March 12, 2024 • 39 mins
Episode 56: Matt and Taylor are joined by Amanda Hamilton. Amanda is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and Interior Designer based in Calgary, Alberta. Founder and Creative Director of Amanda Hamilton Interior Design, Palette Archives and 3 Ft. Nothing Construction, Amanda’s unorthodox approach to both design and business has made her one of the most sought-after creative minds in Canada.
Amanda is here to discuss: → How she manages to run multiple successful businesses and her newest business venture that's in the works. → Personal development, book publishing, and work/life balance. → And the best investment and biggest mistake you could make in your home from a design perspective.
Amanda Hamilton Interior Design Website: www.amandahamiltondesign.com
Amanda Hamilton Interior Design Instagram: @ahidstudio
Palette Archives Website: www.palettearchives.com
Palette Archives Instagram: @palettearchivesv
Amanda Hamilton's Instagram: @amandamhamilton
Amanda Hamilton's Linktree: @amandahamilton
"Not That Likeable and Other Stories I Told Myself" Book: www.notthatlikeable.com
The Kelowna Real Estate Podcast is brought to you by Century 21 Assurance Realty, the gold standard in real estate. To learn more, visit: www.c21kelowna.ca
Matt Glen's Website: www.mattglen.ca
Matt Glen's Email: Matt.glen@century21.ca
Matt Glen's Instagram: @mattglenrealestate
Taylor Atkinson's Website: www.VentureMortgages.com
Taylor Atkinson's Email: Taylor@VentureMortgages.com
Taylor Atkinson's Instagram: @VentureMortgages
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
back to the Kelowna Real EstatePodcast, everybody.
Thanks for tuning in.
Matt, what's going on Another
beautiful day in the Okanagan.
It is gorgeous out there, dude.
Loving this.
It's still like minus Yeah, it's
warm inside my house.
So Bank of Canada announcement
today.
This will obviously be airing a
few days after this intro.
Holding rates as unfortunately as
(00:26):
expected.
Yeah, we, as expected 48 chance
that one cut will happen 15 chancethat two cuts will happen if i was
(00:46):
a betting man i would say we won'tsee two cuts but i do think we
will definitely see our first cutby june so you don't think think
april 10th there's another cut idon't know i hope so much that
there is but i think it's going tobe june 5th yeah to see the so
we'll update you guys obviouslyeveryone follows us and you guys
will probably know the same timewe do So we'll update you guys.
Obviously everyone follows us andyou guys will probably know the
same time we do, but we'll try andget our intros pretty in sync with
that.
(01:06):
No way, man.
We're breaking news here, dude.
We got But with the cost of
borrowing staying high, we areseeing projects being delayed in
terms of construction.
Matt, you have a couple of
projects that you wanted tohighlight.
Yeah.
One varsity, which we've talked
about quite a bit on the show hasbeen delayed due to low pre-sales
because of the interest rate,because of the short-term rentals,
because of the lowering prices.
(01:27):
Just doesn't make sense to build
these projects.
The developers put a lot of money
in, a lot of time.
And if you don't know for sure
that you can sell them and make aprofit at the end, how much of a
risk are you willing to take onthat?
So you've seen one varsity, theStober Group had a development
plan for the original Joe site onPandozzi, which has been paused.
There's a few other things goingon that have been paused.
So it's interesting, you know,like the projects being built
(01:49):
today are going to affect the homeprices years from now, right?
So like we're almost settingourselves up for a boom in a few
years because of this low supply,high immigration, high growth in
the Okanagan.
So I think the long-term aspects
of real estate prices are reallygood, but in the short term,
waiting for those to drop.
Yeah.
We're kind of fighting a battle onboth fronts in terms of trying to
put units on the market and tryingto bring down inflation and make
(02:11):
it affordable on the rate side.
They kind of counter each other.
Something that is going up invalue incredibly fast, Bitcoin,
which Matt and I know nothingabout really, but it's pretty
impressive that so essentially inthe States, they've kind of
allowed for regulations to passfor ETFs and other type of funds
that allow this investing to bedone more accessibly.
And a lot of larger companies aregetting involved.
(02:35):
So as soon as that happened,Bitcoin soared off to a record
high of nearly 70,000 US Bitcoin,which equates to over $90,000
Canadian.
And there is a halving that's
supposed to happen, I think it'sin April.
So that's going to, again, kind ofcontinue to decrease the which
supply, is going to increase theSo that's price.
(02:55):
going kind to, again, of continueto decrease the supply, which is
going to increase the price.
So yeah, pretty interesting to see
that happen.
That is interesting.
What brought that on?Do you have any insight to why
that's happening?Yeah, it was like the ETF.
So basically you can buy andexchange trade funds for Bitcoin,
you know, so it's like a cheapmutual fund that you're allowed to
invest in now.
And you don't actually have to buy
Bitcoin.
You're buying in these funds that,
you allowed to invest in now andyou don't actually have to buy
(03:17):
bitcoin you're buying in thesefunds that and manage in bitcoin
yeah just makes it seem safereveryone the average person to get
in yeah yeah i don't know if iwould ever use the safe word with
that technique just perception imean perception like it just seems
like it well it the point thatlike i think one of the biggest
battles cryptocurrency is seeingis government intervention.
I mean, much like housing, as soonas the government signs off on
something that they agree with, alot of people kind of back it and
(03:38):
the cost goes up.
purpose-built rental incentive
programs, that's where developersput their money.
So if we could also see governmentincentivizing developers on just
these type of projects that aredeveloping single family houses or
condo units that are not justpurpose-built rental, we would not
just see the price stabilizethere, but we'd see the confidence
come back in the market.
(04:01):
So yeah, the government plays a
massive role in this stuff yeah nodoubt going to our guest today
amanda hamilton she is an interiordesigner author serial
entrepreneur has a bunch ofdifferent companies you know yeah
she basically project manages andrenovates and you can buy like
cookie cutter type kits or maybethat's the wrong word and from an
(04:21):
interior designer point of viewbut you can buy like kits cutter
type or maybe kits, that's thewrong word from an interior
designer point of view, but youcan buy like kits that just ship
out to you that have the rightcolor palette.
So somebody like me who'scolorblind, it adds a lot of value
(04:42):
to it.
the Yeah, we go into pretty a lot
of depth in all these things andit was a good episode.
This episode, like every episodegoing forward is brought to you by
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(05:04):
They are like professionally made.
This Yeah, I just saw Jackie
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It was awesome.
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Very It Very much business in thefront party in the back of that
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And also call one of our agents if
you're planning on show, Amanda.
Great to have you for having me.
I love doing these types ofthings.
I can already tell you guys aregoing to be so fun.
(05:45):
It's the name of the game for us.
How?
Yeah.
I don't know.
I just, I got a gut feeling.
I'm a woman, right?
I have that like women'sintuition.
So I have a feeling about it.
it.
Yeah.
You can tell by looking at the art
behind Taylor.
I'm just a bobblehead.
That's Taylor always wanted.
out my art.
that's yeah, Those risque.
are two naked I didn't people.
a bobblehead.
That's Taylor always Check wanted.
out my Oh art.
(06:06):
that's yeah, risque.
Those are two naked people.
I I didn't even notice.
Yeah.
But see, like I just arranged it
so you can barely see it.
like I just arranged That's a nice
trick there.
Yeah, we need to get this on
YouTube now so people can actuallysee what we're talking about.
see what we're talking about.
And I should have cleaned up my
desk a little bit, right?Busy entrepreneur, you know, like
I Busy entrepreneur, you know,like I think it goes with the
territory.
Yes, totally does.
Okay, well, we'd like to ask ourguests to connect with our
(06:28):
listener just by telling us aboutyour kind of perfect try what do
you do to be productive andleading into the weekend for sure
so i'm really big on routine inthe past i used to be like far
more loose with my schedule likekind of a bit of a disaster i was
that person that that was like,late for everything.
But I was finding it was bringingme a lot of stress.
So as my businesses grew, anddemands on my time have increased,
I've just like really leaned intodiscipline and routine and
rituals.
And they sort of allow me to
(06:50):
perform at a really high level.
I think, you know, physically,
mentally, spiritually, all thosethings.
So I kind of had a rule for thisyear.
And I started late last year tobeen working on like slowing down
my mornings and making them moreintentional to set myself up.
So I start my day with somethingcalled 10, 10, 10.
So 10 minutes of meditation, 10minutes of journaling, 10 minutes
of reading, and I hit the gym foran hour, then I take my doggo for
(07:13):
a walk.
And then I'm like, I got to get
the protein in the morning.
So I usually have like a protein
shake or whatever.
And then I rush into the studio.
So evenings are kind of the same,but in the reverse.
So it's like, I love cooking.
So I'll make like a really
beautiful homemade meal.
I really loved half-baked harvest.
If anybody cooks from her, she'samazing.
And this is like, I'm not gettingpaid for this.
(07:35):
I'm just telling you it's so good.
And then again, walk the dog
again, you know, this theory thatlike you eat and then you walk
it's supposed to help yourdigestion and then the evenings
chill like a stretch and then iusually unwind with like a book or
a show sometimes i do lego or apuzzle that's quality time there's
usually lots of candles i know islike, I'm not getting paid for
this.
I'm just telling you it's so time
there's i know it sounds so boringno it doesn't at all that sounds
(07:58):
actually all that sounds actuallywicked yeah it's during the week
it's like I need that routine.
And then the weekend, I allow
myself to be like way more loose.
And so I'm really big on time
blocking, like everything goesinto my calendar.
And when people see my calendar,it scares the shit out of them.
But honestly, it increases mychances of completing things.
But I also think that part of thatis like allowing some grace and
flexibility, like within frameworkso like you have the time block
but you move things around so whatI'm saying is I have trained
myself to be very disciplined andit's allowed me to really reduce
(08:19):
my stress so those like ritualsand habits and stuff have been
like really beneficial for me asan entrepreneur yeah did you start
your morning routine with themiracle morning did you read that
yeah it's really similar likeevery single book on habits I've
pretty much read it.
I actually spent a quarter a
couple of years ago, like justdigging into every habit book.
And I think the thing is, lots ofus are readers, but we don't
always execute these things.
(08:40):
And so I started being like, no,
we actually actually execute thesethings.
