Amber Guyton founded Blessed Little Bungalow a decade ago as a side project while maintaining her corporate marketing career. The venture began as a personal blog documenting her home through a budget-conscious, joyful design lens but has since evolved into a full-time profession and expanding brand. Today, her design philosophy, which she terms “soulful maximalism,” challenges the impersonal minimalism dominating mainstream aesthetics. Instead, she champions lively colors, rich textures, and spaces that feel deeply personal and lived-in.
Guyton’s journey into design followed an unconventional path. As a child in South Carolina, she spent hours rearranging furniture, painting walls, and studying the details of her grandparents’ home—a red-brick colonial adorned with striped wallpaper, floral valances, and an oriental rug. Those early experiences instilled her belief that a home should reflect its inhabitants rather than conform to fleeting trends. “I’ve spent my life trying to recreate the joy my childhood and grandparents’ homes gave me in every space I’ve occupied—from college dorm rooms and my first apartment, to my first homes and current bungalow,” she says. “Home is where my happiness begins, and I want to help others feel the same.”
Her upcoming book, Soulful Maximalism: A Colorful Guide to Living Boldly at Home, publishes on October 6. Unlike typical design manuals or decorative photo books, it blends memoir, design principles, and practical advice. Structured like an academic text, the volume organizes her philosophy around four pillars: joy, culture, layers, and intention. Each chapter includes “Storytime” sections, Guyton’s term for personal anecdotes, alongside design toolkits with visual diagrams and actionable frameworks, such as the “Old, New, Borrowed, Blue” method for merging vintage and contemporary pieces.
Maximalism redefined: Joy over clutter
Guyton clarifies that her approach isn’t about unchecked excess. “I wrap up the book by addressing the elephant in the room, Maximalism is a dirty word for clutter, excess, and overkill, and reframe it by describing it beyond ‘more is more,’ but rather about having an abundance mindset while also adopting the beauty of restraint and intentionality.” The book reframes bold design as a way to honor personal narratives, whether through a grandchild’s finger-painted fridge art or a travel souvenir displayed above the sofa. “Arriving October 6, the book goes beyond beautiful rooms to explore how color, pattern, personal history, and the things we love can create a home that tells our story.”
The writing process uncovered an unexpected hurdle: translating her intuitive design instincts into a structured system. Diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, Guyton struggled with procrastination and perfectionism during the project. Yet, the act of organizing her thoughts into written form became a key moment. The book’s release aligns with a shift in her professional life; she is stepping back from client work to focus on writing, travel, and renovating a historic property in Atlanta.
Guyton’s most fulfilling experiences stem from the stories clients share. Many describe how redesigning their homes transformed their daily lives; one family shared how their newly styled space helped them feel safe and at peace for the first time.
Looking ahead, Guyton plans a solo trip to Kenya for her 40th birthday, a multi-city book tour, and undisclosed product launches. For now, she is savoring the present.
From side project to full-time passion
The book’s publication also marks a turning point in Guyton’s career. After a decade of balancing corporate work with Blessed Little Bungalow, she left her full-time marketing position in 2021 to dedicate herself entirely to design. The transition demanded rebuilding her income. Initially, she relied on freelance consulting, social media growth, and small collaborations to sustain herself while developing her brand. A key early partnership came in 2019, when a home goods retailer licensed her wallpaper designs for a limited-edition collection. Inspired by her grandparents’ floral valances, the pattern became a surprise bestseller, validating demand for her aesthetic beyond digital platforms.
Guyton’s client approach emphasizes accessibility. For instance, she helped a North Carolina couple refresh their dining room by replacing a plain white tablecloth with a vintage embroidered linen and introducing mismatched jewel-toned chairs for under $200. The result was a space that felt intentional and lively.
At its heart, Soulful Maximalism argues that intentional design is an act of self-care. Guyton traces this belief to her own struggles with anxiety and how rearranging furniture as a child helped her reset.
Her bungalow as a living blueprint
Guyton applies this philosophy to her own home, detailed in the book’s final chapter. Purchased in 2020, her Atlanta bungalow remains a work in progress, partly due to the challenges of renovating a historic property. She preserved the original hardwood floors and crown molding while integrating modern elements, such as a custom-built bookshelf that doubles as a gallery for her granddaughter’s artwork. The process has been slower than anticipated. The book’s closing pages include a diagram of her “Old, New, Borrowed, Blue” method applied to the bungalow, illustrating how she combined inherited furniture, thrifted finds, and new pieces to create harmony.
The book’s release coincides with Guyton’s decision to pause client work indefinitely, though she hasn’t ruled out occasional collaborations. Her next focus is renovating a second Atlanta property, a 1920s Craftsman-style home she is restoring as an investment. The project reflects her growing passion for historic preservation, influenced by her upbringing in a neighborhood where older homes were frequently demolished for modern developments. The work involves restoring original woodwork and updating systems while maintaining the home’s character, a balance she hopes to explore further in future writing or product lines.
Guyton’s upcoming book tour will include stops in cities where her design philosophy has resonated most, such as Portland, Austin, and Chicago. She plans workshops where attendees can apply her principles using tools like the “Unexpected Red Theory” (a personal rule for adding unexpected color pops) and a reimagined “60-30-10 Rule” for maximalist palettes. Her objective is to equip readers with actionable steps, not just inspiration. The first signing event, scheduled for October 12 in Nashville, will feature displays of the book’s design toolkits, available as free printables on her website.
