Home Edit and Refresh Your Decor
Sam Ampel’s design roots stem from many sources.
After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.
Home editor Sam Ampel grew up around art, fashion, and interior design. Now she offers design and creativity in a more minimalist way than hiring an interior design firm.
“Think outside the box, use the things you have in different ways, change the room that items are in and give it new life. An antique plate you love, but hide away, could display your perfume bottles on your vanity. Make your kitchen less utilitarian looking by putting clear dish soap in a glass oil dispenser. There are millions of ways to recreate,” Ampel mused.
The “Home Edit” craze began before COVID when two young Jewish women from Nashville lit up Instagram with ideas to make closets look like rainbows and eye candy. Millennials gushed over Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, who wrote “The Home Edit, A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals” by getting into famous homes like Gwyneth Paltrow’s and Mandy Moore’s. They subsequently appeared at the 2019 Book Festival of the Marcus JCC.
She stated, “My mother was a self taught and highly skilled interior designer with the most incredible eye for style. I learned so much from watching the way she looked at a room and how she would restyle it. Our own home was always being edited and redesigned.
“My early interior design influence was very postmodern 80’s with a lot of art deco influence. My father was a well-known swimwear designer and through my time growing up in his store, I fell in love with color, patterns, and fabric. We would drive to south Miami and go to the huge warehouses that imported thousands of bolts of fabric, and we’d comb through them for hours together.”
Ampel’s approach to interiors comes from this family history of being able to see the world with style in mind. What she does is unique in that the client doesn’t have to necessarily purchase new items. Sam “shops” the house for what’s already there to re-imagine what can be done to improve form and function.
On the first client meeting, she searches for what is working and what is not. She said “If a client is not exactly sure of their ideal style, I help them have fun with it and choose one that suits them best. I want to know their vision and I offer mine.
“Moving furniture and creating flow is so important in every space, so that is tackled right away if need be. The best part is when my client can’t believe I just turned their gorgeous vase they never use, into a water glass, and they love it. I will also source items such as area rugs, art, decor, and furniture if needed and requested.”
Ampel uses S.A.M. edit acronym – Stylish, Authentic, Mindful – to encapsulate her name and vision using a holistic approach to simplify space and amplify style. While decluttering, organizing and redesigning current furniture and decor, she curates old spaces to be more functional and elicit wows.
Easy to implement seasonal tips from Sam:
• Lighten up your home by swapping out darker colored bedding and throw pillows with light colored fabrics. This is an easy and inexpensive way to rotate with the seasons for a fresh look continuously.
• Add fresh flowers to the rooms you frequent most, and don’t be afraid to reimagine what can be used for vases, have fun with it.
• Move things around, take some decor from your living room and use it in a new space to switch up the look.
• Donate old photo frames for a quick way to leave a style behind. You can reframe or send digital images to one of many companies who will send you beautiful canvas photos to do an easy wall gallery.
comments