So, you know, Miracle Morning,Robin Sharma has one, I think it's
called the 5am Club.
There's lots of books like that.
Visit Aubrey Marcus's On the DayWhen You're Life or something like
that.
Like, you know, the H2O cocktail
in the morning with the Himalayansalt and the lemon.
So I think all of these things,everybody's different.
(09:00):
Like you have to choose what yourritual is.
But that's the ritual that worksfor me.
Yeah, yeah.
I've kind of I And I so I yeah.
I've kind of just had thisepiphany lately, too.
You always know this, but like youread books, it's not about the
amount amount of books it's likeif you just took to heart one book
you're probably better off thanjust reading a hundred books and
not doing anything in them right100 percent 100 100 percent 100
(09:21):
percent and I'm a big reader solike you gotta have the
highlighter and the notes in theback because I think going back
and referencing that stuff againand actually even if you the back
from the book yeah and execute, tome, the eight to 12 hours or
whatever it took to read it istotally worth it.
to read it is totally worth it.
Right now, I'm doing a double
whammy where I read it and listento the audiobook at the same time.
Okay, I think that that'sbrilliant.
(09:42):
And if somebody, I feel like thisshould be a business thing or an
app or whatever, but when I buythe I the audiobook for free with
it because I agree that sometimesyou have to audio book.
Sometimes you want to read it.
I find fiction is easier on audio
book.
Business is tough on audio book.
You should just get both.
And so sometimes I buy both.
because I agree that sometimes Ibuy both.
Okay.
Can I hold you accountable then?
You have a book, like we haven'ttouched on this yet.
(10:02):
You've released one.
Yes, I do have a book.
Do you have an audio book on thatas well?
Can you do both?I do have an audio book.
you have an audio book on well?Can you do both?
I do have an audio book.
Do you?
Did you do the narration for that?Oh yeah.
I used to do musical theatervoice.
I was so excited to do the audiobook.
It's actually a really coolprocess and it's a memoir.
So like, it is weird to me thatsomebody else would read my
(10:24):
memoir.
Cause what if they say it in a
way?And I'm like, well, that's not the
tone of voice that I would haveused.
And that's not how I would havesaid it.
So I actually loved it.
It was so I do you sell yours as a
package?A two for one?
No, no, because this is what Iwant.
Yeah, this is a new business idea.
I'm an entrepreneur, shiny object,
new concept.
But what I learned too, is for
anybody who is looking to write abook is the publishing industry.
And they'll say this aboutthemselves too, is very old
(10:44):
school.
It is like very behind.
So I did a hybrid model.
So it wasn't self-publishing and
it wasn't traditional publishing.
It was in no, because this is what
I want.
Yeah, this is a new business But
what I the way that it set up onthe platform, I don't even know if
I could do that.
Like, it's not even up to me.
Like my audio book is basicallylike owned by like, well, it's
not, Oh, it's owned by me, butit's on the audible platform.
So I don't Right.
unless like, I gave it know, away
for but got to make $0, Hey, likeowned by like that, well it's not
(11:07):
oh it's owned by me but it's onthe audible platform right so like
I don't know unless I gave it awayfor zero dollars but hey gotta
make $0, Hey, like owned by likethat, well it's not oh it's owned
by me but on the dollars and 33cents would audible let you do
that because they do have a freesection like if you get audible
prime there's actually a bunch offree books but they tend to be
(11:31):
more like classics and things likethat a bunch of free books but
they tend to be more like classicsand things like that yeah the old
ones yeah but now you're asking meto give up my three dollars and 33
cents and I don't know if I wantto do that.
Nobody's making money writingbooks unless they're like a hugely
popular author.
Yeah.
You're I want to do that.
Nobody's way to do.
One day, one day.
What is your book about?
Can you highlight that a littlebit?
Yeah, it's called Not ThatLikeable and Other Stories I Told
Myself.
So it kind of gives it away a
little bit.
but it's my childhood all the way
up to grade 12.
And I was like pretty, can I swear
on this Yes.
I pretty fucking weird.
I was pretty fucking weird.
So like some of the stuff I
(11:51):
brought on myself, but I wasbullied quite a bit.
And I think honestly, it's justbecause I was like going through
life the way that I thought like,this is my personality and these
are the things that I loved.
And I was super involved with
extracurricular activities.
I was a bit of like an A type
student.
And you know, those things were
not working to my advantage from apopularity scale.
So it kind of goes through thatstory of finding myself through
that.
And also to I mean, I've had to
navigate that as an adult, youknow, when you as a kid, you grow
up and you think like, no onelikes me, right?
(12:15):
This then becomes the story youtell yourself.
And like, how do you work throughthis?
And then recognize, you know,later on that, like, that's just
stuff that happens to you whenyou're a kid, I would never go
back and change any of thoseexperiences, because they totally
made me who I am today.
And I grew up in a non traditional
home, my mom had me when she was18.
I grew up with my grandparents, mymom and her three younger siblings
(12:37):
in a bungalow with one washroom.
Oh Where did you grow up?
Edmonton, the city of the growingup at the time of the city of up
at the time of the city ofchampions.
I was.
I mean, come on.
It was Wayne Gretzky.
I was born in 1982.
Like they renamed like WayneGretzky drive, which was like near
my house so you know i always sayis if everyone had a memoir how
much more empathy and compassionand grace we might have for people
(12:58):
when we know their story I was soright like it's really easy for us
to make a judgment on somebody butlike if you read their memoir you
might be like oh that's whythey're like that that's why
taylor's like that that's whymatt's like this like yeah the
good the bad and ugly i the goodthe bad and ugly i got a lot of
explaining to do you guys got guysgot lots of explaining to do.
You got a podcast.
I'm sure you've told everybody
everything already now.
(13:18):
guys got lots of explaining to do.
You got a podcast.
I'm sure you've told everybody
everything already now.
Getting there.
There's a few tidbits we left out,a few tidbits we left out, but.
Oh, I'm going to get the money youon this one then.
Everyone's got to listen for us toexactly.
We'll get you there.
So your book, you're also a serial
entrepreneur like what otherbusinesses yeah so amanda hamilton
(13:39):
interior design is my corebusiness we're celebrating 15
years since incorporation thisyear 17 years since i started it
off the side of my 17 and i alsostarted three foot nothing which
is a construction company that waswhat my grandfather used to call
me when i was little three footnothing yeah i'm now like four
foot or five foot nothing in alittle but small but mighty and so
we just saw that there was a biggap in the market I was tired
(13:59):
honestly of dealing with likecrappy contractors and there's
lots of really great ones butthere's also lots of not great
ones and also the constructionindustry is very traditional so
found the right person to run thatbusiness with me.
And she manages the day-to-day.
And I'm very high level on that.
But it adds a ton of value to ourinterior design clients who have a
combination of interior design andconstruction needs.
So now we can do that in-house.
I also have an e-commerce business
called Palette Archives.
And so that ultimately services
the clients who may not be in aposition to hire an interior
designer.
may not be in a position to hire
(14:19):
an interior designer.
They're doing a smaller project.
They're doing a smaller project.
And so it's pre-curated interior
designer palettes online where youget all the finishes and materials
shipped to your door.
So now we And then I just
incorporated a company last week.
I can't quite say the name yet
because I'm in the sort of finalstage of determining what name
we're going to go with and alsonegotiating buying a domain from
(14:42):
somebody.
So I'll keep it on the low down
for now, but it is going to bee-commerce retail So I'll Gifting
is like one of my love languages.
I've been told I'm good at it.
I want to curate these likebeautiful gifts and retail
products for people.
And I'm definitely an early
adopter.
So I love discovering new products
and then being able to like sharethose products with other people.
So it's kind of a bit more of apassion project, but I'm excited
(15:05):
because it's a new challenge.
I haven't really done like the
retail world, right?Like a lot of my business is very
service based.
that is really cool.
Yeah.
The curating like home
renovations.
How did that come up?
And how do you do Palette Archivesis like my baby.
We're still kind of in startupphase with it.
I was honestly on a beach in theUS and this like idea came to me.
I was reading this book and itkind of just like got me out of my
(15:27):
own industry and thinking abouthow other industries have
disrupted their own industries.
And so what I found is I often get
calls from people and they'relike, this is always the sentence.
I know what I like, but I don'tknow how to pull it all together.
Right.
And so the problem is, is I would
meet all of these really coolpeople, but then we wouldn't be
able to take all the projects on,you know, like just sometimes the
(15:47):
initial cost, the startup costs ofjust getting a project going, you
know, just don't make sense when aclient has a smaller budget.
So we're actually first to market.
And as I know it, we're the only
one doing this concept, which isactually not working in our favor,
right?When you're first to market, you
have to teach everybody like whatAnd so But ultimately I wanted to
democratize design and provideeveryone with access to good
(16:07):
design.
So these pallets, you know, if
somebody's flipping a house ordoing a small rental where they're
going to do it on their own,they're now able to protect their
investment by being like aninterior designer who has 20 plus
years of experience, picked allthese finishes materials.
I can use them.
I can match them through another
supplier who's even like, youknow, more cost effective and then
(16:29):
do this renovation on their ownwith their contractor or, you
know, family or whatever.
And then obviously, as you guys
know, having a house that aninterior designer has been
involved in, they generally sellfor more.
Everything just feels more pulledtogether.
So ultimately, I just wantedeverybody to have access to good
design.
Cool.
So do people give you like squarefootage measurements, like send
you a bunch of or how does that?I wanted this to be pretty
hands-off, right?Because the notion is as soon as I
(16:50):
get involved, that becomes a veryexpensive process for the client
and also very expensive on our endin terms of profitability.
So there's like 35 pallets.
You can go on and you can pick
your pallet based on sort of theinspiration images and things like
that.
And so ultimately, they do it on
their own.
They get the boxes, they get the
specifications, and they can goright to the supplier and purchase
those goods.
Or they could, as an example, take
the blonde heart, what we'verecommended and go to Home Depot
(17:13):
and go, okay, this is as close aspossible.
And here's the tile and that's asclose as possible.
Right.
Right.
So really empowering them toprotect sort of the money that
they're investing in their house.
And as you guys know, for most
people, that's one of the largestinvestments they make in their
life.
Yeah.
Well, I love that idea.
