As a child, Amanda Fisher was fascinated with the art of construction.

“I was always building things with blocks, and I loved looking through architecture books,” she recalled.

Amanda eventually channeled that childhood interest into career goals, trading in the picture books of her youth for college textbooks. But while enrolled as an architecture major in her home state of Virginia, she discovered a new passion – kitchen and bath design.

Now a designer at Markraft, Amanda has found a way to combine her eye for color, cabinetry and countertops with her talent for creation.

Amanda, who joined Markraft in 2016, now oversees most of the company’s remodeling projects.

“I love being able to knock down walls and create something with a totally different feel,” she noted.

And it appears she’s quite good at it, too. In her short time in the Cape Fear region, she has managed to take home kitchen and bath design awards from the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association… two years in a row.

“I take a lot of pride in what I do,” Amanda noted. “I like the challenge of it and the ability it gives me to be creative.”

As a member of the Markraft team, she is able to surround herself with inspiration every day.

“I fell in love with their showroom the first time I saw it,” she said.

In a bit of kismet, Amanda found Markraft while “blindly sending out resumes.”

“I wanted to move a little further south than Virginia but still be close to family, so I was looking for jobs in this area,” she said.

She ended up getting several interviews and a few job offers but said Markraft just felt like home.

“I just felt a connection to this place. I felt like it was a place that would allow me to do what I wanted to do as a designer,” she said.

And what Amanda loves to do is wow clients with a seamless intermingling of styles to create something timeless yet practical.

“I love to blend two very different design styles,” she said.

It’s an approach she is using in her own kitchen. With a mixture of custom painted cabinets and an island in one of her favorite tones – a bluish gray – Amanda has put together a space that speaks to contemporary, coastal and industrial aesthetics within her new home, which is currently under construction.

And – as if fulfilling a lifelong dream – she designed the blueprints.

Let Amanda Fisher and the other professional designers at Markraft share their expertise with you. The designers consult by appointment, but drop-in visitors are always welcome to stop by and browse the showroom. The Markraft Design Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 2705 Castle Creek Lane just off Castle Hayne Road.