Amber B Design Studio

Interior Design & Decoration for the South Florida region

Small Apartment Hacks {A Book Review}

by Filed Under: blog review, design


I was recently introduced to the book Small Apartment Hacks by accomplished author Jenna Mahoney. This book is a compact, great resource when you are looking for quick and creative ways to decorate and entertain in a small space. Let’s face it… at times, we all wish we had just a little bit more space in our homes. This book gives clever tips on how to maximize every square inch of your home or apartment and make it the best, most functional that it can be! It gives us useful , fun ideas when entertaining with style in a small space. Even the cover already gets the wheels turning for dwellers in compact spaces…

Your sofa can double as book storage; your bicycle can become wall art when not in use; and your coffee table can double as a dog bed! Author and freelance writer Jenna Mahoney is currently the travel editor at Bridal Guide Magazine and has been a magazine writer for publications such as Allure and Redbook. She has also been an on line contributor for publications such as Elle and the Tory Burch blog.

I love when Jenna delves into the topic of storage, because we could all use more of it in our lives! She encourages the reader to make use of your wall space and think vertically. Shelving can be installed up to the ceiling, creating more space to store things and also giving the illusion of a taller ceiling. She also reminds us of the useful square footage behind a closet door! Purchase an over the door hanging system to store shoes and any small accessories.

One of my favorite parts of the book discusses procrastination! Just do it becomes the mantra that we need to embrace for any organization changes to occur in our homes. She encourages us to set dates for the cleaning and organizing. Once we are held accountable and the tasks are in writing, it gives us a plan of action and a schedule that might be easier to keep!

I love the Tolstoy quote she uses for this section:

“True life is lived when tiny changes occur.” – Leo Tolstoy.

The book is even in a small size, perfect to decorate your shelf with, too!

To start organizing your space and beginning your action plan, purchase this book HERE! 

Thank you so much to Kourtney and Ulysses Press for this book to review!

Our 2013 Holiday Home Tour

by Filed Under: design, holiday, personal design style


There is a reason that there’s a popular song called, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year… I love the holiday season and getting the house festive and ready. Although it can be a stressful, busy time of year, I am trying to forget all of that as much as possible and focus on the fun of the season. So, kick back and enjoy our holiday touches this year…

Handmade cards given by my grandmother every year, sit out on display 

Even our head planter got in on the fun with a festive necklace! 

There I go again, with ornaments on every spot but the tree! (We actually have a lot on the tree, too!) 

As you can see, I love using ornaments in unexpected places. They work on chandeliers, hurricane vases, trays and even a small china plate. I have also used them as place card settings, applying the guest’s name on the ornament with a paint pen! The best part of that idea?? The guest can take the ornament home as a memento of the occasion! I also love to hang wreaths anywhere a clear command hook will take them! Command hooks are a life saver around the holidays, because they are not permanent and will not ruin your walls, glass or any surface when they are removed. I’m sure I will be back soon with more holiday touches. I even add new vignettes a few days before Christmas. Somebody stop me!  😉

There is still time to enter the giveaway for the $50 gift card to True Value Hardware and a free Pattern with Pattern Pod. Enter HERE!!

An Amazing Giveaway with Pattern Pod and a $50 Gift Card to True Value Hardware!!

by Filed Under: blog review, design, giveaway


Tis the season for giving and I am thrilled to bundle up a huge giveaway for you, today! Three lucky winners will each receive a free pattern of their choice, from Pattern Pod and one very lucky winner will receive both the pattern and a $50 gift card to True Value Hardware!! Let the games begin…

and…

I was recently introduced to Pattern Pod, a new design resource created by textile designers Kristen Dettoni and Geraldine Blanchot. It is an innovative site that brings your favorite pattern to life!

So what can you do with the pattern, once you have won???

Their site is amazing and inspiring, because you can choose your favorite pattern and have it printed on almost anything you can imagine. Just picture finding a pattern you love and being able to have that print on pillows, wrapping paper, i-phone cases, wallpaper… the list goes on and on! Pattern Pod makes that a reality! I was so blown away by the creativity of this idea and all of its possibilities. Here are a few of the gorgeous prints and the very creative ways they can be applied…


There are literally endless possibilities, limited only by your imagination! To make it even better, if you like the pattern but not the color way, there are various color options for most of the patterns! And as an extra bonus for bloggers and those of you on social media channels… you can also use these patterns to digitally enhance twitter pages, blogs, etc.! To view more of the ways you can use these patterns and more, visit HERE.
I am so excited to be receiving my chosen product very soon! I have decided to select Pattern 46 in Aqua for wrapping paper! To me, this print looks like delicate snowflakes, making it a perfect choice around the holidays.
My Selection…

If you are one of the three lucky winners, you will download the pattern of your choice to your computer and then choose to purchase the coordinating product on which your pattern can be printed. The ordering process is very simple when creating your pattern and selecting how you want to have it printed.

This is the very clear and simple tutorial I followed for my wrapping paper order. Pattern Pod works with sites like Spoonflower and Zazzle to bring your pattern to life.

Are you ready to win a Pattern Pod Pattern and bring an amazing print to life? For this giveaway, three winners will be chosen!