And speaking about large
investments, then I'm going to putyou on the spot.
(17:33):
What is the best investment youcan make as DIY, home renovation,
anything?What do you kind of see as the
trend right now that people aredoing?
What do you see the fails that arehappening?
You going know, this is such agreat question.
And it's one that I get askedquite a bit.
But when people are renovating, Iknow it sounds so simple, but man,
does paint go a long way?People will be like, oh, my house
(17:55):
doesn't feel fresh.
It feels dark or whatever.
And I mean, designers love whitepaint.
And I know sometimes we get a badrap for it, but it is amazing what
that does to a space.
So, you know, painting the walls
or as an example, if a kitchen islaid out beautifully and you're
okay with it and the cabinets arestill really good quality and
still in good condition, you canspray them out.
(18:16):
I don't know, forest green or pinkor cream or whatever you want.
And you're looking at maybespraying out a kitchen might be,
you know, $7,500 to $15,000depending on the size of your
kitchen, or you could get a newkitchen, which could run you 30 to
$50,000 plus, plus, plus, right.
So plus it's incredibly disruptive
to your house in terms of havingto replace our cabinet.
So I think paint goes a long way.
And then I think things like small
(18:37):
upgrades, like cabinet hardware,lighting, right.
That type of stuff starts to date,especially because, you you know
our provinces are not that oldthat means we have a lot of like
1980s vibes with that golden oakso those houses are still
beautiful but they're just datedright so spraying things with
paint and like updating the brasshardware and the lights and stuff
goes a long way what designs arewe doing today that we're gonna
(18:58):
look back in 20 or 30 years andthink what were they thinking i
always think about this when iwalk through houses like when you
go through mckinley beach yeahright you see all these beautiful
houses and i always think how arethese gonna age you know like they
look beautiful right now but iabout this when i see all know so
i think probably the biggestmistake that either clients or
let's say some designers make isthat we capture onto these trends
(19:19):
and we go hard on them.
So I'm not like that in fashion
either.
Like I buy cool pieces with the
intent that I can mix and matchwith a few other things and have
them for years to come.
So obviously we were kind of in
this like espresso era and then itwas gray, gray, gray, gray on,
gray on, gray on, drab on.
Oh my God, I don't want to ever
see gray again.
Right.
(19:39):
So now we're in that era wherenobody wants to see gray and white
anymore.
And we've moved into this like
warm era where we're talking aboutcaramels and cognacs and things
like that.
So now I always think the best
thing to do is like take touchesof that.
If brass is still popular rightnow, but don't do brass door
hardware, brass cabinets, brassplumbing, brass lighting, because
(19:59):
then when brass isn't cool anymoreor you get tired of it, it's
freaking everywhere in your house.
I love mixing metals.
This idea that you can't mixmetals is BS.
You can totally mix metals.
I also think you shouldn't just
have one millwork color in yourentire house.
There should be maybe threedifferent millwork colors.
There can be different colors ofpaint.
And I think that will make housesage better than when you go into
(20:23):
these brand new houses and it'sthe same countertop throughout the
house, same cupboards, same paint.
And there's like what five
finishes in the entire house.
It's just boring.
Right?So I do think adding some of this
character in and layering thesethings will make houses have more
longevity and we won't look backbeing like oh my gosh why did we
do So I do it's as good as thoughlike you know the client drives it
often i mean we joke all the timeit's like if we see one more white
(20:45):
kitchen but i'm also not gonnalike poo-poo on a client that
likes a white kitchen if you lovea white kitchen it's your house
all the time yeah well i was gonnaask actually if somebody like
right yeah proposes their idea andit's terrible are you like like,
Hey, maybe you shouldn't do that.
I'm just, I'm asking for myself
because like, I know my well i wasis No.
It's a really good question.
I'll tell you what my perspective
(21:06):
of this might vary.
I think there's a lot of designers
that have a specific aesthetic andtheir clients go to them for a
specific aesthetic.
That is not what we are about.
The only thing that I say is thatwe don't do bad design, but I'm
willing to do, you know, designthat maybe it wouldn't be my first
choice or it wouldn't be somethingI want to live in, but it's your
house.
So it's our job to sort of move
(21:28):
you in the direction withouttrying to like put our own spin on
it, to move you in a directionwhere we're like, this still going
to make you happy but we can alsoconfidently say that when this is
done we know that this is going tolook really great so for the most
part like our clients will come tous with varying degrees of taste
and we have to decide which hillswe're going to die on and which
(21:51):
ones we're not right so deal in 10years oh my you sometimes again
sometimes clients go like a wallas you know and they just do their
own thing at that point you justrelease control and you're like
i'm not gonna photograph this andput this on my website right like
but right of the day i'm happythat you're happy with your house
even if i think maybe that's uglyor a bad decision it's's not my
(22:12):
house.
It's not my house, right?
You have my in in Yeah.
Do you find there's value in home
renovations right now?Like from a investment point of
view, is there a monetary gain?Because I mean, you know, since
you have a construction company aswell, like trades are so
expensive, materials are soexpensive.
I mean, we've gone through thismassive boom of renovations and at
least in the Okanagan, I'massuming most of Canada because
people had so much equity in theirwell, find now, like most of your
(22:33):
clients are, I know it's going tocost me a fortune.
I know I'm not going to maybe makemoney on this, but I'm going to
get a house that I want because Idon't want to move.
Like what's kind of driving yourclientele?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You bring up a good point.
So during the pandemic,renovations were huge.
Like we started the constructioncompany at the right time because
we started in 2018.
And then we kind of went in, we
(22:55):
got everything set up.
in so we worked out really well
during that time.
My experience in running my
business for so long is thatrenovations always go up when
we're in a recession or theeconomy is struggling a bit,
right?Because like you said, people are
in a house that they love, there'sequity in their house, but then
they go, okay, but the market's abit weird.
Do I want to move, et cetera?I do think it's a good investment.
I always think two things.
If you're going to build a custom
(23:15):
house from scratch and you landeda really great piece of property
and you know, you're going to holdonto that piece for a long time.
Great.
But otherwise, if you can find a
dog of a house that has reallygood bones and you get a good
price for it, generally, andespecially if you're like
particular about what you want, Igenerally find that when you turn
(23:36):
around and you sell those houses,you make more money off of them.
You have more equity in them,right?
But that's also challengingbecause it means those people have
to have access to that cash.
So let's say you're buying, I
don't know, a $600,000 bungalow,but you know, a renovated bungalow
is, you know, selling for like 1.5or something.
Yeah, we can go and put 500K intothat.
(23:58):
And you still have the delta ofanother 500K to make the money.
But you do have to be really smartabout where you're spending the
money because we have donerenovations where we just say to
the client, we're like, why didn'tyou just tear this house down?
Because now at this point, you'reright.
And you're right.
We do get the odd client who
doesn't care.
Who's like, I'm not really
(24:18):
concerned about making my moneyback.
I don't want to be crazy, but Ilove this house.
I love this property.
And I like want to stay here and
enjoy it.
But most of our clients want to
know that at least at a bareminimum, they're going to be
breaking even and that they're notlike pricing themselves out of the
market.
But I always think renovations are
great, but they're also the moststressful for clients.
That's a lot to think about forclients.
Especially if you have to live init, which I've done a few times.
(24:40):
We don't let clients do that.
They're not allowed to live in the
house during renovation.
This is a great point.
So, okay.
So there's an anti-flipping tax.
It's already been established, butnow they're lengthening it to two
years.
that's to kind of limit a lot of
like flippers.
I'm assuming some of your
clientele.
But as a primary residence, it's
great to add value.
There is a capital gains
exemption.
So tax wise, like it makes way
more sense.
But then where do people go?
(25:00):
Because on top of all that, Airbnbjust got decimated in BC.
I know you guys aren't strugglingyet in Alberta.
So where do people move for saythree months when you're doing a
massive your or less than 90 days?know, and again, you bring up a
really good point too, because,you know, when we're talking
about, you know, investing inproperty in the Okanagan, that
changes people's perspectives now,right?
Because it was always like, okay,short-term rentals, right?
So, I mean, obviously in Alberta,that's still a thing that you can
(25:22):
do.
We often do find some of our
clients were building secondaryhomes in, you know, Lake Country,
have another home that they can goto, or they travel quite a bit
where they're like, hey, we'regoing to Europe for the summer.
We're going camping in ourtrailer, or we have a trailer, or
we're going to stay with family.
So I think that's the other reason
why it's tough for people to likewrap their heads around renovating
is because it can be verydisruptive, right?
And we often find by the time weget in people's houses at that
(25:45):
point they're like we're sodesperate to get this done can you
start tomorrow right because it'snow been like 10 years that they
wanted to renovate but you'reright that is tough and I think
Kelowna in particular is in atough position because you guys
also don't have a lot of hotelsyou know and the hotels that you
do have it's really expensive tostay at them so it's not like
somebody can just move themselvesand their family into a hotel for
like four weeks and just be likeyeah whatever no big deal so that
(26:05):
does make things tougher in thatindustry for sure but generally we
find is yeah people have access tofriends that might be out of town
or somewhere to stay or they'relike hey i'm just gonna get out of
dodge for a while then will thishappens because you're might be
out you do need to up our hotelgame in colona honestly i've been
saying this for a long time but wegame do i'm putting this out there
it's my dream to do a boutiquehotel and when you put things out
(26:29):
into the universe it comes to youso anyone who's listening let's do
a boutique hotel in colona let'sdo something very badass i love
that idea we've had a few peoplemention that on the show and also
in my business.
show and also in my business.
Speakeasy.
Like I spend a lot of time
traveling and a lot of time inhotels.
So I just honestly, feel like it'sgot to happen.
do it.
(26:49):
With the short-term there is an
opportunity here.
rentals, I've been being this joke
like crazy.
There is an opportunity here.
So if I So if I figure it out.
Like it could have like a cool
like ace vibe too, right?Like we can have a couple.
You know, let's do a few.
it Let's do a luxury one.
