confident enough. You're not exciting enough. You don't know what your talking about. You don't have enough experience. You aren't talented enough.

What did I do? I kept repeating in my mind the opposite: You ARE confident. You ARE talented. You ARE enough. You ARE creative. You ARE exciting! You ARE awesome and you can handle anything that is thrown at you !!

It was these affirmations that validated who I was. Not to mention, it helped me tremendously with my stage presence, performance, and confidence.

This is still a learning process for me. It is all about acknowledging your thoughts when they come in and letting them go if they do not serve you. I can tell you that bringing out your inner-cheerleader truly does help! Start looking at yourself in the mirror and say how wonderful you are. Start to appreciate and embrace everything about yourself!

If you haven't heard it today, I want to tell you that you ARE awesome and hope your day is as bright as you are.

Much love,

Amanda