And one of the three winners will win both the pattern and a $50 gift card from True Value!! True Value has everything you need this holiday season, from tools for the DIY person in your life, to holiday decorations the kids will enjoy!

* This giveaway is for one Pattern Pod pattern of your choice and a $50 gift card to True Value Hardware. Once you have that .jpg pattern saved to your computer from Pattern Pod, you can visit sites like Spoonflower or Zazzle and purchase the coordinating product to get your pattern printed. The giveaway does not include the purchase of the product on which to have it printed.

Details for the Giveaway…

1. Visit the Pattern Pod site HERE and leave a comment on my blog, telling me your favorite pattern.

2. Follow Pattern Pod on Pinterest HERE and Facebook HERE. 

Additional Entries (Please leave separate comments for each additional entry!)

1. Mention this giveaway on your blog, with a link back to this post. (+1)
2. Tweet about this giveaway, with a link back to this post. (+1)
3. Mention this giveaway on facebook, with a link back to this post. (+1)

The 3 winners will be announced next Wednesday! (December 18th) Good luck!

You can also follow Pattern Pod here:




{E-Design Project} The Living Room

by Filed Under: design, e-decorating, e-design, living room, personal design style


I just completed a living room e-design project for a client I have been working with for a while. I seriously love what I do and I get a little sad when projects are over, because I truly have so much fun with my clients! With this particular client, we seem to often be on the same wavelength… we bounce ideas off of each other and it’s a refreshing, fun collaboration when we work together! We made some changes and new additions to the previous living room design and I’m excited to show you the plan, today…

The Design Plan


Some of the items on the board, the client already owned, so I wanted to present the plan in a way that showed her pieces with the new ideas. I think they work well together! I am really excited about the idea of lacquering a secretary desk in a deep navy color. I am also giddy about the eclectic mix of pillows and patterns. As long as there is a common color within the fabrics, you can mix totally different prints in the same room and pull it off well! I think it will bring an eclectic, collected over time feel to the space. My client will also choose a Persian style rug to layer over a jute rug. The suggested three options are to the right of the board. Layering rugs is also another great way to bring a collected feel to a room. It’s a perfect way to mix neutrals with some pattern. You can also use the top rug as the main piece that brings the room’s color palette together or use a complimentary color that works with some of the elements in the room.

If you would like to work together on making your house a home, visit HERE. I am currently accepting new clients for February 2014.

A Holiday Re Cap, Sneak Peek of Our Office & A New E – Design Project

by Filed Under: design, e-decorating, e-design, holiday, paint colors, personal design style


Phew… it seems like a very long time since I have written a post! I wanted to catch you up on a few things that have kept me busy these last couple of weeks. First up, we had a lovely Thanksgiving over at my mom’s house. It’s one of her favorite holidays to host and as always, she did a fantastic job…

The pretty dotted place cards come with a marker that allows you to erase and write again, so you can always change up the names for each party! The kids and I have started a tradition a few years back, where we make the apple pie and bring it to the holiday meal!

That might have been our best pie, yet! I have also been busy painting our office. It still had the builder grade white paint that wasn’t durable at all. I decided to paint it Halo, by Benjamin Moore. It’s such a gorgeous light gray/green color and is also what we used in our dining room!

If you follow me on instagram (amberbinteriors), then you may have seen these photos already…

After about a week of looking at the newly painted walls, I finally mustered up the courage to put new nail holes in them! I decided to install a full wall gallery wall in the office. It’s amazing how tall a room looks when covering a wall, head to toe in art. You might think that it clutters a room, when it actually has the opposite effect. I also just finished working on a client’s office space. My client uses her office to sew, draw sketches and create! She loves neutral grays infused with bright pops of color. This is the result…

She wanted a huge craft table in the space, so I found a way to create one to mimic the inspiration table in the middle of the design board. By using white Ikea expedit cubes and a white laminate counter, a custom craft table will come to life! There will also be a fun gallery wall in her space, as well…

I love the way Audrey Hepburn’s scarf ties the room’s color palette together. And I think that turquoise Chanel print will fit very well in this room!

So, that sums up two weeks, in a nutshell! I hope I have not lost most of you with my sporadic posting lately. I have been having a hard time creating a consistent schedule on the blog, over the last couple of months. I know we all go through a bit of a blog drought from time to time. But I am excited to be back in full swing this month, with lots of holiday ideas to share!

Displaying Photos Around the Holidays

by Filed Under: design, dining room, personal


I am very fortunate to have family pictures handed down to me, spanning many generations from my mom’s side of the family. In the future, I have big plans to frame them all, place them under glass trays and preserve their legacies. But for the Thanksgiving season, I thought it would be great to have them out on display, where everyone can see and appreciate them. At this busy time of year, when we are starting the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s nice to sit back, remember family members both past and present and appreciate all the love that surrounds us. I would love to take you down memory lane today and show you some beautiful pictures that will be out on display at our house, this Thanksgiving…

When my kids were toddlers, I definitely wouldn’t have put out this display. The pictures would have ended up all over the house and in someone’s mouth. But now that the kids are bigger, they can understand when to be more gentle with fragile things. Before this arrangement, the pictures were tucked away inside my drawer. We can now look through and enjoy these wonderful memories, while they await their proper location in the house. Looking through these photos definitely reminds me how much I have to be thankful for!