Let's do more something twice thedo more something twice the price
yeah exactly anyone who'slistening you just hit us all up
(27:11):
we'll help you out with all thethings you guys can help them out
we're gonna do it i've decided canwas a show there was a couple
girls out in ontario that did aboutique hotel do you know which
one i'm talking about i think it'son no no oh man it was oh man it
was actually a pretty good showand they did it during covid
they're like i think maybe it had16 rooms like it was a motel yeah
and they're like cool we're gonnaflip it we're gonna turn it into
(27:33):
airbnb kind of thing and thencovid hit and their contractors
didn't show up anyways it waspretty fun to watch oh what is
that show i'll watch that tonightwe all need to watch it because we
need to do the research sincewe're going to be doing this we
just need to come up with like acouple million dollars you know
just a cool i don't know 20 30million bucks one thing about
colonna is this we just need tocolonna is there's a lot of money
(27:53):
in the city you just have to lookso you call you give us your money
and we'll make things happen andyou'll at the end you'll be like
welcome it's the june motel thejune motel makeover okay yeah all
right honestly it's it's worth awatch yeah it was pretty good but
i think there is opportunitycolonna's kind of a tough one
because there's not a lot ofmotels but like penticton is
littered with these old motels yesclose to the lake like that is an
opportunity i've been on taylorgetting me fired all yes i've been
(28:14):
man peachland i have a soft spotfor peachland like you can
literally get like commercialproperty where you're just like
staring out at the beach and it'slike not even that much money
you're just like what like it's socute and quaint like i just i
think the okanagan is gonna justblow up especially after you like
you and everybody just being likeyou know what quality of life i
can work remotely i'm just gonnago and stare out at the ocean
while i do my work not the oceanbut the lake yeah my not the ocean
(28:35):
but the lake yeah my wife calls itthe ocean all the time still but
she's from the island so you fromedmonton i'm not edmonton i'm not
how that works hey whoa whoa whoai have a reason for this i grew up
sailing on the west coast okay soi grew up sailing with san juan
and gulf islands and so i feelvery like connected to water so
yeah up sailing with i've hadhardly any experiences, eh?
Like, geez.
Yeah.
I don't know really counts whenyou're traveling with like six
people on a 30 foot monohull boatwith one bathroom, which probably
(28:57):
wasn't working half of the time.
That's what I call a character
building.
And eating spaghetti every single
night.
So, I mean, it wasn't glamorous.
It wasn't a yacht.
Okay.
That's what I call a characterbuilding.
It wasn't a yacht.
Okay.
Like, what about that sucks?Yeah.
I literally would eat spaghettilike two meals a day.
And then I met my wife and shestopped that.
So, well, like on the kind ofproperty location, I'm going to
kind of dive into some of ourending questions.
(29:18):
Cause it's just very relevant.
If you could buy a property in the
Okanagan in the next 12 months,where would it be?
What would If I didn't know youwere going to ask me about ask it
this way?Would you focus on the location or
would you focus on the where?how about ask Well, it this way?
Would you focus on the location orwould you focus on Oh, the view is
big.
The view is big for me.
So I mean, I live in a city,right?
So I have that and I travel tocities.
So when I'm in like, you know, R&Rmode, I actually like kind of like
(29:41):
cute, quaint, small, So I I withthat in mind, like I kind of have
a little bit of a soft spot forPeachland.
I've only been a few times, but itlike immediately felt like really
good.
That has a wonderful street.
Yeah.
Like you're still relatively close
to everything.
And yeah, it would be tough
because it's like, yeah, do youinvest, do you buy there?
But I think, you know, given whatyou guys have going on right now
(30:01):
with like the short-term rentalsand kind of how that's been
hijacked a bit, I'd be like, well,then I'm just going to buy
something and I'm going to go outthere.
And then this is what I thinkeverybody should do.
Thursday, you leave after work andyou go to your remote location,
wherever it is.
You still work on Friday, but like
no internet, no wifi, no social,no text.
You just like do deep work.
Then you have Saturday, Sunday,
relaxing, do your thing.
And then you fly back or whatever,
Monday morning and you get back tothe office like i think having
(30:23):
that like three day break fromoffice life is so good for you and
so renewing and so again my onlyrequest in addition to the hotel
is like if somebody has a freeseat on a private jet and wants to
fly me out thursday to monday idown.
That's awesome.
If If I get that free seat.
Yeah, we'll speak to Air Canadafor you.
See if we can get some vouchers.
I have a neighbor that's a pilot.
(30:44):
I can ask him.
Yeah.
Free interior design advice andexchange.
I mean, you can't go wrong here,right?
It's like, it's almost free.
No, it's funny.
I do actually have a few clientsthat do jet sharing and I'm always
like, one of these days I got tojump on one of those jets just for
fun.
A bit like, jets just for fun.
A bit too for a drive fromCalgary.
than a private jet, what's thebest thing you've ever spent money
(31:06):
on?Well, you guys will like this
answer.
I do have this Tom Ford runway
jacket, men's bomber that I haveto mention because I got it at a
consignment store.
So that's really cool.
That's going to stay in my closetThat's But no, more seriously, I
think my house and my art so Iwasn't even in the market to buy a
house when I bought this lasthouse I just happened to be on MLS
or whatever it's called now I'mgonna call it MLS forever this had
been on the market for an hour andI fell in love with it I had just
(31:27):
had like weird feelings for it andI was like I need this house and
they were closing on it onWednesday and it was mine
Wednesday night so I that like,when you find a house like that,
like I said, that has like reallygood bones, like this is a 1918
house with a 1990s edition on it,it's got like really interesting
character.
You know, if you buy a house, and
you know, and again, we have a bitof an advantage, you know that
(31:47):
there's going to be equity in it,like I could turn around and sell
my house and make money right now.
And I've only had it for about a
year and a half.
I think that's the thing.
But the reason why is because Ithink life is crazy as an
entrepreneur and actually life iscrazy for everyone.
I think we live in a wild worldright now.
And my home has like reallybecome, I don't know, my refuge
and like my place for likerelaxing and my rituals and my
(32:08):
habits.
And so I don't know that I ever
want to sell it.
That's how much I love it.
Like, this is the first place I'veever felt like it was like home
that I really look forward tocoming home to.
Like, I'm obsessed with my myhouse.
Do you feel like somewhat anxiousif people come over to your house
because you feel like you'redisplaying your portfolio?
Like, oh my God, like you pickedthe wrong color or this granite is
(32:31):
so last year.
Like, oh my God, Taylor's laying
it all out yeah this is great ilove it okay so yes and i think
most interior designers feel thisway but i actually like when a new
person comes to my house i justtell them i'm like if you think
you're coming here and you'rewalking into a show home you are
going to be sadly mistaken becauseour method at our studio is also
like we don't buy things for thesake of buying things.
(32:53):
We want these things to be reallyreflective of our clients.
And so I have art that I have thatI love.
I have pieces that I've picked upfrom all over the world.
You know what?They don't all fucking go together
and I don't care at I don't careat all.
And I also think the other thingis it's like, people will be like,
well, what i'm like i don't knowlike desert boho chic meets
italian 1970s vibe like there's somany different genres i've got
mid-century modern stuff i havecontemporary stuff i have like
(33:14):
weird stuff that i probablyshouldn't even be my home because
it's just people are like what isthat why is that there and i'm
like whatever i like we're likewe're so similar in that regard
and people always criticize me youknow like my style is all over the
place.
It's okay, guys.
like Well, everybody's like, no,your house is so cool.
So this is the flip side.
Everyone else thinks that they're
like, no, you come in here andthis place is so cool.
(33:36):
And I'm like, this place is ahole.
What are you talking about?But it's my hole.
And I love it.
It needs some pretty massive
renovations because it reallyhadn't been touched since like the
90s.
But no, I mean, my friends and
people come over like this is areally cool place.
And my friends' kids are alwayslike taking snaps and TikTok
videos.
And so I think that it's a cool
place, but it's not a show it.
know?
Yeah, it's a Amanda Hamilton home.
It's a Amanda Hamilton home.
(33:56):
It's all sorts of weird styles.
And like, yeah, there might be
some like underwear hanging about.
There's probably a dog bone
wherever you want to sit there's adog bone wedged in there somewhere
you might find some of my contactson my nightstand like it's true
there it's true all right about itdo you give back to any charities
or do anything like that I thinkprofessionally and personally
there's definitely a few charitiesI give to generally like we give
to quite a few but anything thatsupports young adults with like
(34:18):
career development and findingtheir passion.
Also really passionate aboutfinancial and investment knowledge
for women.
I think that's a big piece for me
too.
And supporting young
entrepreneurs.
Those are kind of the main ones.
And then of course, anything to dowith animals.
Yeah.
I love animals.
Like if I retire at like 95, likelike if I retire I want to have
like a no-kill animal shelter forlike just all of the cuties and
furry creatures so yeah there's anumber of them but it's generally
(34:39):
around kids and women andentrepreneurs are the ones that
I'm most passionate about and weactually also have a scholarship
with the university that I got myinterior design degree with too so
that's another way that we try togive back and it's to encourage
designers to travel and getexperience abroad and kind of
learn about other cultures and howdesign is explored elsewhere.
Yeah.
How How can our listeners help you
or connect with you?How can people reach out?
(35:00):
you can find me on Instagram atAmanda M. Hamilton.
That's my personal account sothere's probably a lot of photos
of my dog on there i through thismorning and yeah lots of photos of
the dog or if you like you knowyou actually care about interior
design then you can check out ahitstudio so that's ahid studio or
you can email us at hello atawesome so anything else you want
to touch on before we hit the roadagain, just my ask.
(35:20):
The three of us are doing a hotel.
Yeah, we're putting that out
there.
And we want seats on a jet.
I mean, as as I'm as I'm joking,I've never been very good at
asking for help.
Yeah, kind of that personality
type.
That's like, I can do everything
on my own.
So I'm just now in this like world
of being like I'm just gonna askfor things that I want I mean I
(35:41):
don't like actually need a seat ona jet but I really do want to do a
boutique hotel I think that'd besuch a cool project that be
awesome well in life you don't getwhat you ask for yeah exactly I'm
asking for it right now I have areally great quote yeah I have a
really great quote yeah it's byWeiss and hopefully I'm saying her
last name properly but she hasreally amazing books if you
haven't read them.
It's When You Ask for a Big Life,
(36:02):
You Cannot Keep Fighting for aSmaller One to Stay.
Bam.
Bam.
Yeah.
That is a big drop.
We'll sign off on that note then.
