ACM DESIGN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the ACM Design Team
- Principal Architect & Founder of ACM Design, Shares Her Thoughts on Designing Homes in the Blue Ridge Mountains
- PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT, INTERIOR DESIGNER, FOUNDER
Amy founded ACM Design in 2004 after relocating to the Asheville area with her family.
Architecture had always provided inspiration for Amy Conner-Murphy and led her to Auburn University where she received her Bachelor of Architecture. After many years of nurturing the idea of designing homes that created a sense of place and belonging, Amy made the move to do just that when she started ACM Design. Amy had enjoyed a successful career in commercial architecture and this was her opportunity to focus on work that was more personal nature and which held even greater meaning to her.
Amy started her career with Overcash-Demmitt Architects in Charlotte, NC where she was involved in designing various projects with Nations Bank and the Student Health facility at Davidson College. Both were great learning experiences for her. She then joined Merriman Associates/Architects, headquartered in Dallas, TX, as a Director in their Charlotte office, managing design projects in Charlotte and south Florida. Part of her responsibilities there included being on the Executive Management Team, Marketing and Business Development, and Director of Design. Those days were intense, but Amy says that she learned an incredible amount about the inner workings of an architectural practice and about business in general.
In 1995, Amy left Merriman Associates to become a Vice President for WGM Design, again in Charlotte. The time there was filled with great projects, including design work on Yager Corporate Headquarters, a South Park high rise building for ACC Management and Durham Academy.
Amy's life and focus shifted when her and her husband Steve became parents to two beautiful girls. That dramatic life change was what started her thinking about the importance and challenge of creating "home," not just drawing up house plans. Amy and Steve were relocating to Asheville and she decided to design her own home. Amy is originally from the "other side of the hill" in Tennessee, so settling in WNC was like coming home. The home was built the next year.
When not designing homes, Amy enjoys traveling with husband, Steve and visiting daughters, Rebecca and Julia, who are both college students. She nurtures her creative side by gardening, watercolor painting, and soul collage and keeps herself strong by running and biking. Amy has served on the Board for AIA Asheville, as well as on the Education Committees of AIA North Carolina and Asheville Homebuilders Association.
Amy Conner-Murphy, Principal Architect & Founder of ACM Design, shares her thoughts on designing homes in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Job Titles:
- Member of the ACM Design Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the ACM Design Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the ACM Design Team
Job Titles:
- PROJECT INTERIOR DESIGNER
During college, Valerie accompanied her sister to select lighting for her new home, and the experience changed her life's trajectory. To this day, she vividly recalls how she felt an instant love for interior design. She was hooked! Valerie quickly changed colleges and majors.
Valerie feels she has been blessed with many interesting opportunities during her career. Her first design position was with an architect in downtown Charlotte, working on small residential renovation projects and commercial buildings. She stayed with commercial projects for a while, including designing apartment floor plans for an historic hotel renovation in Washington, D.C. Valerie later worked as an Interior Designer for a custom home builder. The experience of meeting new families, listening and understanding how they needed their house to function to make a home was very appealing to her thus directing her path to residential architecture. Since then, residential design, from space planning to interior design has been her passion.
Living by the adage, "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life," Valerie feels perfectly at home with the ACM Design team. Working intently to deliver just the right touches to create a client's dream homes is a joy and a pleasure. When not working, Valerie loves high-flying adventure, and enjoys aerial parks and military obstacle courses!
Job Titles:
- Member of the ACM Design Team