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Home Decor Interview:
Kallie Dalley from "All Things Thrifty"
Bargain hunters rejoice! Kallie Dalley from All Things Thrifty is here to show you that yes, Virginia, this IS a way you can decorate your home without breaking the bank. We know that money is tight these days, so we sought out Kallie for an interview, and we're very happy she obliged. Kallie specializes in design on a dime, and her popular blog is a testament to just how useful her advice is. Many bloggers claim to be thrifty, but Kallie (along with her blog-mate, Brooke) go the extra mile. You'll find tutorials and practical advice over there, and with your own hard work, they'll help you decorate a room you can be proud of, and one that people will swear was done by a professional. So let's not waste any more time. Let's talk to Kallie Dalley (yes, that rhymes)!
1. Hi Kallie, thanks so much for being with us
today. Please take a moment to tell us a bit about yourself, your
blog, and
anything else you'd like our readers to know about you.
Hey thanks for having me. I feel a little silly talking about myself. I guess you could say I don't like the spotlight much but here I am so I'll do me best do answer your questions and make it fun for your readers. I am a wife to Brian and have been for almost 6 years come May. I am a mom to Easton, who is a crazy, silly, darling, as boy as you can get 3 year old. I am also 5 months pregnant with baby number 2 due in the dead heat of summer. I love my family and spending time with them. Back in August my friend Brooke and I started a blog called All Things Thrifty. It is totally dedicated to showing people it is possible to decorate your house on a VERY thrifty budget and still have it look like a million bucks. We are full of tutorials with step by step instructions so you can do it yourself. If you haven't stopped by before please do. We would love to have you. We LOVE our readers! 2. First of all, congratulations are in order. How does it feel to have won the first week of the SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Decorate) blog's Accessories theme? What made you go with the pillow project, and how has the feedback been to your victory? Thanks so much. I have to be honest and say I was really surprised we won. I thought we would do well but there are a few other contestants that have a way bigger blog and following then we do. So I thought maybe they would take the cake. We encouraged our readers to vote for the project they liked the best not just for All Things Thrifty in general. I think a lot of the contestants did that also. So hopefully we won because people really liked what we did. Brooke and I were thrilled that we won. It made my day and Brooke's. We decided to go with the pillows because it was something everyone could do. I think most people have a throw pillow or 2 or maybe 100 like me ;) and sometimes we need/want a change without spending a lot. This post gave you the options to change them without a huge impact on the wallet but a drastic change to your pillow. It also included instructions on how to make a pillow cover. I think people liked that it was something they could do themselves, that it applied to anyone. The feed back has been great! People have left such nice comments and sent such sweet e-mails. Those comments and emails are what makes doing All Things Thrifty so fun. 3. As your title says, your blog is about thrifty decorating. We've featured lots of thrifty decorators before, but you and your blogging partner Brooke have a different spin on things. Most people we've met go rummaging through garage sales and flea markets, while you focus on upgrading, re-doing, and making accessories from scratch using cheap materials bought at your local yarn barn. What is the single ugliest item you've ever rescued from obscurity (whether for you or someone else), and what did you turn it into? And how? I was at the local thrift store one day and I saw what looked like a sofa table. I quickly went over to check it out. It had a price tag of 5 bucks. I was thrilled with my purchase. When I got it home my husband informed me it was a huge stand for a large aquarium...No wonder it was in such rough shape. I got it home sanded it down, put a new stain and some polyurethane and she was gorgeous!! I found an old shutter to put in the top part where the fish tank would have sat. So for 10 bucks I have a pretty piece of junk!! 4. One goal my husband and I set for 2010 was to "de-clutter" our home. There are people who specialize in cleaning up clutter professionally, and with good reason. Why do you feel clutter is such a huge decorating mistake, and what are some basic principles people should follow if they want to clean out the clutter in their homes this year? I think when we have clutter we don't realize how restraining and draining it can be to us. I know when I take the time to de-clutter and organize a room I feel lighter, more happy, less stressed. Clutter is a decorating mistake for that reason. I also think when you have to much stuff you loose the "wow" factor of some of your pieces. Peoples eyes look right over it because there is so much to look at. It's like sensory over load. I say simplify your life and your home!! 5. Let's talk spray paint, shall we? We once took a silver mirror and spray painted it chocolate brown, and sold it on Craigslist to a couple who absolutely loved it. Please tell us about some of the magic you've worked with spray paint? And if there's a cheaper, more effective decorating tool than spray paint, please let us know! I love love love me