All Mano.
right, you so for after.
Thank you.
This was fun.
Can we do this again?
Yeah.
Once we have the hotel, we'll talk
about like the challenges and howlike Netflix featured it and like
what that was like filming itbehind the scenes and how we got
(36:23):
financing for it.
do this again?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sounds great.
This one will be the August hotel.
it. It's actually great.
It's a good name.
name.
Yeah, I think so.
Well done.
We'll connect with you later on.
Thanks again.
All right.
Thanks, Amanda.
Sounds good.
Thanks, guys.
back to the Kelowna Real EstatePodcast, everybody.
Thanks for tuning in.
Matt, what's going on Another
beautiful day in the Okanagan.
It is gorgeous out there, dude.
Loving this.
It's still like minus Yeah, it's
warm inside my house.
So Bank of Canada announcement
today.
This will obviously be airing a
few days after this intro.
Holding rates as unfortunately as
(00:26):
expected.
Yeah, we, as expected 48 chance
that one cut will happen 15 chancethat two cuts will happen if i was
(00:46):
a betting man i would say we won'tsee two cuts but i do think we
will definitely see our first cutby june so you don't think think
april 10th there's another cut idon't know i hope so much that
there is but i think it's going tobe june 5th yeah to see the so
we'll update you guys obviouslyeveryone follows us and you guys
will probably know the same timewe do So we'll update you guys.
Obviously everyone follows us andyou guys will probably know the
same time we do, but we'll try andget our intros pretty in sync with
that.
(01:06):
No way, man.
We're breaking news here, dude.
We got But with the cost of
borrowing staying high, we areseeing projects being delayed in
terms of construction.
Matt, you have a couple of
projects that you wanted tohighlight.
Yeah.
One varsity, which we've talked
about quite a bit on the show hasbeen delayed due to low pre-sales
because of the interest rate,because of the short-term rentals,
because of the lowering prices.
(01:27):
Just doesn't make sense to build
these projects.
The developers put a lot of money
in, a lot of time.
And if you don't know for sure
that you can sell them and make aprofit at the end, how much of a
risk are you willing to take onthat?
So you've seen one varsity, theStober Group had a development
plan for the original Joe site onPandozzi, which has been paused.
There's a few other things goingon that have been paused.
So it's interesting, you know,like the projects being built
(01:49):
today are going to affect the homeprices years from now, right?
So like we're almost settingourselves up for a boom in a few
years because of this low supply,high immigration, high growth in
the Okanagan.
So I think the long-term aspects
of real estate prices are reallygood, but in the short term,
waiting for those to drop.
Yeah.
We're kind of fighting a battle onboth fronts in terms of trying to
put units on the market and tryingto bring down inflation and make
(02:11):
it affordable on the rate side.
They kind of counter each other.
Something that is going up invalue incredibly fast, Bitcoin,
which Matt and I know nothingabout really, but it's pretty
impressive that so essentially inthe States, they've kind of
allowed for regulations to passfor ETFs and other type of funds
that allow this investing to bedone more accessibly.
And a lot of larger companies aregetting involved.
(02:35):
So as soon as that happened,Bitcoin soared off to a record
high of nearly 70,000 US Bitcoin,which equates to over $90,000
Canadian.
And there is a halving that's
supposed to happen, I think it'sin April.
So that's going to, again, kind ofcontinue to decrease the which
supply, is going to increase theSo that's price.
(02:55):
going kind to, again, of continueto decrease the supply, which is
going to increase the price.
So yeah, pretty interesting to see
that happen.
That is interesting.
What brought that on?Do you have any insight to why
that's happening?Yeah, it was like the ETF.
So basically you can buy andexchange trade funds for Bitcoin,
you know, so it's like a cheapmutual fund that you're allowed to
invest in now.
And you don't actually have to buy
Bitcoin.
You're buying in these funds that,
you allowed to invest in now andyou don't actually have to buy
(03:17):
bitcoin you're buying in thesefunds that and manage in bitcoin
yeah just makes it seem safereveryone the average person to get
in yeah yeah i don't know if iwould ever use the safe word with
that technique just perception imean perception like it just seems
like it well it the point thatlike i think one of the biggest
battles cryptocurrency is seeingis government intervention.
I mean, much like housing, as soonas the government signs off on
something that they agree with, alot of people kind of back it and
(03:38):
the cost goes up.
purpose-built rental incentive
programs, that's where developersput their money.
So if we could also see governmentincentivizing developers on just
these type of projects that aredeveloping single family houses or
condo units that are not justpurpose-built rental, we would not
just see the price stabilizethere, but we'd see the confidence
come back in the market.
(04:01):
So yeah, the government plays a
massive role in this stuff yeah nodoubt going to our guest today
amanda hamilton she is an interiordesigner author serial
entrepreneur has a bunch ofdifferent companies you know yeah
she basically project manages andrenovates and you can buy like
cookie cutter type kits or maybethat's the wrong word and from an
(04:21):
interior designer point of viewbut you can buy like kits cutter
type or maybe kits, that's thewrong word from an interior
designer point of view, but youcan buy like kits that just ship
out to you that have the rightcolor palette.
So somebody like me who'scolorblind, it adds a lot of value
(04:42):
to it.
the Yeah, we go into pretty a lot
of depth in all these things andit was a good episode.
This episode, like every episodegoing forward is brought to you by
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Very It Very much business in thefront party in the back of that
video.
But like, I want to hire her as an
agent.
That is a quality video.
And just as an agent, having avideo like that on the top of your
Instagram pin or on your Facebookor in the bottom of an email or on
your website, that's a hugedifference maker in this day and
age, right?Century 21 provides you with this
video, walks you through how to doit, films it, edits it for you.
And it's quality.
You can't get that everywhere.
(05:24):
So I believe in it.
Check out my video as well, pinned
right at the top of my Instagrampage that I made there.
But if you want to find out moreabout Century 21, Assurance
Realty, reach out to Max or Dean.
They'd love to talk to you about
it.
And also call one of our agents if
you're planning on show, Amanda.
Great to have you for having me.
I love doing these types ofthings.
I can already tell you guys aregoing to be so fun.
(05:45):
It's the name of the game for us.
How?
Yeah.
I don't know.
I just, I got a gut feeling.
I'm a woman, right?
I have that like women'sintuition.
So I have a feeling about it.
it.
Yeah.
You can tell by looking at the art
behind Taylor.
I'm just a bobblehead.
That's Taylor always wanted.
out my art.
that's yeah, Those risque.
are two naked I didn't people.
a bobblehead.
That's Taylor always Check wanted.
out my Oh art.
(06:06):
that's yeah, risque.
Those are two naked people.
I I didn't even notice.
Yeah.
But see, like I just arranged it
so you can barely see it.
like I just arranged That's a nice
trick there.
Yeah, we need to get this on
YouTube now so people can actuallysee what we're talking about.
see what we're talking about.
And I should have cleaned up my
desk a little bit, right?Busy entrepreneur, you know, like
I Busy entrepreneur, you know,like I think it goes with the
territory.
Yes, totally does.
Okay, well, we'd like to ask ourguests to connect with our
(06:28):
listener just by telling us aboutyour kind of perfect try what do
you do to be productive andleading into the weekend for sure
so i'm really big on routine inthe past i used to be like far
more loose with my schedule likekind of a bit of a disaster i was
that person that that was like,late for everything.
But I was finding it was bringingme a lot of stress.
So as my businesses grew, anddemands on my time have increased,
I've just like really leaned intodiscipline and routine and
rituals.
And they sort of allow me to
(06:50):
perform at a really high level.
I think, you know, physically,
mentally, spiritually, all thosethings.
So I kind of had a rule for thisyear.
And I started late last year tobeen working on like slowing down
my mornings and making them moreintentional to set myself up.
So I start my day with somethingcalled 10, 10, 10.
So 10 minutes of meditation, 10minutes of journaling, 10 minutes
of reading, and I hit the gym foran hour, then I take my doggo for
(07:13):
a walk.
And then I'm like, I got to get
the protein in the morning.
So I usually have like a protein
shake or whatever.
And then I rush into the studio.
So evenings are kind of the same,but in the reverse.
So it's like, I love cooking.
So I'll make like a really
beautiful homemade meal.
I really loved half-baked harvest.
If anybody cooks from her, she'samazing.
And this is like, I'm not gettingpaid for this.
(07:35):
I'm just telling you it's so good.
And then again, walk the dog
again, you know, this theory thatlike you eat and then you walk
it's supposed to help yourdigestion and then the evenings
chill like a stretch and then iusually unwind with like a book or
a show sometimes i do lego or apuzzle that's quality time there's
usually lots of candles i know islike, I'm not getting paid for
this.
I'm just telling you it's so time
there's i know it sounds so boringno it doesn't at all that sounds
(07:58):
actually all that sounds actuallywicked yeah it's during the week
it's like I need that routine.
And then the weekend, I allow
myself to be like way more loose.
And so I'm really big on time
blocking, like everything goesinto my calendar.
And when people see my calendar,it scares the shit out of them.
But honestly, it increases mychances of completing things.
But I also think that part of thatis like allowing some grace and
flexibility, like within frameworkso like you have the time block
but you move things around so whatI'm saying is I have trained
myself to be very disciplined andit's allowed me to really reduce
(08:19):
my stress so those like ritualsand habits and stuff have been
like really beneficial for me asan entrepreneur yeah did you start
your morning routine with themiracle morning did you read that
yeah it's really similar likeevery single book on habits I've
pretty much read it.
I actually spent a quarter a
couple of years ago, like justdigging into every habit book.
And I think the thing is, lots ofus are readers, but we don't
always execute these things.
(08:40):
And so I started being like, no,
we actually actually execute thesethings.
So, you know, Miracle Morning,Robin Sharma has one, I think it's
called the 5am Club.
There's lots of books like that.
Visit Aubrey Marcus's On the DayWhen You're Life or something like
that.
Like, you know, the H2O cocktail
in the morning with the Himalayansalt and the lemon.
So I think all of these things,everybody's different.
(09:00):
Like you have to choose what yourritual is.
But that's the ritual that worksfor me.
Yeah, yeah.
I've kind of I And I so I yeah.
I've kind of just had thisepiphany lately, too.
