Design with Intention

Amy Meier isn’t quite a Virgo, but she’s close—a Leo on the cusp. She loves lists, organization, and does everything with intention. After a career in fashion and brand development that spanned Chicago, New York, and Boston, she made a conscious shift toward interiors, wanting more connection start to finish with her clients. And she didn’t waste any time in doing so; after two years working for another designer in Massachusetts, she went launched her own business in 2008 just as she and her brand-new husband moved west.

“I got married on a Saturday, packed the U-Haul on Sunday, and on Monday my website went live,” Meier laughs. 

Now, Amy Meier Design is celebrating its 15th year of business. No longer solo, she has a team of eight operating a full-service interiors firm and shop in Rancho Santa Fe, where she, her husband, and kids live in a 1960s ranch house. While half of her jobs are in California, primarily around San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, half stretch across the country to New York City, Palm Beach, and Dallas.

“Every environment is different which impacts the design,” she says, “and every homeowner and house is different which means you’ll always get a different look.” This individualized approach is what she loves about her career and the process. While her work runs more minimal and sculptural, the end result is always about reflecting the homeowners.

“I strive for authentic interiors that represent the person, so when people come over, they say, ‘it’s so you, not did Amy Meier do this?’” she says.

Her East Coast sensibilities come in handy both for aesthetics in appreciating beautiful, traditional architecture as well as her work ethic. “Clients hire us because we like to get things done,” she says. “I’m not a west coast free spirit, surfing in the morning, I’m very Type A. Expectations are important.”

She’s the first to admit, she’s not big on high impact graphics and punchy patterns. “That drains me,” she says. “I look to homes as a sanctuary, a safe place to calm. But you have to do what feels good to you and not try to be someone else.”

And similar to working fashion, she stays as far away from trends as possible, looking for more handmade, durable, meaningful furnishings and accessories. “Fast fashion, and fast homes are weaning out hopefully as it all ends up in a landfill, but artisan always has a story, you can speak to each piece,” she says. “What’s important to me is to design an interior that’s intentional.”

amymeier.com