Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamieka Green.
Tamieka, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always had a love for beautifully decorated spaces, architecture, and real estate. My love for interior design started as far back as age 5 or 6. I remember going to visit my grandma in Tampa, FL and being completely in love with how immaculately decorated their home was. I remember the beds were made to perfection and accented with lots of beautiful pillows and bedding. Each morning I’d get up and try to make the bed the same exact way she had it when we got there… and I guess it stuck. She did a great job at decorating AND she was naturally very artistic. Many of her watercolor paintings, oil paintings, and pencil drawings were hung throughout the house (and ours!). Every room was so well thought out… so well put together. I loved the feeling I got when I was there. It was a feeling that I wanted to always have. I remember growing up thinking that my grandparents were “RICH”! I guess, in my (young) mind, if you had a place that nice you were definitely rich! Now knowing better, I realize that it was the way that my grandmother decorated that made them appear to have lots of money. I definitely took on that trait. One thing that separates my business from others is I that I do my best to create spaces that look like my clients have spent a lot more than they actually did. This little trick has brought me a long way. I inherited my grandmother knack for decorating AND her artistic qualities. I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Master’s Degree in Art Education. I taught art at the elementary level for years before considering Interior Design and Home Staging as an actual business. I had always kept my own home decorated and loved helping others put their spaces together. After a while, it kind of made sense to make a business out of it. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that though. I wasn’t sure if I was good enough. I thought about going back to school to study interior design, but after all the years I had spent working on my undergrad and graduate degree, I couldn’t force myself to go back. So I went online and viewed the curriculums of interior design programs at several colleges and found the required textbooks for their classes and bought the books from Amazon… I taught myself. Then, I would go online and look at interior design pictures for hours and became inspired by many different designers. One summer, I went out on a limb and reached out to a couple of established designers in Atlanta and asked them if I could intern/shadow them for the summer while I was off. Two of them agreed. I loved every second of it and I got the behind-the-scenes view of how an interior design business functioned. It became VERY clear (that summer) that interior design was my passion. And after becoming more confident from the knowledge and experience I gained, my business quickly flourished. Before I knew it, one client turned into plenty. I had my hand in everything “design” from staging million dollar properties for real estate agents, to designing spec homes in the prestigious Buckhead area, to renovating commercial spaces, and even working as an independent contractor designing homes for one of Georgia’s award-winning homebuilders.
After years of juggling teaching and designing, it came to be too much. Teaching was my comfort zone and my love, but I discovered quickly that interior design was my true passion. After my 10th year of sharing my love for art with little ones, I took a leap of faith and resigned from teaching in order to run my interior design/home staging business full time. Now here I am… walking in (what I believe is) my purpose.
My grandmother was a big influence in my growing love for interior design. Her artistic talents got passed to my mother, which in turn got passed on to me… So I’ve always felt that I owe them both for this “gift”. I wanted them to be reflected in the business, so when I revamped the business in 2014, I renamed the it using their maiden names… and that’s how the name Gregg Lewis Interiors was derived.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One of the biggest challenges I had was trying to build my business while teaching full time. I wanted to be the best at both. I wanted to continue to give 100% to my job as an educator (I would have felt guilty had I given my students anything less), but I also wanted to put 100% into my business to see how much further it would go. I was running off of 4 hours of sleep a night for a long time in order to balance both. It eventually started taking a toll on me, not only did I love the kids, teaching was my bread and butter. I had a sure paycheck twice a month and, as a single mother, I needed that security. But at the same time, I really felt that the very second that I felt that I was giving less than my all to one of my jobs, I knew it was time to make a decision on which one to let go of.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Gregg Lewis Interiors – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Gregg Lewis Interiors is an Atlanta based Interior Design firm specializing in residential and commercial design. We also specialize in Home Staging for Real Estate Agents and Home Builders. While the bulk of our clients live in, build, or are selling luxury homes, we proudly offer affordable design services to everyone. We pride ourselves on the ability to make a space look expensive without breaking the bank. We believe that interior design has a tremendous influence on all people in their everyday lives, so we want to ensure that having a beautiful home is accessible to everyone.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Gregg Lewis Interiors would definitely love to grow as a business and gain more clients and as well as employees.
We are also looking to expand our Home Staging division. We now carry our own home staging inventory and no longer have to rent furniture and accessories from 3rd party vendors when staging homes. In the future, we’d like to become a company that rents inventory to other designers and home stagers for their staging jobs.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.GLewisInteriors.com
- Phone: 404-907-3255
- Email: Designer@GLewisInteriors.com
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