You always know this, but like youread books, it's not about the
amount amount of books it's likeif you just took to heart one book
you're probably better off thanjust reading a hundred books and
not doing anything in them right100 percent 100 100 percent 100
(09:21):
percent and I'm a big reader solike you gotta have the
highlighter and the notes in theback because I think going back
and referencing that stuff againand actually even if you the back
from the book yeah and execute, tome, the eight to 12 hours or
whatever it took to read it istotally worth it.
to read it is totally worth it.
Right now, I'm doing a double
whammy where I read it and listento the audiobook at the same time.
Okay, I think that that'sbrilliant.
(09:42):
And if somebody, I feel like thisshould be a business thing or an
app or whatever, but when I buythe I the audiobook for free with
it because I agree that sometimesyou have to audio book.
Sometimes you want to read it.
I find fiction is easier on audio
book.
Business is tough on audio book.
You should just get both.
And so sometimes I buy both.
because I agree that sometimes Ibuy both.
Okay.
Can I hold you accountable then?
You have a book, like we haven'ttouched on this yet.
(10:02):
You've released one.
Yes, I do have a book.
Do you have an audio book on thatas well?
Can you do both?I do have an audio book.
you have an audio book on well?Can you do both?
I do have an audio book.
Do you?
Did you do the narration for that?Oh yeah.
I used to do musical theatervoice.
I was so excited to do the audiobook.
It's actually a really coolprocess and it's a memoir.
So like, it is weird to me thatsomebody else would read my
(10:24):
memoir.
Cause what if they say it in a
way?And I'm like, well, that's not the
tone of voice that I would haveused.
And that's not how I would havesaid it.
So I actually loved it.
It was so I do you sell yours as a
package?A two for one?
No, no, because this is what Iwant.
Yeah, this is a new business idea.
I'm an entrepreneur, shiny object,
new concept.
But what I learned too, is for
anybody who is looking to write abook is the publishing industry.
And they'll say this aboutthemselves too, is very old
(10:44):
school.
It is like very behind.
So I did a hybrid model.
So it wasn't self-publishing and
it wasn't traditional publishing.
It was in no, because this is what
I want.
Yeah, this is a new business But
what I the way that it set up onthe platform, I don't even know if
I could do that.
Like, it's not even up to me.
Like my audio book is basicallylike owned by like, well, it's
not, Oh, it's owned by me, butit's on the audible platform.
So I don't Right.
unless like, I gave it know, away
for but got to make $0, Hey, likeowned by like that, well it's not
(11:07):
oh it's owned by me but it's onthe audible platform right so like
I don't know unless I gave it awayfor zero dollars but hey gotta
make $0, Hey, like owned by likethat, well it's not oh it's owned
by me but on the dollars and 33cents would audible let you do
that because they do have a freesection like if you get audible
prime there's actually a bunch offree books but they tend to be
(11:31):
more like classics and things likethat a bunch of free books but
they tend to be more like classicsand things like that yeah the old
ones yeah but now you're asking meto give up my three dollars and 33
cents and I don't know if I wantto do that.
Nobody's making money writingbooks unless they're like a hugely
popular author.
Yeah.
You're I want to do that.
Nobody's way to do.
One day, one day.
What is your book about?
Can you highlight that a littlebit?
Yeah, it's called Not ThatLikeable and Other Stories I Told
Myself.
So it kind of gives it away a
little bit.
but it's my childhood all the way
up to grade 12.
And I was like pretty, can I swear
on this Yes.
I pretty fucking weird.
I was pretty fucking weird.
So like some of the stuff I
(11:51):
brought on myself, but I wasbullied quite a bit.
And I think honestly, it's justbecause I was like going through
life the way that I thought like,this is my personality and these
are the things that I loved.
And I was super involved with
extracurricular activities.
I was a bit of like an A type
student.
And you know, those things were
not working to my advantage from apopularity scale.
So it kind of goes through thatstory of finding myself through
that.
And also to I mean, I've had to
navigate that as an adult, youknow, when you as a kid, you grow
up and you think like, no onelikes me, right?
(12:15):
This then becomes the story youtell yourself.
And like, how do you work throughthis?
And then recognize, you know,later on that, like, that's just
stuff that happens to you whenyou're a kid, I would never go
back and change any of thoseexperiences, because they totally
made me who I am today.
And I grew up in a non traditional
home, my mom had me when she was18.
I grew up with my grandparents, mymom and her three younger siblings
(12:37):
in a bungalow with one washroom.
Oh Where did you grow up?
Edmonton, the city of the growingup at the time of the city of up
at the time of the city ofchampions.
I was.
I mean, come on.
It was Wayne Gretzky.
I was born in 1982.
Like they renamed like WayneGretzky drive, which was like near
my house so you know i always sayis if everyone had a memoir how
much more empathy and compassionand grace we might have for people
(12:58):
when we know their story I was soright like it's really easy for us
to make a judgment on somebody butlike if you read their memoir you
might be like oh that's whythey're like that that's why
taylor's like that that's whymatt's like this like yeah the
good the bad and ugly i the goodthe bad and ugly i got a lot of
explaining to do you guys got guysgot lots of explaining to do.
You got a podcast.
I'm sure you've told everybody
everything already now.
(13:18):
guys got lots of explaining to do.
You got a podcast.
I'm sure you've told everybody
everything already now.
Getting there.
There's a few tidbits we left out,a few tidbits we left out, but.
Oh, I'm going to get the money youon this one then.
Everyone's got to listen for us toexactly.
We'll get you there.
So your book, you're also a serial
entrepreneur like what otherbusinesses yeah so amanda hamilton
(13:39):
interior design is my corebusiness we're celebrating 15
years since incorporation thisyear 17 years since i started it
off the side of my 17 and i alsostarted three foot nothing which
is a construction company that waswhat my grandfather used to call
me when i was little three footnothing yeah i'm now like four
foot or five foot nothing in alittle but small but mighty and so
we just saw that there was a biggap in the market I was tired
(13:59):
honestly of dealing with likecrappy contractors and there's
lots of really great ones butthere's also lots of not great
ones and also the constructionindustry is very traditional so
found the right person to run thatbusiness with me.
And she manages the day-to-day.
And I'm very high level on that.
But it adds a ton of value to ourinterior design clients who have a
combination of interior design andconstruction needs.
So now we can do that in-house.
I also have an e-commerce business
called Palette Archives.
And so that ultimately services
the clients who may not be in aposition to hire an interior
designer.
may not be in a position to hire
(14:19):
an interior designer.
They're doing a smaller project.
They're doing a smaller project.
And so it's pre-curated interior
designer palettes online where youget all the finishes and materials
shipped to your door.
So now we And then I just
incorporated a company last week.
I can't quite say the name yet
because I'm in the sort of finalstage of determining what name
we're going to go with and alsonegotiating buying a domain from
(14:42):
somebody.
So I'll keep it on the low down
for now, but it is going to bee-commerce retail So I'll Gifting
is like one of my love languages.
I've been told I'm good at it.
I want to curate these likebeautiful gifts and retail
products for people.
And I'm definitely an early
adopter.
So I love discovering new products
and then being able to like sharethose products with other people.
So it's kind of a bit more of apassion project, but I'm excited
(15:05):
because it's a new challenge.
I haven't really done like the
retail world, right?Like a lot of my business is very
service based.
that is really cool.
Yeah.
The curating like home
renovations.
How did that come up?
And how do you do Palette Archivesis like my baby.
We're still kind of in startupphase with it.
I was honestly on a beach in theUS and this like idea came to me.
I was reading this book and itkind of just like got me out of my
(15:27):
own industry and thinking abouthow other industries have
disrupted their own industries.
And so what I found is I often get
calls from people and they'relike, this is always the sentence.
I know what I like, but I don'tknow how to pull it all together.
Right.
And so the problem is, is I would
meet all of these really coolpeople, but then we wouldn't be
able to take all the projects on,you know, like just sometimes the
(15:47):
initial cost, the startup costs ofjust getting a project going, you
know, just don't make sense when aclient has a smaller budget.
So we're actually first to market.
And as I know it, we're the only
one doing this concept, which isactually not working in our favor,
right?When you're first to market, you
have to teach everybody like whatAnd so But ultimately I wanted to
democratize design and provideeveryone with access to good
(16:07):
design.
So these pallets, you know, if
somebody's flipping a house ordoing a small rental where they're
going to do it on their own,they're now able to protect their
investment by being like aninterior designer who has 20 plus
years of experience, picked allthese finishes materials.
I can use them.
I can match them through another
supplier who's even like, youknow, more cost effective and then
(16:29):
do this renovation on their ownwith their contractor or, you
know, family or whatever.
And then obviously, as you guys
know, having a house that aninterior designer has been
involved in, they generally sellfor more.
Everything just feels more pulledtogether.
So ultimately, I just wantedeverybody to have access to good
design.
Cool.
So do people give you like squarefootage measurements, like send
you a bunch of or how does that?I wanted this to be pretty
hands-off, right?Because the notion is as soon as I
(16:50):
get involved, that becomes a veryexpensive process for the client
and also very expensive on our endin terms of profitability.
So there's like 35 pallets.
You can go on and you can pick
your pallet based on sort of theinspiration images and things like
that.
And so ultimately, they do it on
their own.
They get the boxes, they get the
specifications, and they can goright to the supplier and purchase
those goods.
Or they could, as an example, take
the blonde heart, what we'verecommended and go to Home Depot
(17:13):
and go, okay, this is as close aspossible.
And here's the tile and that's asclose as possible.
Right.
Right.
So really empowering them toprotect sort of the money that
they're investing in their house.
And as you guys know, for most
people, that's one of the largestinvestments they make in their
life.
Yeah.
Well, I love that idea.
And speaking about large
investments, then I'm going to putyou on the spot.
(17:33):
What is the best investment youcan make as DIY, home renovation,
anything?What do you kind of see as the
trend right now that people aredoing?
What do you see the fails that arehappening?
You going know, this is such agreat question.
And it's one that I get askedquite a bit.
But when people are renovating, Iknow it sounds so simple, but man,
does paint go a long way?People will be like, oh, my house
(17:55):
doesn't feel fresh.
It feels dark or whatever.
And I mean, designers love whitepaint.
