Meet Amanda Alton, owner of Revival Home and Co.. Amanda is passionate about using her creative gifts to restore and customize vintage pieces of furniture. After feeling a sense that she needed new purpose for several years, Amanda decided to take a leap into entrepreneurship and start Revival Home and Co.!

You recently started your own gorgeous interior design and vintage furniture renewal company – can you tell us a little more about Revival Home and Co.?

Revival Home and Co. provides a range of services which includes custom furniture painting, interior decorating, vintage home décor and furniture at The Collaborative District. We also participate in Rustapalooza Vintage Flea Markets.

You already had a career and a ‘day job’ when you decided to start your own design firm… what made you want to start something of your own? 

For the past few years I have been feeling a sense to find my purpose. I wanted to live the life that I was intended. I wanted to use my creative gifts and my time to create a life for myself and my family. I didn’t dislike my job and I considered my co-workers as family. I wasn’t sure what this life looked like in the beginning, but as I continued to have this longing it became clear to me. I knew this longing came from my relationship with God. I knew that he had a plan for me and I needed to listen to understand it. Giving up my control and letting him take the lead has been the foundation for my new venture.

I have always worked and enjoyed working.  I needed to provide for my family and had to take the right steps to ensure that. I began taking online creative business classes and doing custom furniture painting for friends in my spare time. One of the courses I took was all about home, the feeling of home, welcoming others and using what you had to create the warmth of a home. This really resonated with me and I wanted to create that space for my family and for others.  I was nervous to put myself out there and officially begin a business. Fear of failure, lack of confidence, time, and finances were all reasons I held myself back. As time went by I found myself increasingly becoming more comfortable with the whole process and I took a leap and started my business.

How did you first get into interior design?

It began with the Junior Service League of St. Augustine. Becoming a part of the group really helped me to grow my strengths and creativity. I was chairing our yearly fundraising gala and I needed to find inexpensive décor items so I began going to garage and estate sales. I found the process invigorating and exciting, I was hooked. After the gala I continued to find things and use them in my own home. I loved the feeling of having something vintage with something new. I took some classes and learned how to paint furniture and began forming my own style. I really love the process of painting a piece of furniture and experiencing its transformation. I feel a sense of accomplishment, of rescue. I starting realizing that many people have a piece of furniture that they have inherited or something that just doesn’t match their current décor. Helping others revive their pieces is very rewarding.

I also love decorating my home for the seasons and holidays. I also really loved decorating the office that I worked in. I experimented with different styles, materials, themes. It gave me another space to be creative in.

What are some of the lessons you learned when you launched your own business?

The most important lesson for me has been to just start. Beginning was the hardest part, putting myself out there, overcoming the fear. Once I began, time became the largest obstacle. Time management is crucial to getting everything accomplished. It’s easy to get wrapped up in daily tasks taking care of your home and children. Being organized and having dedicated time set aside for business helps me stay focused.

What’s the best piece of business advice you were ever given and how are you applying it to Revival Home and Co.?

With any creative business there are bound to be other people who do the same thing as you. It is important to remember that everyone has their own talents, perspective and style. You are unique and your talents are as well. Don’t let fear of competition stop you from moving forward.

What are some of your biggest successes you have experienced since joining the She Is Fierce! community?

She Is Fierce came at the exact moment I needed it. I was exploring all of these same ideas of living a purposeful life and then to have a format like this in my own community was amazing. I have broken through the doubt, fear, feeling not good enough and come out strong and ready to take on the challenge.

I have been able to start and grow my business. I have been able to give other women advice and encouragement.

What does being a member of She Is Fierce! mean to you?

It is important to me to support other women going through this process of finding their purpose.  While going to the She Is Fierce series in the summer for the past two years made me realize that I was not alone. I realized that women everywhere even in my hometown needed this message. I have found encouragement in knowing that I am not alone and that I can take the risk.

Follow Amanda’s journey and check out her gorgeous furniture on Facebook or at The Collaborative District!