Amanda Webster is the design principal and president of Amanda Webster Design, and a longtime Ponte Vedra resident.
Can you please briefly tell us about your background?
I have loved design since I was a child. I was educated at Florida State University (FSU) and began my career in commercial interior design. I gravitated to residential design and then began Amanda Webster Design (AWD), Inc. in 1995. For 23 years I have enjoyed an exciting, colorful variety of projects all over the country collaborating with my talented staff.
Which types of interior design projects does your team work on?
We are known for higher end, full scope interior design projects that include schematic design, design development, construction administration and full furnishings for new construction and also renovations. However, we sometimes do partial projects or just certain phases of projects, such as just furnishing a home. We also offer AWD lite services when we are able for those that need reduced scopes and lower budgets.
What distinguishes your studio from others?
Our desire to try new things and find new resources in order to capture a truly custom design. Although we can easily follow trends, we do not impose certain products, inventory or specific styles on our clients as each project is uniquely designed and specially ordered. We pride ourselves on being transparent, and we enjoy a team approach from the early stages with the client, architect and contractor all collaborating on the client’s behalf. Proper planning is crucial to the success of the project. Our turnkey beautiful interiors are designed around the client’s likes and needs, using the best subcontractors that Jacksonville has to offer.
What makes you so passionate about interior design?
It is both thrilling and gratifying to see creative energy and hard work result in living environments that are beautiful and inviting, and where overjoyed clients share that their expectations were exceeded on every level.
How has the interior design field changed over the course of your career?
Certainly, the shift from drafting to auto CAD in the late 1980s was a dramatic and beneficial change in its own right. But since then, we've seen an enormous impact from the internet, and digital computing in general, affecting everything from the ease at which we source products, to our streamlined bookkeeping, to social media, websites and other ways in which we showcase our work. This same technology even allows us to do entire projects anywhere around the country with few or no site visits.
What do you enjoy most about living in Ponte Vedra?
Living near the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, I must admit my early morning workouts and walks on the beach at sunrise are such a gift. It is an incredible place to live: so beautiful, moderate temperatures and of course, the easy-going lifestyle and down-to-earth and fun, interesting people. I am filled with gratitude for this community. My husband and I and our two sons feel very blessed to have called this our home for the last 20 years.