And I know sometimes we get a badrap for it, but it is amazing what
that does to a space.
So, you know, painting the walls
or as an example, if a kitchen islaid out beautifully and you're
okay with it and the cabinets arestill really good quality and
still in good condition, you canspray them out.
(18:16):
I don't know, forest green or pinkor cream or whatever you want.
And you're looking at maybespraying out a kitchen might be,
you know, $7,500 to $15,000depending on the size of your
kitchen, or you could get a newkitchen, which could run you 30 to
$50,000 plus, plus, plus, right.
So plus it's incredibly disruptive
to your house in terms of havingto replace our cabinet.
So I think paint goes a long way.
And then I think things like small
(18:37):
upgrades, like cabinet hardware,lighting, right.
That type of stuff starts to date,especially because, you you know
our provinces are not that oldthat means we have a lot of like
1980s vibes with that golden oakso those houses are still
beautiful but they're just datedright so spraying things with
paint and like updating the brasshardware and the lights and stuff
goes a long way what designs arewe doing today that we're gonna
(18:58):
look back in 20 or 30 years andthink what were they thinking i
always think about this when iwalk through houses like when you
go through mckinley beach yeahright you see all these beautiful
houses and i always think how arethese gonna age you know like they
look beautiful right now but iabout this when i see all know so
i think probably the biggestmistake that either clients or
let's say some designers make isthat we capture onto these trends
(19:19):
and we go hard on them.
So I'm not like that in fashion
either.
Like I buy cool pieces with the
intent that I can mix and matchwith a few other things and have
them for years to come.
So obviously we were kind of in
this like espresso era and then itwas gray, gray, gray, gray on,
gray on, gray on, drab on.
Oh my God, I don't want to ever
see gray again.
Right.
(19:39):
So now we're in that era wherenobody wants to see gray and white
anymore.
And we've moved into this like
warm era where we're talking aboutcaramels and cognacs and things
like that.
So now I always think the best
thing to do is like take touchesof that.
If brass is still popular rightnow, but don't do brass door
hardware, brass cabinets, brassplumbing, brass lighting, because
(19:59):
then when brass isn't cool anymoreor you get tired of it, it's
freaking everywhere in your house.
I love mixing metals.
This idea that you can't mixmetals is BS.
You can totally mix metals.
I also think you shouldn't just
have one millwork color in yourentire house.
There should be maybe threedifferent millwork colors.
There can be different colors ofpaint.
And I think that will make housesage better than when you go into
(20:23):
these brand new houses and it'sthe same countertop throughout the
house, same cupboards, same paint.
And there's like what five
finishes in the entire house.
It's just boring.
Right?So I do think adding some of this
character in and layering thesethings will make houses have more
longevity and we won't look backbeing like oh my gosh why did we
do So I do it's as good as thoughlike you know the client drives it
often i mean we joke all the timeit's like if we see one more white
(20:45):
kitchen but i'm also not gonnalike poo-poo on a client that
likes a white kitchen if you lovea white kitchen it's your house
all the time yeah well i was gonnaask actually if somebody like
right yeah proposes their idea andit's terrible are you like like,
Hey, maybe you shouldn't do that.
I'm just, I'm asking for myself
because like, I know my well i wasis No.
It's a really good question.
I'll tell you what my perspective
(21:06):
of this might vary.
I think there's a lot of designers
that have a specific aesthetic andtheir clients go to them for a
specific aesthetic.
That is not what we are about.
The only thing that I say is thatwe don't do bad design, but I'm
willing to do, you know, designthat maybe it wouldn't be my first
choice or it wouldn't be somethingI want to live in, but it's your
house.
So it's our job to sort of move
(21:28):
you in the direction withouttrying to like put our own spin on
it, to move you in a directionwhere we're like, this still going
to make you happy but we can alsoconfidently say that when this is
done we know that this is going tolook really great so for the most
part like our clients will come tous with varying degrees of taste
and we have to decide which hillswe're going to die on and which
(21:51):
ones we're not right so deal in 10years oh my you sometimes again
sometimes clients go like a wallas you know and they just do their
own thing at that point you justrelease control and you're like
i'm not gonna photograph this andput this on my website right like
but right of the day i'm happythat you're happy with your house
even if i think maybe that's uglyor a bad decision it's's not my
(22:12):
house.
It's not my house, right?
You have my in in Yeah.
Do you find there's value in home
renovations right now?Like from a investment point of
view, is there a monetary gain?Because I mean, you know, since
you have a construction company aswell, like trades are so
expensive, materials are soexpensive.
I mean, we've gone through thismassive boom of renovations and at
least in the Okanagan, I'massuming most of Canada because
people had so much equity in theirwell, find now, like most of your
(22:33):
clients are, I know it's going tocost me a fortune.
I know I'm not going to maybe makemoney on this, but I'm going to
get a house that I want because Idon't want to move.
Like what's kind of driving yourclientele?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You bring up a good point.
So during the pandemic,renovations were huge.
Like we started the constructioncompany at the right time because
we started in 2018.
And then we kind of went in, we
(22:55):
got everything set up.
in so we worked out really well
during that time.
My experience in running my
business for so long is thatrenovations always go up when
we're in a recession or theeconomy is struggling a bit,
right?Because like you said, people are
in a house that they love, there'sequity in their house, but then
they go, okay, but the market's abit weird.
Do I want to move, et cetera?I do think it's a good investment.
I always think two things.
If you're going to build a custom
(23:15):
house from scratch and you landeda really great piece of property
and you know, you're going to holdonto that piece for a long time.
Great.
But otherwise, if you can find a
dog of a house that has reallygood bones and you get a good
price for it, generally, andespecially if you're like
particular about what you want, Igenerally find that when you turn
(23:36):
around and you sell those houses,you make more money off of them.
You have more equity in them,right?
But that's also challengingbecause it means those people have
to have access to that cash.
So let's say you're buying, I
don't know, a $600,000 bungalow,but you know, a renovated bungalow
is, you know, selling for like 1.5or something.
Yeah, we can go and put 500K intothat.
(23:58):
And you still have the delta ofanother 500K to make the money.
But you do have to be really smartabout where you're spending the
money because we have donerenovations where we just say to
the client, we're like, why didn'tyou just tear this house down?
Because now at this point, you'reright.
And you're right.
We do get the odd client who
doesn't care.
Who's like, I'm not really
(24:18):
concerned about making my moneyback.
I don't want to be crazy, but Ilove this house.
I love this property.
And I like want to stay here and
enjoy it.
But most of our clients want to
know that at least at a bareminimum, they're going to be
breaking even and that they're notlike pricing themselves out of the
market.
But I always think renovations are
great, but they're also the moststressful for clients.
That's a lot to think about forclients.
Especially if you have to live init, which I've done a few times.
(24:40):
We don't let clients do that.
They're not allowed to live in the
house during renovation.
This is a great point.
So, okay.
So there's an anti-flipping tax.
It's already been established, butnow they're lengthening it to two
years.
that's to kind of limit a lot of
like flippers.
I'm assuming some of your
clientele.
But as a primary residence, it's
great to add value.
There is a capital gains
exemption.
So tax wise, like it makes way
more sense.
But then where do people go?
(25:00):
Because on top of all that, Airbnbjust got decimated in BC.
I know you guys aren't strugglingyet in Alberta.
So where do people move for saythree months when you're doing a
massive your or less than 90 days?know, and again, you bring up a
really good point too, because,you know, when we're talking
about, you know, investing inproperty in the Okanagan, that
changes people's perspectives now,right?
Because it was always like, okay,short-term rentals, right?
So, I mean, obviously in Alberta,that's still a thing that you can
(25:22):
do.
We often do find some of our
clients were building secondaryhomes in, you know, Lake Country,
have another home that they can goto, or they travel quite a bit
where they're like, hey, we'regoing to Europe for the summer.
We're going camping in ourtrailer, or we have a trailer, or
we're going to stay with family.
So I think that's the other reason
why it's tough for people to likewrap their heads around renovating
is because it can be verydisruptive, right?
And we often find by the time weget in people's houses at that
(25:45):
point they're like we're sodesperate to get this done can you
start tomorrow right because it'snow been like 10 years that they
wanted to renovate but you'reright that is tough and I think
Kelowna in particular is in atough position because you guys
also don't have a lot of hotelsyou know and the hotels that you
do have it's really expensive tostay at them so it's not like
somebody can just move themselvesand their family into a hotel for
like four weeks and just be likeyeah whatever no big deal so that
(26:05):
does make things tougher in thatindustry for sure but generally we
find is yeah people have access tofriends that might be out of town
or somewhere to stay or they'relike hey i'm just gonna get out of
dodge for a while then will thishappens because you're might be
out you do need to up our hotelgame in colona honestly i've been
saying this for a long time but wegame do i'm putting this out there
it's my dream to do a boutiquehotel and when you put things out
(26:29):
into the universe it comes to youso anyone who's listening let's do
a boutique hotel in colona let'sdo something very badass i love
that idea we've had a few peoplemention that on the show and also
in my business.
show and also in my business.
Speakeasy.
Like I spend a lot of time
traveling and a lot of time inhotels.
So I just honestly, feel like it'sgot to happen.
do it.
(26:49):
With the short-term there is an
opportunity here.
rentals, I've been being this joke
like crazy.
There is an opportunity here.
So if I So if I figure it out.
Like it could have like a cool
like ace vibe too, right?Like we can have a couple.
You know, let's do a few.
it Let's do a luxury one.
