FLORIDA MOM MAGAZINE - September '08 - Eileen Groblewski - Queen's Harbour DelightBy: Michele Gillis
 When you first enter Eileen Groblewski’s home in Queen’s Harbour Yacht and Country Club community you are intrigued.
The mixture of old and new accessories, come together nicely to create a very welcoming and comfortable atmosphere. “I would say it’s eclectic,” said Groblewski. “I have things from Pottery Barn, Scan Design and antiques stashed here and there. I collect old signs, so they are displayed here and there. My color scheme is very neutral, because I feel like that doesn’t age very much and I can change it with accessories and art. I do want it to feel current. I don’t want it to feel like I’m going into my grandmother’s house. I change little things to make it fresh.”
Growblewski’s house is not overwhelmed with accents, but each piece is placed with a lot of thought. “I don’t like lots of details,” said Groblewski. “I like clean lines and simplicity. I just like it to feel comfortable and not stuffy. I don’t want it to be traditional.”
As you enter the house, you notice Growblewski switched the formal dining-room and living room areas. “My dining room and living room are swapped out, but I did that on purpose,” she said. “We just decided to swap them out because we weren’t going to have very many formal meals. Everything in the dining room is off center because it’s not meant to be a dining-room, it’s meant to be a living room which has a lot more play into it. Nothing is in the center. The window is off center, so I put the table off center and it makes it all work.”
Her kitchen was designed with a counter top and bar dividing it from the living room, which allows for easy entertaining. “The kitchen is small for a family of five, but it is very open,” she said. The kitchen is accented by an island she bought at Cottage by the Sea in Jacksonville Beach.
The family room furniture is black leather and she loves it. “It takes a beating and keeps on ticking,” she said. “The rustic look of my coffee table is very in right now. You can do anything you want to it and you can’t ruin it. It feels great with kids. I’ve had very nice cocktail table, where I was like ‘Ok, nobody touch it. You can look at it, but don’t actually use it.’ We are going a different route now.”
Growblewski finds her accessories everywhere. “I’m not above buying a little table at Target or going to nicest furniture store in town,” she said. “I’ve gone to antique stores and even Goodwill. Some people only like to buy from the best, but I like the hunt.” Her kitchen table, which was imported from Italy, was bought from a very contemporary furniture store Chicago. She buys her old signs from Ebay and antique stores.
Growblewski is married to Dan, a neurologist at Memorial Hospital.
They have three children, Alex, 19; Danny, 9 and Sam, 7. Her husband’s family had a pharmaceutical company during the depression and she has old advertising from there as well. “It started me looking at old advertising and I love when the have old phone numbers on them,” she said.
She feels it is important for everyone to know who they are and what their style is, so when they are out shopping, they know what they are looking for.
“Shop sales,” she said. “I kept a little notebook for a while with my colors and sizes. Now it’s just in my head. Most people can dress themselves fairly well and buy what they like. It’s the same thing. If you buy what you like, even if you can’t place it or work it in, maybe someone can help you place it.
Just like you don’t need someone to dress you, you really don’t need someone to do your house. The Home & Garden television channel has really pushed home design way into middle America. It gives you a lot of ideas and the confidence of seeing other people do it, so you can do it yourself as well.”
Growblewski said you do not need a huge budget either. She painted her entire house, except for her stairwell, herself to save money. “The worst thing that can happen is that you have to repaint,” she said.
Another trick she has up her decorating sleeve is to think out of the box and use things in ways they weren’t intended to. “In my bathroom, I wanted a chrome planter and I couldn’t find one, so I have a chrome tissue box turned upside down stuffed with a plant,” she said. “My bar stools are commercial grade. It’s hard to find contemporary pieces in Jacksonville. There was a point when I would be afraid to buy a commercial piece, but not anymore. Think out of the box and look in different places rather than your typical furniture store.” In her living room, she uses a wooden cradle that has been in her husband’s family for years as a magazine rack.
When you enter her backyard you are surrounded by lush greenery overlooking the water. She has two chairs sitting out there where she and her husband go to refresh. “We just want it to feel like we were on vacation,” she said. “I love sitting in those chairs looking out over the water or back up at the house. I forget how much nicer my house looks from that angle.”
Growblewski has taken her eye for interior design to a new level. She opened her own business, Sawgrass Interiors, and is now doing staging and redesign. “I took a staging class and really liked it,” she said. “This is the year I really want to do something with it.”
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