Styling Your Kitchen

May 27, 2020May 26, 2020Leave a comment

So, you’ve all scrolled through Pinterest kitchens and wondered why yours doesn’t look like that, right? Well today I want to change that for you! I have some tips and tricks below on how you can make your kitchen look designer – even if the cabinets, back-splash and appliances aren’t. I want to show you then my apartment kitchen for fun and where I found certain pieces. Let’s get started!

De-Clutter

To allow the eyes to see simplicity and beauty, they have to see less and the bones of what is there making a space. In any kitchen, clear as much off the counter as you can. If you can’t, make sure each item is strategically placed, and accordingly placed. In my kitchen I have my Kitchen Aid stand mixer in the small corner, right next to the cabinet of baking ingredients. The opposite corner our toaster oven is placed right next to the bread bowl. Some big appliances need to be on the counter, but as long as they aren’t all next to each other it won’t look cluttered.

2. Stylize in Groups

This trick may contradict ‘de-cluttering’, but you can’t set one thing out and allow for it to work on its own. Styling the items you have in your kitchen should be done in pairs, or groups. Like I mentioned with the toaster oven being next to the bread bowl, I paired the two together so it would look more cohesive. I also did this next to the stove top with my salt and pepper shakers and oils. Things that are used often can be left out and styled together to create a flow of design. I then added in little decor elements here and there like a faux plant next to my mixer and a utensil pot on the other side of the stove.

3. Be You

None of the items I used to stylize my kitchen were purchased for that reason. Every appliance and cooking item was bought before because I love to cook and bake fun things! The couple decor pieces were things I picked up knowing I wanted some gold, and green in my kitchen. The two open shelves I have are versatile to style and in any kitchen it should be styled to who the person is. If you are more simple, you may have nothing on your counter, or if you love to entertain you may have more plates and bowls on display. Create a space that is designed for you!

Of course if you would ever like some help on stylizing your kitchen, or any part of your home, you can email me at gretaleedesigns@gmail.com. I hope this post brought you some inspiration. Thanks for stopping by! XO, G

Furnishing an Apartment – On a Budget

May 4, 2020July 21, 2020Leave a comment

Hi everyone! I’m back today and wanted to share a different kind of post with you all. I recently have been working on a super fun design project, furnishing my future apartment! I’ll be moving in the next week with my boyfriend and thought it would be fun to share the process of designing and purchasing our items for the living room and bedroom. I’ll of course be sharing the final reveal once the time comes. But for now, let’s get started on my vision, price point, and top finds of the space!

Combining two styles to reflect your space. So my boyfriend and I sort of have different styles. I like things to look more upscale, traditional yet modern, with lots of decorated accents. He on the other hand is more minimalist, and much more into the more modern, clean lines look. Our apartment lays out both our styles very well, thankfully. The space is open, white cabinets, gray counters and lightly colored walls.

I knew I wanted the living room to reflect the apartment style, so I’m keeping with gray colors and adding a pop of navy. Since I already had a more modern coffee table, I wanted to find pieces that coordinated well with it, but matched a more traditional look, while feeling upscale. You’ll see below how I did that with a few of the items I found! For our bedroom though, both my boyfriend and I wanted it to feel more cozy and not necessarily match the same style and colors as the rest of the apartment. I went with a completely opposite color selection of creams, taupe and burnt orange. The style is more modern, but the colors and accents will make it feel upscale. You’ll see below the two finds that also kept us on a budget!

Living room finds.

My favorite piece that I can’t wait to put in the living room is this navy velvet bench with brass legs! It was on sale for a little over $100, so it was a very budget friendly piece that kept us on budget. I have it linked here below.

Bedroom finds.

The two pieces of furniture for our bedroom that really kept us on budget were the bed frame and night stands. Our bed frame is very modern and somehow we found one around $200, after all the others looked to be double that price. Then for our nightstands, I didn’t want to spend a lot on them knowing I would probably want different ones eventually. So we found them at Target and had to assemble them ourselves. The assembly was worth the lower price! I have both our bed frame and nightstand linked here below.

I wanted to share a few of the pieces we found, and in the next month I will share a full reveal with more details of what else we picked out and where it was from! If you have any questions or are wanting to know how to shop for your space, you can contact me here through the blog on my contact page.