How I Add Whimsy to Our Home

by Filed Under: dining room, personal design style, plants, tablescapes


We are a quirky family… we laugh, we’re sarcastic and don’t take ourselves too seriously. So when it comes to decorating our home and adding personal touches, I want to reflect our true personalities. I think it’s fun to have fun with your home… if that makes any sense! Adding personal moments that show your true self, makes your home unique and more meaningful. So when I saw this quirky little planter guy at Target, I knew it was meant to be in our home. I showed this new family addition first, on instagram. This was after he just arrived in our home…

And since he is actually a planter, he needed some greenery up on top. So here he is, all styled and ready for his blog debut…

I found a 4″ fern plant at my local grocery store. Hopefully, the fern grows a bit, so he has bangs, like me!  🙂 Speaking of personal touches, our china cabinet has a mixture of wedding china, pottery and the kid’s craft projects! I thought it would be fun to add sculptural art pieces they have made, so it can also have a proper display spot for everyone to see…
The dinosaur on the bottom shelf was built and painted by one of my kiddos, a few years back. It’s one of those projects that is pretty fragile, so it stays behind glass as a fun, meaningful accessory! 
How about you… do you have hints of personality and quirkiness in your home?? Do tell!

{E-Design} My Client’s Gallery Wall Plan

by Filed Under: design, e-decorating, e-design, gallery walls, personal design style


Thank you all for your comments on my post about mixing up your gallery wall frames! There is no definite right or wrong answer on the topic… it’s really a personal preference. I have also been trying to mix it up around here, and have been pleasantly surprised with the eclectic results! So for my client’s television wall, we decided to go for it and install a unique, asymmetrical gallery wall around her TV. Here is the plan…

The Plan


I think I might copy this look in our own house! We started with a blank slate in my client’s living room and her goal was to make it a relaxing, fun place to spend time with her family. She wanted an industrial, farmhouse feel to her home and I think this gallery wall achieves that. I mixed in some vintage fabric with a touch of brass and plaids to give it that rustic, lodge aesthetic. The gorgeous tufted chairs help to frame out the vignette, but also can be moved into the seating arrangement, when guests arrive! Although the plan doesn’t quite show it here, the suggestion was to mix up the frames with wood, metal and black/white frames for a collected look. I can’t wait to see the actual vignette installed!

Mixing Up Frame Finishes on Your Gallery Wall

by Filed Under: design, e-decorating, e-design, gallery walls, personal design style


I was recently discussing this topic with a client for her gallery walls in her living room. In her space, we will be adding a couple of art/photo collections on her walls and I suggested to mix it up with different frames for a collected look. I thought it would be a great topic to bring up here on the blog, because I feel there are times when matching frames are necessary and other times when mixing it up is just right!

When to Mix Up Your Frames

When you have an eclectic space and you are trying to fill it with art in an asymmetrical way, mismatched frames are great! Or like the last above image, filling a corner wall with framed pieces looks great when the frames are mismatched.
When art is hung around a television in an asymmetrical way, mismatched frames are great! For my client, this is what we’re going to try and I can’t wait to see the result! There are also times, however, when I think matching frames are necessary. For this client, for example, we are also working with matching frames in another collection in the space. 
When to Match Your Frames

Matching frames are key when you are doing a symmetrical wall arrangement and would like a clean, simple look to your wall.  A collection of similar photos and scale, like the gallery wall directly above, gives continuity to the art.
I mentioned earlier that we will doing a mixture of matching and mismatching frame collections in my client’s living room. I also feel it’s important to blend the two in one space, as opposed to having every arrangement symmetrical or every arrangement with the same frame finish. We will be doing a symmetrical gallery wall of family photos, that will be hung in a grid like pattern. For this, we will be using the same frame to bring a neat, orderly look to the arrangement. When there is a blend of the two styles, it makes the space unique and personal! 
So that’s what is on my mind this Monday morning!
How about you… do you like to match or mismatch your frames? Are you a symmetry person or like a little asymmetry when hanging art?? Do tell!!

Spooktacular Halloween Ideas!

by Filed Under: holiday, pumpkin topiaries


Wow, I guess I haven’t written a post at all this week! Sorry for my absence on the blog, but I have a great Halloween decor idea for you… even if it might be a little late for this year! My blog friend Emily came up with amazing and creative ideas for her front porch. Although she called them ‘last minute’ ideas for her blog post, I happen to think they are so fabulous and a perfect way to decorate for the holiday! Here’s a little sneak peek…

Genius, right?? My favorite parts are the gold spray painted branch with the bats and the duct tape planters. Yes, that’s duct tape to make the stripes! You can read all about her process and see more pictures, on her blog HERE.

Our front porch is the same as last year. Our painted pumpkin topiaries are still going strong!

I wrote a full tutorial for the pumpkins, on my blog HERE.

Happy Halloween!!