Ndesign: Amanda Khouri, Amanda Khouri Interiors

Designer Amanda Khouri loves tension in a room — just enough tension, that is, to make the room feel authentic. To build that energy, the founder of Amanda Khouri Interiors toggles levers between “classic and unexpected,” “sophistication and practicality” and “new life and inherited heirlooms.” The result is a warm, layered aesthetic for a real world where playful kids and pets inhabit elegant and comfortable homes.

“We want our homes to be beautiful, but we also don’t want our children to, er, ruin everything,” jokes Amanda, whose two sons share a landscape-muraled bedroom that is the stuff of Instagram dreams.

“Authenticity is my North Star,” Amanda says, explaining that she is always looking for the moment — a reclaimed or repurposed remnant of beloved material, for example — that makes a room look like real life happens inside. “I never want to feel like I’m sitting in a period room, whether that period is really old or 2026,” she says. “I want a room to look like it is deeply considered, pulling from a variety of eras and time periods.” 

Such consideration might present itself in clean, modern furniture next to a 200-year-old table, with fresh pops of lighting, classical millwork profiles and a pillow made of a textile found at an overseas market. When it comes to balancing sophistication and practicality, Amanda keeps materials cozy and elegant. Rather than relying on exterior or utility fabrics, she leans on patterns that can mask the inevitable staining of daily life.

Since she likes to interweave elements throughout a space, Amanda prefers projects where she can engage early on with an architect or builder, whether in a renovation or new build. That way, she can consider how selections of textiles, lighting and furniture will marry with architectural accents of millwork and casing.

A former lobbyist in Washington, D.C., Kentucky-born Amanda moved to Nashville in 2020 with her husband. A self-taught designer, Amanda sharpened her skills through classes at New York’s Parsons School of Design and Nashville State Community College. In 2025, she made a grand entrance — literally — on Nashville’s design stage, when she collaborated with James Dunn of Vintage Millworks to create the stunning entryway at the Antiques & Garden Show. 

(Speaking of tension in a room, Amanda went into labor during installation and delivered her second son at the same time that she delivered the iconic lattice-lined corridor leading into the A&G showroom.)

More recently, Amanda showcased her creativity at the 2025 Flower Magazine showhouse, where she designed the Cutting Room. The utilitarian workspace dedicated to floral and craft projects upstaged more formal rooms, with its innovative wattle backsplash woven from willow branches and recalling rustic British garden fencing.

“The way to achieve that authenticity is using things that aren’t perfect,” says the mother of two. “I encourage people to live in their homes. If you scratch furniture, just live with it. Allow it to pick up a few imperfections. It doesn’t matter.” What does matter, she says, is living in a space that feels comfortable and cozy — like home. 

“Drop some of the need for perfection,” Amanda says. “You don’t want to live in a space you can’t be at home in.”