Thanks for stopping by, XO G

French Inspired Laundry Room

August 28, 2019August 27, 2019Leave a comment

Hi again! I’m really excited to share this design with you all today. It’s the laundry room! Laundry isn’t always the most exciting chore to get done, so of course the room had to be fun. This laundry room design board was inspired by an old world french aesthetic. I knew I wanted to do a fun wallpaper, something that would bring life into the space. I tend to gravitate more towards traditional, yet sophisticated prints when designing for myself. This wallpaper took some digging, but it worked out perfect for the vision I have.

I chose inspiration for the floor tile, cabinet color and hardware, as well as the wood counter top. I want there to be a place to fold clothes in the laundry room and I think the butcher block style adds an unexpected touch and picks up on the darker colors in the wall paper and hardware. The lantern is also a whimsical element to the space, bringing in extra light. It’s a fun space, for doing a not so always fun chore, but that’s how I like to work! What does your dream laundry room look like?

Everything is linked below. Thanks for stopping by! XO, G

Pottery Barn Bolton Lantern – Graham & Brown Wallpaper in Bordado Aegean – Walnut Butcher Block Inspiration – Tile Bar Brushed Stone Floor Tile in Athens Gray – Cabinet Inspiration – Home Depot Liberty Charmaine Cabinet Hardware in Bronze – Kingston Brass Faucet in Oil Rubbed Bronze – Whitehaus Sink

Luxury Powder Bath

May 17, 2019May 18, 20192 Comments

Hi everyone and happy Friday! It is finally my summer and I am excited to start bringing more and more content to you all. I have a dream floor plan stored away, so through the summer I will be going from room to room creating design boards for inspiration. I’m starting today off with this powder bath! Since it’s a smaller space and not used as often from day to day, I wanted it to have a bold look. I love the dark emerald green color with the black and gold accents. This vanity is an art piece in itself and I wanted it to be a large focal point. The shelf adds the option to store items or add more decor elements. Let me know what you think! Everything will be linked below.

Thanks for stopping by! XO, G

Pottery Barn Clarence Apothecary Vanity – Tile Bar Highland Nightglow Marble Tile Flooring – Restoration Hardware Shelf – PB Stella Mirror – RH Albans Sconces – RH Odeon Fringe Chandelier – Benjamin Moore Gondola Ride Wall Color

Fun Pastel Girl’s Room

January 7, 2019January 7, 2019Leave a comment

Welcome to 2019! This year is all about the launch of Greta Lee Designs. Greta is my first name, and Lee is my middle name. All of these designs are finally coming together as what I envisioned, if I even really knew what that was, but I am proud of the content, and I hope you are loving it too!

So here is my first design, officially branded with my name, greta LEE designs! This is a fun room for a little girl, which she could also grow with through age. I kept the headboard, furniture and accent pieces more feminine so that a 5 year old could be in this room, or a 16 year old. The bedding would probably be the first thing I would change out, if wanted, with age.

Everything was found either at Target, Crate&Kids, PotteryBarnKids and the artwork is by Minted. I’ll have everything linked below as always. Thanks for stopping by and following along with the start of greta LEE designs! xo, G

Target Upholstered Headboard – Crate&Barrel Desert Flora Bedding – Target Faelene Nightstand – Target Faelene Dresser – Target Hadley Tufted Chair – Target Opalhouse Pouf – Target Safavieh Rug – Target Curtains – Target Pillowfort Lamp – Crate&Barrel Dream-catcher – Minted Wall Art from PBK – Minted Bike Art from PBK – PotteryBarnKids Gold Shelf – Benjamin Moore Fond Memory Paint Color

*not a sponsored post. all images are from linked sources.*

Happy Holidays: Tree Decor

November 23, 2018November 21, 2018Leave a comment

Hi everyone and happy Holidays! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends. With the holiday season in full swing and the snow on its way here in Minnesota, it has started to feel like Christmas to me already! I had my tree up and decorated before Thanksgiving… So today I wanted to bring you some Christmas inspiration and share a few different looks I found on Pinterest. The three colors I chose seem to be the most classic for Christmas when it comes to decorating, red, white, and blue.

