Make Your Space Special! Superstar Designer Amber Lewis (Pt 2) Shares Insider Tips + Her Deeply Personal, Inspiring Journey to Skyrocketing Success
Episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show · October 1, 2026 · 46 min
Interior designer Amber Lewis shares practical design tips with Jamie Kern Lima and opens up about her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, divorce, and daughter.
Summary
In the second part of her conversation with Jamie Kern Lima, interior designer Amber Lewis answered practical design questions. She argued that homes feel energetically off when furnishings are too matching, recommended Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee and Farrow & Ball's Wimborne White as favorite whites, cautioned against using interior paint choices on exteriors, and advised hiding appliances while investing in a good range in kitchens. She said small rooms benefit from larger furniture and lighter walls, that painting furniture should be left to professionals, and that natural fabrics and stone develop patina and are more durable than people assume.
Lewis then described being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in March 2020, after losing feeling from her feet to her hips while remodeling a home. She called MS an invisible disease and said that, paradoxically, the diagnosis was one of the best things that happened to her because of the perspective it gave her. She said she approaches the disease day to day, returned to disease-modifying therapies after it progressed while she was off medication, and practices an informal morning meditation over coffee and journaling.
Lewis also discussed her separation from her husband, a UK-born musician she had been with since age 22, describing it as the hardest thing she had gone through. She said they remain best friends, co-parents and business partners, and attributed the split to growing apart and to differing ambitions sharpened by her illness. She spoke emotionally about her daughter Gwyneth and closed by describing her new book, Interiors: Curated Spaces from Start to Finish, as a process-focused guide she hopes readers will mark up.
Chapters
- 0:00
Episode preview and introduction
Jamie Kern Lima previews the episode and introduces Amber Lewis and her business.
- 7:29
Matching décor and white paint
Lewis explains why overly matching rooms feel like showrooms and shares her favorite white paints and exterior paint advice.
- 10:48
Kitchens and small rooms
Lewis recommends hiding appliances, investing in a good range, and using larger furniture and lighter colors in small rooms.
- 13:48
DIY, fabrics and stain removal
Lewis advises hiring professional painters, discusses performance versus natural fabrics, and names her preferred stain removers.
- 17:57
Multiple sclerosis diagnosis
Lewis recounts her March 2020 MS diagnosis and the perspective shift it gave her.
- 21:59
Living with MS, treatment and meditation
Lewis describes her day-to-day mindset, return to disease-modifying therapy, lifestyle changes, and morning meditation routine.
- 26:14
Separation and co-parenting
Lewis discusses ending her marriage while remaining best friends, co-parents and business partners with her ex-husband.
- 34:27
Daughter Gwyneth
Lewis speaks emotionally about her daughter and what she hopes Gwyneth will say about her.
- 40:28
The new book and closing
Lewis describes the goals of Interiors: Curated Spaces from Start to Finish and Kern Lima closes the show.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Amber Lewis
Lewis argues that a home looks energetically off when its furnishings are too matching and recommends mixing finishes, textures and colors.
“Honestly, when things are too matching. I think when someone says they bought the nightstand to match the dresser that matches”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis names Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee as one of her favorite white paints for ceilings, trim and walls.
“one of my favorites is just honestly Benjamin Moore Swiss coffee. It's a tried and true. It's warm. I paint it on a lot of ceilings”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis says exterior paint must be chosen differently from interior paint because outdoor light changes by season and time of day.
“the exterior light is going to change seasonally and it's going to be different every single time of the day”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis says the range is the first choice in a kitchen remodel and the rest of the kitchen should be built around it.
“If you're remodeling a kitchen, that's choice number one in my opinion. I think like one of the most important things is what is the range going to look like”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis contends that small rooms benefit from bigger furniture and lighter wall colors rather than small furniture.
“You actually want bigger furniture in a small room because it feels a little bit more cozy and spacious”
Linked moment · 13:48Skip to 13:48 using a listen link in the info box.
Amber LewisLewis recommends hiring a professional painter rather than DIYing, especially for repainting furniture.
“never DIY or paint your furniture. That's something you always want to outsource if you're going to repaint something”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis argues that natural materials like linen, wool and marble are durable and develop patina, and owners should accept wear and tear.
