Ashley Yeates, Founder and Principal of AYI & Associates, is an American lawyer-turned-designer whose love for design began in her formative years growing up in Eastland, Texas. Surrounded by two generations of strong women with unique interior design aesthetics—including four eccentric grandmothers who each had beautifully styled homes, and an artistic mother with a quirky fashion sensibility—Ashley learned from an early age that diversity of style and creativity should always be celebrated and appreciated.

Later in life, her indelible love for interior design that was nurtured throughout childhood would blossom into a full-time career. While practicing law in Dallas, a well-known designer she hired to help with her home noticed she had a natural talent for design and pointed out that she was in the wrong profession. Those wise words were a clarion call for her to follow her instincts and switch careers in 2001, and she has never looked back. 

A move to Carmel and its beautifully rugged landscapes, motherhood, and her deep love for community all played a part in her growing desire to create meaningful interiors, and on a more emotional level, homes that would embrace comfort and family yet were elegant and sustainable enough to stand the test of time.

Ashley sees her sustainably focused design firm and furniture line as a duality—celebrating one’s past while improving one’s future, and the future of generations to come.