Designed for More
Amy Matthews Dill has two principles she follows as the owner of Sycamore Grove Design Company
Words by Erin Shockey | Image by Blakeney Clouse
When Amy Dill stepped into the world of interior design for the first time, she knew this profession would challenge her and fulfill a deeper purpose within her life. While she enjoys space planning and bringing areas to life through color and design, her ultimate goal is to create places where people feel welcomed and understood.
Amy began her journey in interior design at Auburn University. Graduating in 2001, she entered the workforce and took the NCIDQ — a professional examination for interior designers. After passing this test, Amy was registered in the state of Alabama as an interior designer.
“Even after passing the NCIDQ, I have to keep up with CEUs (Continuing Education Units) every year by taking classes and watching seminars because safety and code is very important to an interior designers’ job,” says Amy. “Interior designers’ knowledge of space planning, function, and code is what sets our profession apart.”
Incorporating functionality and safety in a stylish way is no easy task, but Amy is always ready for a challenge. She has worked with commercial and residential clients addressing a variety of design needs. Her scope of work can be anything from a new build, a renovation, or simply rearranging a room. Amy has even had the privilege of working on many commercial jobs in downtown Jasper — including historic properties.
“I love commercial jobs. It's really fun for me because I get to use my background and what I learned in school as far as space planning, function, and codes,” says Amy.
In her experience, Amy has found that residential work is very emotionally driven compared to commercial work which presents unique challenges. Oftentimes she finds herself helping couples and families find the middle ground between their styles.
“I have had many clients tell me ‘I am so glad I used your services in the beginning’ because it saved them from making costly mistakes as they started projects,” says Amy. “I offer a very wide range of consulting because of this — even if someone wanted to bring me in for two hours just to make sure they were going down the right path, I could do that.”
Amy is grateful for the opportunity to help others as an interior designer, but her greatest role in life is being a mother to her children.
“My greatest challenge in life is balancing children and work,” she says. “As a working mom, you never feel like you are giving 100% to your kids or 100% to your job, but if you don't want to sacrifice either of those you just have to really try to find that balance.”
For Amy, sometimes finding the balance means staying up late after her kids go to sleep to work on a project or helping one of her youngest children sell origami at her store, Sycamore Grove Design Company, in downtown Jasper. Working hard to find balance is always worth it, especially knowing that her children are learning from her efforts.
Amy opened Sycamore Grove Design Company in 2016. The store is a studio for her interior design and a place where people enjoy shopping. Sycamore Grove reflects Amy’s personal style in a variety of ways as she enjoys mixing vintage and new. Over the years, the store has helped fulfill a deeper purpose.
“I have always wanted Sycamore Grove to be that welcoming place where someone feels comfortable to come in, talk, and get away from other things for a little while,” Amy says.
The name Sycamore Grove was chosen because of the story of Zacchaeus and the sycamore tree in the Bible. In the story, Zacchaeus, the tax collector, did what he needed to do to fix his eyes on Jesus. When he was called by Jesus to walk with Him, he expressed his desire to give back.
“Those are two principles that I want to follow in this life, and with my store: to keep my eyes on Jesus and always remember to give back,” Amy says. “The name Sycamore Grove is my constant reminder to follow and serve.” 78
Sycamore Grove Design Company is located at 1808 Fourth Ave South in Downtown Jasper. The store's operating hours are 10-2 Monday-Saturday or by appointment.
For questions about interior design consulting, email sales@sycamore-grove.com, call the store at (205) 265-3178, message @sycamoregrovedesignco on Facebook or @sycamoregrovebyamydilldesigns on Instagram.