some spray paint. It can solve almost any decorating dilemma in my book. I've spray painted just about everything. Right now I have curtains out in my garage that are being spray painted in the pattern I want. I also have a plant that I am spray painting for my babies room. I've spray painted ceramic vases, metal, lamps, hardware, furniture. You name it. The thing with spray paint is it can take something old and make it new again to you with only a couple bucks. Who doesn't love that?? 6. Many of the ideas you present are miraculous. However, one reason many people hold back on frugal projects is that they can't afford to hire someone to do the labor. For people reading this who aren't handy or good with a tool set, how do you recommend they find someone to do the labor inexpensively? Should they bite the bullet and learn the task themselves, or are there other, cheaper ways? The best way to save money is to do it yourself and trust me YOU can do it your self. We get emails all the time from people saying they never dared try a project until they read our blog and now they are addicted to projecting. Once you start you realize how fun it can be. I also think it's a fun thing to start doing with your spouse. The men feel handy while the women feel like a decorating goddess. I don't know about you but my marriage can always use a little more attention now that we have kids. It's hard to spend time together doing something we both enjoy and with projects we get too. I think most the stuff we do on our blog (with a few exceptions) don't require serious handy skills. We try to keep it that way so everybody can do them. 7. Amidst the real estate tumble, many people, like you, are smartly renting and waiting for the right opportunity. However, does the fact that you're renting feel like it's holding you back, since your home isn't really "your" home? Do you feel restrained because you know you won't be living there permanently? And are you saving some big projects for when you finally do have a place to call your own? Ummm can we get a big fat YES on that question. It's hard for me to have a desire to "really" decorate and make this house my own when it simply isn't my home. It is restraining because where we live is nice for a rental and what we pay BUT it's not me. The style doesn't reflect me and who I am. I think that is what finally makes your house your home is when it reflects you and who you are. I have a folder marked "house Ideas" it is full of all the projects that I will tackle when I have a house of my own. I have big plans in my head now I just need the house to make the visions become reality. 8. You've spoken of your desire to go to Europe one day. Since you are still so young, and still have so many great places to see, do you think that going to Europe would give you a whole new dimension of decorating skills? A lot of people have gone to, say, Paris and come back with a slew of new decorating ideas after what they've seen there. Does the thought of going there excite you, and do you see yourself and your passions going in a new direction as you grow older and see more of the world? For me, my style and taste have changed a lot as I'm still figuring out who I am in some ways. As I said before I think your home needs to reflect you and who you are as a person. I think as we go through life, people, places, experiences, challenges we have, all impact who we are. So yes I think traveling Europe and seeing it would have an effect on my decorating and give me new inspiration. 9. I've often told my husband that even if we won the lottery tomorrow, I'd still shop at Ross and TJ Maxx. If you were to become wealthy tomorrow, would you still look for cheap finds and renovate them, or would you indulge and buy the most expensive, upscale accessories you could find? Or maybe somewhere in between? Here is the thing with me... I love a deal BUT I am a huge believer in quality. I like my big pieces of furniture to be timeless. Something I can have for a long time and they don't look dated. So for those items I don't mind spending a little extra for quality. That being said I don't think it is in my blood to not shop thrift stores, discount stores, craigslist etc. I love giving new life to old things... I think it's just apart of who I am. Hopefully winning the lottery would just give me a few more spaces to decorate like a cabin, vacation houses. etc Now that would be fun to do each one with a different style. 10. I'm sorry for asking so many questions, Kallie! We could go on and on and ask you a million things, but we'll stop here. Thank you so much for your time. For this last question, please tell us about what it was that first sparked your passion for decorating? I have always been a very visual and creative person. In school I always did really well in art and English but not so great in Math, especially algebra. I just never understood why you were doing what you were doing. When I was younger I always took things and tweaked them a little to use as something else. My mom never understood how my brain worked. When I was creating things it was like an out for me. It was something that made me feel happy and fulfilled. Still to this day it is something I like to do to clear my head. It's my therapy. Thanks again for having me. I hope it was worth reading ;) A huge THANK YOU to Kallie for sharing her time with us and allowing us to learn more about her and her blog, All Things Thirfty. Be sure to check her out and stop by today. Thanks Kallie! Return to Decorator Interviews Return to Decor Medley Home |
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