Take a look and let me know which one is your favorite! Thanks for stopping by, xo G

Pink Peonies

The Ivory Lane

Blue Gray Gal

All pictures from linked sources through the image.

Sunday Blues: Bathroom Edition

March 11, 2018January 3, 20191 Comment

And just like that another week is ahead of us! Sundays are bittersweet to me. I’m usually not up to anything, just preparing for the school or work week, hoping it’s another good one! So in spirit of today’s ‘feeling blue’, here is an inspiration look of a blue styled bathroom I put together. Everything will be linked below according to the description name.

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My favorite place to find fun tiles is online at tilebar. There’s always a fun pattern to try and incorporate into a design. The vanity itself is also set as an inspiration. I like to make more counter space if possible. It would be painted a darker navy to pick up on the detail in the floor tile and the pulls would be exchanged for knobs. All other details are from a few other places I like to check out when designing.

Here’s to a new week! xo, G

shower wall tile • shower floor tile • mirrors • faucet • vanity & wall colors • main floor tile • vanity • crystal knobs

*all images from tilebar, Benjamin Moore, Pottery Barn, Kohler, Home Depot, Lowe’s*

Spring Decor Refresh

March 5, 2018Leave a comment

Spring is almost here! When the seasons start to change, I find it to be the perfect time to refresh your home’s look. Not every budget allows for a total makeover though. Pillows, throw blankets and small accents can be easy and affordable items to bring in and change up your home’s look. Here are some items pieced together from Pier1 imports that have a fresh spring design to them, but could also be placed all year long.

: Decorative Pillow

: Throw Blanket

: Accent Table

: Blue Decorative Pillow

: Coral Decorative Pillow

: Driftwood Bowl

Everything is linked below, including filler options for the driftwood bowl. I hope this gave you some spring inspiration! Leave a comment below if you have questions or want to share your favorite part about spring.

xo, G

Decorative Pillow • Blanket • Accent Table • Blue Pillow • Coral Pillow • Driftwood Bowl

Filler Option 1 • Filler Option 2 • Filler Option 3

*all pictures from Pier1.com* *not sponsored*

Valentine Look

February 23, 2018February 23, 20181 Comment

Today I am shopping online at a favorite place of mine, NordstromRack! February is all about pinks and reds, so here are a few great pieces you can pair together or separately.

: Red Sheath Dress

: Pink Ruffle Coat

: Pink Pointed Heel

: Red Mini Tote

– Red Sheath Dress – Pink Ruffle Coat – Pink Pointed Heel – Red Mini Tote –

New Year: Health & Fitness

January 2, 2018Leave a comment

Happy New Year! With that in mind I am sure everyone has a couple of resolutions they will try and make in 2018. It’s pretty cliche to put eating better and getting to the gym more at the top of the list, but hey we’re all in it together.

I’m always trying to be a little more healthier and make it to the gym at least three times a week. I was never one that wanted to fall for nutrition or workout supplements, but over the summer I came across a natural supplement line called WM Nutrition. I read a few posts about it and figured I would give it a try since I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted through my diet and exercise alone. Sometimes we need a little extra push, right?

After using WM Nutrition’s AdvantraSlim and Pre-Workout for about 5 months now, I can honestly say I have noticed a difference. I always start my day with one or the other. Most often I drink the AdvantraSlim before breakfast and will take the Pre-Workout in the afternoon if I don’t have time for a morning workout. Before taking AdvantraSlim I could never make it to lunch at noon, I’d have to have some sort of snack mid-morning. For some that may work, but I eat a larger breakfast that should keep me full. Now I don’t find myself getting so hungry before lunch is even close. As for the Pre-Workout I can last a lot longer at the gym without crashing on the treadmill only 30 minutes in. With both of the products containing natural caffeine I feel more energized throughout the day when taking either of them and they don’t make me jittery. I notice myself burning out sooner through my day if I happen to skip a supplement. There is a caffeine free option too though if you want to try that!

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about my experience using the products, or head to WM Nutrition to contact them. I see discount codes through social media, contact me if you’re really interested but hesitant about the price.

Sorry for the longer post, I just had to share how great this product has been for me. Happy New Year and good luck to sticking with your resolutions!