Let's do more something twice thedo more something twice the price
yeah exactly anyone who'slistening you just hit us all up
(27:11):
we'll help you out with all thethings you guys can help them out
we're gonna do it i've decided canwas a show there was a couple
girls out in ontario that did aboutique hotel do you know which
one i'm talking about i think it'son no no oh man it was oh man it
was actually a pretty good showand they did it during covid
they're like i think maybe it had16 rooms like it was a motel yeah
and they're like cool we're gonnaflip it we're gonna turn it into
(27:33):
airbnb kind of thing and thencovid hit and their contractors
didn't show up anyways it waspretty fun to watch oh what is
that show i'll watch that tonightwe all need to watch it because we
need to do the research sincewe're going to be doing this we
just need to come up with like acouple million dollars you know
just a cool i don't know 20 30million bucks one thing about
colonna is this we just need tocolonna is there's a lot of money
(27:53):
in the city you just have to lookso you call you give us your money
and we'll make things happen andyou'll at the end you'll be like
welcome it's the june motel thejune motel makeover okay yeah all
right honestly it's it's worth awatch yeah it was pretty good but
i think there is opportunitycolonna's kind of a tough one
because there's not a lot ofmotels but like penticton is
littered with these old motels yesclose to the lake like that is an
opportunity i've been on taylorgetting me fired all yes i've been
(28:14):
man peachland i have a soft spotfor peachland like you can
literally get like commercialproperty where you're just like
staring out at the beach and it'slike not even that much money
you're just like what like it's socute and quaint like i just i
think the okanagan is gonna justblow up especially after you like
you and everybody just being likeyou know what quality of life i
can work remotely i'm just gonnago and stare out at the ocean
while i do my work not the oceanbut the lake yeah my not the ocean
(28:35):
but the lake yeah my wife calls itthe ocean all the time still but
she's from the island so you fromedmonton i'm not edmonton i'm not
how that works hey whoa whoa whoai have a reason for this i grew up
sailing on the west coast okay soi grew up sailing with san juan
and gulf islands and so i feelvery like connected to water so
yeah up sailing with i've hadhardly any experiences, eh?
Like, geez.
Yeah.
I don't know really counts whenyou're traveling with like six
people on a 30 foot monohull boatwith one bathroom, which probably
(28:57):
wasn't working half of the time.
That's what I call a character
building.
And eating spaghetti every single
night.
So, I mean, it wasn't glamorous.
It wasn't a yacht.
Okay.
That's what I call a characterbuilding.
It wasn't a yacht.
Okay.
Like, what about that sucks?Yeah.
I literally would eat spaghettilike two meals a day.
And then I met my wife and shestopped that.
So, well, like on the kind ofproperty location, I'm going to
kind of dive into some of ourending questions.
(29:18):
Cause it's just very relevant.
If you could buy a property in the
Okanagan in the next 12 months,where would it be?
What would If I didn't know youwere going to ask me about ask it
this way?Would you focus on the location or
would you focus on the where?how about ask Well, it this way?
Would you focus on the location orwould you focus on Oh, the view is
big.
The view is big for me.
So I mean, I live in a city,right?
So I have that and I travel tocities.
So when I'm in like, you know, R&Rmode, I actually like kind of like
(29:41):
cute, quaint, small, So I I withthat in mind, like I kind of have
a little bit of a soft spot forPeachland.
I've only been a few times, but itlike immediately felt like really
good.
That has a wonderful street.
Yeah.
Like you're still relatively close
to everything.
And yeah, it would be tough
because it's like, yeah, do youinvest, do you buy there?
But I think, you know, given whatyou guys have going on right now
(30:01):
with like the short-term rentalsand kind of how that's been
hijacked a bit, I'd be like, well,then I'm just going to buy
something and I'm going to go outthere.
And then this is what I thinkeverybody should do.
Thursday, you leave after work andyou go to your remote location,
wherever it is.
You still work on Friday, but like
no internet, no wifi, no social,no text.
You just like do deep work.
Then you have Saturday, Sunday,
relaxing, do your thing.
And then you fly back or whatever,
Monday morning and you get back tothe office like i think having
(30:23):
that like three day break fromoffice life is so good for you and
so renewing and so again my onlyrequest in addition to the hotel
is like if somebody has a freeseat on a private jet and wants to
fly me out thursday to monday idown.
That's awesome.
If If I get that free seat.
Yeah, we'll speak to Air Canadafor you.
See if we can get some vouchers.
I have a neighbor that's a pilot.
(30:44):
I can ask him.
Yeah.
Free interior design advice andexchange.
I mean, you can't go wrong here,right?
It's like, it's almost free.
No, it's funny.
I do actually have a few clientsthat do jet sharing and I'm always
like, one of these days I got tojump on one of those jets just for
fun.
A bit like, jets just for fun.
A bit too for a drive fromCalgary.
than a private jet, what's thebest thing you've ever spent money
(31:06):
on?Well, you guys will like this
answer.
I do have this Tom Ford runway
jacket, men's bomber that I haveto mention because I got it at a
consignment store.
So that's really cool.
That's going to stay in my closetThat's But no, more seriously, I
think my house and my art so Iwasn't even in the market to buy a
house when I bought this lasthouse I just happened to be on MLS
or whatever it's called now I'mgonna call it MLS forever this had
been on the market for an hour andI fell in love with it I had just
(31:27):
had like weird feelings for it andI was like I need this house and
they were closing on it onWednesday and it was mine
Wednesday night so I that like,when you find a house like that,
like I said, that has like reallygood bones, like this is a 1918
house with a 1990s edition on it,it's got like really interesting
character.
You know, if you buy a house, and
you know, and again, we have a bitof an advantage, you know that
(31:47):
there's going to be equity in it,like I could turn around and sell
my house and make money right now.
And I've only had it for about a
year and a half.
I think that's the thing.
But the reason why is because Ithink life is crazy as an
entrepreneur and actually life iscrazy for everyone.
I think we live in a wild worldright now.
And my home has like reallybecome, I don't know, my refuge
and like my place for likerelaxing and my rituals and my
(32:08):
habits.
And so I don't know that I ever
want to sell it.
That's how much I love it.
Like, this is the first place I'veever felt like it was like home
that I really look forward tocoming home to.
Like, I'm obsessed with my myhouse.
Do you feel like somewhat anxiousif people come over to your house
because you feel like you'redisplaying your portfolio?
Like, oh my God, like you pickedthe wrong color or this granite is
(32:31):
so last year.
Like, oh my God, Taylor's laying
it all out yeah this is great ilove it okay so yes and i think
most interior designers feel thisway but i actually like when a new
person comes to my house i justtell them i'm like if you think
you're coming here and you'rewalking into a show home you are
going to be sadly mistaken becauseour method at our studio is also
like we don't buy things for thesake of buying things.
(32:53):
We want these things to be reallyreflective of our clients.
And so I have art that I have thatI love.
I have pieces that I've picked upfrom all over the world.
You know what?They don't all fucking go together
and I don't care at I don't careat all.
And I also think the other thingis it's like, people will be like,
well, what i'm like i don't knowlike desert boho chic meets
italian 1970s vibe like there's somany different genres i've got
mid-century modern stuff i havecontemporary stuff i have like
(33:14):
weird stuff that i probablyshouldn't even be my home because
it's just people are like what isthat why is that there and i'm
like whatever i like we're likewe're so similar in that regard
and people always criticize me youknow like my style is all over the
place.
It's okay, guys.
like Well, everybody's like, no,your house is so cool.
So this is the flip side.
Everyone else thinks that they're
like, no, you come in here andthis place is so cool.
(33:36):
And I'm like, this place is ahole.
What are you talking about?But it's my hole.
And I love it.
It needs some pretty massive
renovations because it reallyhadn't been touched since like the
90s.
But no, I mean, my friends and
people come over like this is areally cool place.
And my friends' kids are alwayslike taking snaps and TikTok
videos.
And so I think that it's a cool
place, but it's not a show it.
know?
Yeah, it's a Amanda Hamilton home.
It's a Amanda Hamilton home.
(33:56):
It's all sorts of weird styles.
And like, yeah, there might be
some like underwear hanging about.
There's probably a dog bone
wherever you want to sit there's adog bone wedged in there somewhere
you might find some of my contactson my nightstand like it's true
there it's true all right about itdo you give back to any charities
or do anything like that I thinkprofessionally and personally
there's definitely a few charitiesI give to generally like we give
to quite a few but anything thatsupports young adults with like
(34:18):
career development and findingtheir passion.
Also really passionate aboutfinancial and investment knowledge
for women.
I think that's a big piece for me
too.
And supporting young
entrepreneurs.
Those are kind of the main ones.
And then of course, anything to dowith animals.
Yeah.
I love animals.
Like if I retire at like 95, likelike if I retire I want to have
like a no-kill animal shelter forlike just all of the cuties and
furry creatures so yeah there's anumber of them but it's generally
(34:39):
around kids and women andentrepreneurs are the ones that
I'm most passionate about and weactually also have a scholarship
with the university that I got myinterior design degree with too so
that's another way that we try togive back and it's to encourage
designers to travel and getexperience abroad and kind of
learn about other cultures and howdesign is explored elsewhere.
Yeah.
How How can our listeners help you
or connect with you?How can people reach out?
(35:00):
you can find me on Instagram atAmanda M. Hamilton.
That's my personal account sothere's probably a lot of photos
of my dog on there i through thismorning and yeah lots of photos of
the dog or if you like you knowyou actually care about interior
design then you can check out ahitstudio so that's ahid studio or
you can email us at hello atawesome so anything else you want
to touch on before we hit the roadagain, just my ask.
(35:20):
The three of us are doing a hotel.
Yeah, we're putting that out
there.
And we want seats on a jet.
I mean, as as I'm as I'm joking,I've never been very good at
asking for help.
Yeah, kind of that personality
type.
That's like, I can do everything
on my own.
So I'm just now in this like world
of being like I'm just gonna askfor things that I want I mean I
(35:41):
don't like actually need a seat ona jet but I really do want to do a
boutique hotel I think that'd besuch a cool project that be
awesome well in life you don't getwhat you ask for yeah exactly I'm
asking for it right now I have areally great quote yeah I have a
really great quote yeah it's byWeiss and hopefully I'm saying her
last name properly but she hasreally amazing books if you
haven't read them.
It's When You Ask for a Big Life,
(36:02):
You Cannot Keep Fighting for aSmaller One to Stay.
Bam.
Bam.
Yeah.
That is a big drop.
We'll sign off on that note then.
All Mano.
right, you so for after.
Thank you.
This was fun.
Can we do this again?
Yeah.
Once we have the hotel, we'll talk
about like the challenges and howlike Netflix featured it and like
what that was like filming itbehind the scenes and how we got
(36:23):
financing for it.
do this again?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sounds great.
This one will be the August hotel.
it. It's actually great.
It's a good name.
name.
Yeah, I think so.
Well done.
We'll connect with you later on.
Thanks again.
All right.
Thanks, Amanda.
Sounds good.
Thanks, guys.
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