This interview has been well over a year in the making friends! I’m tickled pink to introduce my dear friend - Aileen Grodzinsky.

We met via Instagram and our friendship was born out of a shared love of home, the color pink and a sense of honesty that can only be found with another Jersey gal!

Aileen welcome tell the readers about yourself: Hi! I’m Aileen. I am 39 years old and live in Monmouth County NJ with my husband Steve, our daughter Lucy and Henry the Bunny! I grew up in the same town I live in now with my mom, dad and older sister (3 years older). I have lived in other towns across NJ, but when Steve and I were ready to settle down we found ourselves gravitating back to our hometown (yes, his hometown too). Funny enough, I now live in the same model home I grew up in! I feel like I got the chance to decorate my childhood home, SO COOL RIGHT!

My mom and dad are my favorite people in the world. My sister and I were lucky to grow up with parents that were loving, smart, hard-working, open minded, kind, and creative. Both my parents were science teachers, mostly of middle school grades, although my mom went on to work more in administration later in her career. My mother is wildly creative. So was her father, my poppy. Many of his paint by numbers are hanging in my house today.

With the move to your current home in 2018 you really embraced your love of pink - please tell us about this transition: It all started with a pink chaise! I have always loved pink, but never used it in my décor until moving to our newest home. This home felt feminine to me when we moved in. It felt like she was just dying to be dressed in pink flowery velvet dresses (aka furniture, artwork, paint). I purchased a beautiful velvet pink chaise for our family room and my love of pink décor spiraled from there. I feel like I decorated the whole family room around that chair. I think that happens sometimes with furniture pieces and artwork, they inspire you and set you on a path to create the spaces around you. It was like my muse! The family room is also open to the foyer and dining room so the pink just started to travel merrily along into all our spaces. It is the color that connects all the rooms. Also, I’m lucky to have a hubby that embraces my design ideas even when they involve A LOT of pink accents. I am also VERY inspired by real and faux flowers, floral prints, and flowery artwork, which play nicely with pink tones.

You know I love to ask all my fabulous interviews if they decorated their bedrooms while they were growing up - so tell us? I sure did, at a certain age! I think I was around 12 when I got a full bedroom makeover. I was allowed to choose wallpaper and the furniture, but I’m almost positive it was narrowed down prior to a few choices my parents would be OK with! I chose a total 90’s pastel colored zig zaggy patterned wallpaper and white Formica furniture. My favorite addition to my room was when I was 16 and obsessed with the Absolut Vodka Ads found in so many magazines at that time. I made a border on the top of my walls with the ads. I thought I was so cool! I still have those ripped out magazine pages today.

Aileen you have a degree in Interior Design - please share how that morphed into your visual design work for Nordstrom and your current work designing swag: I graduated from the New York School of Interior Design (NYSID). Going to school in NYC was an incredible experience. While I thought I would go into a career of interior design, I also had my eye on a position at Nordstrom. I had worked for Nordstrom, in sales, on and off from the age of 18 and all through my college years. I ALWAYS wanted a spot on the Visual Merchandising team, but the required M-F 7-4 job hours and my full time/commuting to NYC college education did not go hand in hand, so I stuck with sales (a much more flexible schedule). When I graduated, I expressed my desire to the Visual Manager to join her team when there was an opening…and just my luck a few months later, she came to me with an offer to join the team. I was thrilled! I transitioned onto the team 2 weeks later and stayed in the Visual Merch world with Nordstrom for 10+ years. This job was my dream job. Working on every aspect from merchandising product, floor/fixture sets, window displays, event sets, fashion, store sets/lighting, you name it - my team and I did it! I experienced a lot of growth, many promotions into management positions across all the NJ Nordstrom stores, and I have so many relationships that came from this time, including my 2 best friends. To say it was the best would be an understatement. And while this wasn’t the same as residential Interior Design, SO many of my skills learned in school could be applied to my job in Visual. I took a totally different turn as our daughter Lucy was getting older and starting to attend school. I wanted to be home in the morning for her (the visual job had me leaving the house at 6am). I wanted to be there to help her get ready and know her day was off to a good start. I wanted to work locally (the visual job was 1 hour away). AND I wanted to get out of that retail life, working some weekends, overnights, and holidays. I was SO lucky to be able to transition to my job at Creative Solutions. My title is “swag specialist”. We create amazing branded product for some heavy hitter companies! Its super fun! Maybe one day I will do what I went to school for, but for now, I’m happy with where my path has taken me! AND I really love sharing my design and home projects on Instagram.

During the height of the Stay Home order you designed this wonderful area for Lucy to attend remote school and I so love the office space you created in your guest room for yourself. Both are colorful, fun and pretty. Please share your design philosophy with us – your Grandmillenial Granny Chic vibe: I love old/vintage pieces and any and all floral patterns! I always say my style is a mix of granny chic and romantic eclectic. I don’t think I am quite as traditional as the grandmillenial décor trend tends to lean. I love a good mix of floral patterns, velvet tufted chairs, embroidered artwork, and brass accents!

