An eclectic, worldly and considered design approach
For Amanda Essex, good design was first defined at a young age during the time she and her family lived in Africa. There, she was introduced to a global aesthetic filled with multicolored Kente cloths and woven kikoy textiles mixed with English chintzes and toiles. Those memories intertwine with her design-filled upbringing in Long Island and New York City, as well as visits with her grandparents in Palm Beach.
She went on to immerse herself in the arts—studying in Paris, spending summers interning at Sotheby’s auction house, and working for a Madison Avenue art gallery focused on Hudson River School painters.
Her first foray into design began under the tutelage of the esteemed designer Nancy Pierrepont and later the illustrious designers Jeff Lincoln and Timothy Whealon. Each one imparted endless expertise, giving her the impetus to establish her own firm.
Today, her interiors are an amalgamation of these experiences: a studied, well-traveled blend comprising equal parts sophistication and wanderlust.
While she travels the world searching for treasures and inspiration to infuse into her designs, it’s her clients who genuinely serve as her muse. Whether redesigning one room or decorating an entire house, her goal is to create a visual narrative that speaks directly to the homeowner. Ultimately, Amanda wants her clients’ friends to walk into their homes and say, “This is incredible. It’s so you. But there is no way you did this by yourself.”
“I always want my clients to feel they are getting a unique design created specifically for them.”
Amanda Essex
Knowledge, design savvy, and a curious imagination converge
Art & Antiques
A scholar in fine arts, studio art and art history, Amanda studied at Hobart and William Smith and The American University of Paris through a partnership with Parsons. This education along with gallery work and continued learning at Sotheby’s taught her how to assess the value of a painting and how to distinguish period and style among antique and vintage pieces.
Color Theory
While attending university, Amanda’s Baccalaureate essay for her studio art major focused on the color wheel, which wasn’t comprehensive enough to identify all the colors she could actually see. While her design perspective tends toward a less frilly, more tailored look, she loves pattern mixing and is not afraid to use those innumerable hues in a room.
Heirloom Design
Amanda appreciates high-quality furniture and is keen on extending its life cycle so that it avoids ending up in a landfill. Thus, she believes foundation is everything: if a client has a sofa with great bones from their grandmother, she’ll strip it down to its frame and start over. In this vein, timeless design emerges as one way she focuses on sustainability.
Whether designing a home in Palm Beach, Long Island or Connecticut, reimagining a flat in London, or bringing to life a camp in the Adirondacks or a Brownstone on Beacon Hill, Amanda draws from her arsenal of architects, contractors, workrooms, painters, upholsterers, masons and more to deliver inspired interiors that reflect her clients and the home’s locale.