“You just have to get not precious about it and lean into the fact that it's going to get a little wear and tear”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis describes her MS diagnosis as, paradoxically, one of the best things to happen to her because of the perspective shift it brought.
“One of the greatest things that's ever happened to me bizarrely has been this diagnosis”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis says the invisibility of MS has been the hardest part of living with the disease.
“MS is invisible and that is the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis recounts being diagnosed with MS in March 2020 after losing feeling from her feet up to her hips.
“I was diagnosed in 2020. So when the world was shutting down on March 9th, I got diagnosed”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis describes her meditation as 20 to 25 minutes of drinking coffee in bed, staring out the window and planning her day.
“I take about 20, 25 minutes of drinking my coffee in bed. And I just stare out the window, process my day, try to calm my mind”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis says she went off medication believing she could manage without it, but the disease progressed and she returned to disease-modifying therapies.
“I was like, I'm going to get off everything and I'm going to go medicine free. And unfortunately, it progressed”
Listen from 24:12 · Disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis
- Amber Lewis
Lewis says she and her ex-husband realized they were better as partners and parents than as a married couple.
“decided that we were better partners in life, just with a little bit of a different definition. And it was really hard”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis says she and her ex remain fully united as parents and business partners and work together every day.
“we are completely united as parents, completely united as business partners. And our life partnership is we just don't live together and we're not married”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis attributes the end of her marriage to the couple growing apart, likening it to trees with deep roots but diverging branches.
“your roots can be super solid, and they can run very, very deep, but your branches are getting further and further apart”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis says MS gave her a new urgency and drive because she no longer takes tomorrow for granted.
“MS gave me that perspective of just, I have a different fire under my ass now. Really? Yeah. Because tomorrow isn't a guarantee”
- Amber Lewis
Lewis says her new book aims to teach readers a process for creating their interiors, including tangible takeaways and the emotions involved.
“I want someone to understand the process of what it is to create your interior, your interiors”
Listen from 41:28 · Interiors: Curated Spaces from Start to Finish
People
In the conversation
- Jamie Kern LimaAmerican entrepreneur, author and host of The Jamie Kern Lima Show
- Amber LewisAmerican interior designer, founder of Amber Interiors and Shoppe Amber Interiors, and author
Discussed
- Victoria JacksonCosmetics entrepreneur and friend of Jamie Kern Lima
- Joe DispenzaAuthor known for meditation programs
- Steven GundryPhysician and author known for microbiome-focused diet advice
Topics
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From the publisher
Get ready to curate magic in your home, your work space and more! Does the space you live in right now feel as beautiful, magical and special as you are? Does it feel restorative? Livable, Curated, and in a Style that reflects who you truly are? The energy of the spaces we call home, can impact how we feel, and there are simple tips we can all learn, no matter the budget we’re on, to make our spaces feel even more special! Amber Lewis is one of the most talented, buzzed about, and in-demand interior designers right now, and she’s here in person today with you and me, to help us curate our own spaces, make our homes more magical, more livable, and even more…us! Amber Lewis is a seasoned interior designer, founder of a full-service design firm, Amber Interiors, touting clients across the country, the genius behind the brick-and-mortar and online retail stores Shoppe Amber Interiors, and as a result of her remarkable love from her customers and demand for her talents, in recent years, she has expanded her business into successful, multi-year furniture, rug, textile and décor collaborations with companies you love like Anthropologie, Loloi, Visual Comfort and more. She’s published two bestselling books, Call It Home and Made For Living, and Her brand new third book, a New Home Renovation and Interior Design Book: called Interiors: Curated Spaces from Start to Finish is available everywhere books are sold! I am so excited for part 2 of this conversation and I am so happy you’re here, thank you for being part of the JKL Show podcast family, and thank you for sharing this with every single person that you know, who might need some inspiration and hope today, because we are all in this life together! ORDER AMBER LEWIS’ BRAND NEW BOOK! Interiors: Curated Spaces from Start to Finish is coming out next week! Get your copy here: https://amberinteriordesign.com/interiors-by-amber-lewis/ Follow Amber on Instagram at @amberinteriors for design inspiration, behind-the-scenes momen…
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 6, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.