Meet Amy Odeneal of Amy Rebekah Interiors

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Odeneal.

Amy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The writing was on the wall for me when I was very young that Interior Design would be my path. I’ve always had the urge to make things pretty and found myself constantly rearranging my room. 8-year-old Amy would sit on the bedroom floor (for leverage) and push around the furniture with her feet to move it to a new spot when she was bored. I had big dreams and big ideas that would I’d sketch out of future homes I’d design… which, of course, included a different wildly themed room for every space in the house. Along my design journey, I’ve learned that cohesion, or a “common thread” like I call it, is more my style! From small firms in my small hometown of Tallahassee, FL, to running the design studio at a custom home builder, to working in an Atlanta high-end residential firm on projects nationally and internationally, and many award-winning designs along the way, my journey provided an awesome foundation for where I am today. 5 years ago, I launched Amy Rebekah Interiors to continue pushing towards those little girl’s BIG dreams.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
This is a fun question! I’m one of those people who focus on the lessons learned over the pain it took to get somewhere. So for me, I have an “oh, yeah it was pretty smooth” outlook. I graduated from FSU’s national top 10 Interior Design program back in 2007 and was making my debut into the work world in… you guessed it… 2008’s housing market crash! What a terrible time for my big entrance. I look back at this as the best thing that could have happened to my career – and it has nothing to do with design. I ended up working at Accenture, an IT consulting firm focused on business processes. This is the thing that sets me apart today. I was formally trained as a project manager, received my PMP certification and use those skills today in all of my construction and design projects. Process is everything! After 5 years of mastering those skills, and the housing market recovering, I created my path back into design. One consulting project, led to a full-time role as design lead at a custom home builder where I was fully immersed back into the world of design. As Jonas Salk said, “The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.” The constant urge to keep pushing is the driving force behind my growth. I am working in my dream field, doing the thing that I love to do, and learning lessons every day. My not-so-smooth road shows up in the end-product in a good way, because of the attention to detail that my client’s feel throughout the design process.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I’m Amy Odeneal, founder and Principal Designer of Amy Rebekah Interiors, an Atlanta-based interior design studio specializing in residential and multi-family projects. At the core of our work is the idea of creating a true sense of home and defining purpose within a space. Whether we’re designing a private residence or a shared community environment, those two principles guide every decision we make.

What sets ARI apart in an incredibly saturated industry is our deep respect for process and my ability to operate equally in both the creative and analytical worlds. When I present ideas to my clients, I’ve already worked through how they come to life — from budgets and logistics to constructability and sequencing. I’m extremely hands-on (thank you, 8-year-old me for developing that early), working side-by-side with contractors and trades to solve problems in real time. When someone says, “I don’t know how to make this work,” my instinct is usually to grab a pen, start sketching, and say, “Let me show you.”

One offering I’m especially proud of is our work in branding for multi-family projects. Storytelling matters. Understanding the story matters. The story is what ultimately sells. When we realized that many projects lacked a clear narrative, we stepped in to create it. What began as a value-add for our clients has grown into a full service offering — developing brand identity from the ground up, including logos, brand guidelines, values, mission, and positioning. That foundation then informs the entire design, allowing residents to feel the brand through the space itself, rather than simply seeing a logo on the wall.

At the end of the day, Amy Rebekah Interiors is about more than creating beautiful spaces — it’s about creating places that work, that feel intentional, and that support the people who live in them. Our blend of creativity, structure, and storytelling is what defines our work and why our clients trust us to see projects through from concept to completion. If readers take anything away, I hope it’s that great design isn’t just seen… it’s felt.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
If we’re being honest about luck, it requires you to be in the right place at the right time. So, luck has for sure played a role in the opportunities I’ve received because of my preparation, action and mindset in this world of creativity I’ve chosen. I work really hard, and I do my best to put myself in situations to create opportunity and when given the change I exceed all expectations. This cycle is what keeps my world turning and the good luck continuing to flow.

Just the other day, one of my tradeswomen said “Girl, this is why good luck is going to continue coming your way!”. We were discussing the completion of a pro-bono Habitat for Humanity project where I had the opportunity to fully furnish a home and do a surprise reveal to a deserving family who had nothing. No detail was left undone – hangers in the closets, a new laptop for the teenage daughter, sheets and towels, a stocked kitchen and pantry full of food – when given the opportunity to literally change people’s lives, I’m all in! It feels so good to move the needle and give some of my time, resources, love and effort towards giving people a place to live that they love and are proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amyrebekahinteriors.com
• Instagram: amyrebekahinteriors

Image Credits
Carlos Velez and Leslie Andrews