Let’s continue on the topic of your design philosophy - I know you are big fan of Thrifting and Facebook Marketplace - tell us why: My most favorite way to create my spaces is with the mix of old and new. A little bit classic with a little bit of trendy accents. I am the friend everyone calls when their grandma is downsizing to assisted living and all her belongings won’t fit in the new place. I have gorgeous pieces from my great aunt and grandmother’s homes. I treasure those pieces the most. Weekends, before Covid, I would be popping in and out of thrift stores looking for special pieces to layer into my home. Now I find myself endlessly scrolling facebook marketplace. I have found some real treasures on there and I find that most people selling on marketplace don’t know how good the piece they are selling is, so the prices are amazing! I TRULY feel thrifting is a key element when designing any home. Antique and Thrift Stores, Estate Sales and Facebook Marketplace are filled with unique well-made items that have withstood the test of time! I think it is what sets apart a truly curated home and space. I love the character, stories and soul these pieces bring to any home.

I think it’s so cool how your Mom Barbara is your design partner: My mother is a powerhouse. My girlfriends and I have a saying, “what would Barbara do?” and it applies to everything from life advice to designing. She is always ready to jump into any project with me. She is the person holding up the new artwork in all the spaces around the house that I want to envision it. She is the one painting my furniture in the garage while I work my 9-5. She is the one that comes on all my thrifting adventures. I’m beyond lucky, to have my design partner with me every step of the way. My daughter jumps in the mix too. She is 8 and a powerhouse too. She is ready to be my little design assistant every chance she gets. Her eyes light up when there is something that needs to be built! She is an engineer at heart. She’s been using a hammer and a learning her way around a drill since she was little. We are quite the design trio.

Last spring you created this amazing scallop detail around your family room entry. This detail created quite a wonderful stir on social media - the designer Emily Henderson took notice and started following you on Instagram. At the time you shared: I used a bowl from the cupboard, a pencil for tracing, some Valspar paint “dust bunny” and a small paintbrush to create this scallop detail.

Then Apartment Therapy shared your image in their feed garnering 44,793 likes and 278 comments. How has this share impacted your brand: It was really mind-blowing. I was so excited they even saw me and then to be shared - OH MY it was CRAZY!!!! And on top of that… they started following me. I mean you know this is so beyond in the amazing Instagram world to have such large inspirational companies and persons following you. I love Instagram ALOT I am excited to share more brand collaborations, easy diys, affordable decorating options and small shops that are producing some amazing products.

You have also been featured:

How to Paint a Scalloped Door Frame

“I’m so excited with the encouragement of family and friends to put my art out there! I’ve always doodled and painted - it’s just a natural extension of my creativity!”

— Aileen Grodzinsky

Plans for 2021: My next project is sharing my art. I have been working on building my inventory and I’m really looking forward to sharing it! I’ll give you one guess what I paint…that’s right, FLOWERS. They bring me so much joy, in my home, in a vase, in real life and still life and I can’t wait to bring joy to people’s homes and walls. It started with my daily doodles and I’m excited to take it to the next level. I would also love to continue inspiring my lovely followers!

Aileen launched her first collection Flirty Girls Floral Collection May 18, 2021 and her 12 original works sold out in 60 minutes through her Instagram stories!

Aileen thank you my sweet friend for letting me share you with my readers!

I really love how you aren’t afraid - with your training and a clear vision of what you want you go for it - in everything you create. You inspire me and so many around you!

You can find Aileen on Instagram.

Til next time friends be well!

Images: Aileen Grodzinsky

I’ve recently added a few design books here at the Chalet - I’m sharing these with you as well as others that should be in everyone’s collection. Here are my top 10!

Biblio-Style: This is a book I can really get behind - any book that is filled with images of other’s book collections brings a huge smile to my face!

Beata Heuman Every Room Should Sing: This book well GAH friends its delightful. The spaces are full of thoughtful design and they absolutely sing.

India Hicks A Slice of England: This book was on my want list for a while. Its filled with magical views of India’s home, her parents and grandparents.

A Place To Call Home: I knew images from this book before I realized there was a book I could purchase and drool over!

A House in the Country: This is the story of one building from concept thru the build to the breathtaking interiors.

Hygge & West Home: I loved learning about the creatives behind the spaces.

Heirloom Modern: A quiet tale of home and pretty treasures.

STYLED: Friends - I love this book because of its lack of pretense. Every space Emily Henderson shares is happy, inspirational and attainable.

Modern Mix: Eddie Ross has the best eye and his take on mixing old and new is legendary. He teaches us how to locate and bring home these treasures.