2B Bolder Podcast : Career Growth and Insights from Women in Business, Tech & Sports

#150 How Tamara Day Built Her Brand From Driveway Sales To HGTV

• Mary Killelea, Host • Season 6 • Episode 150

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Confidence radiates from doing something you're passionate about. Doing it for a living and building talent and vision over time is magic. I had the best time sitting down with award-winning designer and Bargain Mansions TV host Tamara Day to talk about her life before stepping onto the national platform of the Magnolia Network and HGTV. The successes are only part of her story; the heart of her commitment, grassroots community, and her choice of integrity over shortcuts really make her unique.

Tamara shares the unlikely chain of moments that led to television, plus the practical habits that kept her grounded once the cameras arrived. We get real about the early fear of filming, the shift from “we” to “I” without losing team spirit, and the tough but necessary rebrand from Growing Days to “Tamara Day” for SEO and discoverability. If you’re building a business around your name or wondering when to pivot a beloved label, this is a masterclass in listening to the data and keeping meaning in the details.

We also dig into her love for product design as a second act: creating shallow, wide fixtures for low ceilings, weaving scallops and soft curves across categories, and maintaining a cohesive color story across multiple manufacturers. Tamara explains how she balances creative intuition with business strategy, when to pause a collaboration that doesn’t feel right, and why long-term brand trust beats short-term hype.

You’ll leave with usable design ideas: set up a simple drop zone, add a front-door catchall, and try color drenching, one saturated hue across walls, trim, and even ceilings, for big impact on a budget. Tamara’s approach proves that patience compounds, partnerships multiply reach, and the best definition of success includes the freedom to step away for a month with your family.

Subscribe to 2B Bolder, share this with a friend who loves design and has ever wondered what it would be like to be a designer on HGTV.

Get the LinkedIn Visibility Foundation. Use coupon code: "BOLDER" to receive $50 off.

SPEAKER_02:

Hi there, my name is Mary Killaya. Welcome to the To Be Boulder Podcast, providing career insights for the next generation of women in business and tech. To Be Boulder was created out of my love for technology and marketing, my desire to bring together like-minded women, and my hope to be a great role model and a source of inspiration for my two girls and other young women like you. Encouraging you guys to show up and to be bolder and to know that anything you guys dream of is totally possible. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the conversation. One of the things I've learned from interviewing bold women across business tech and entrepreneurship is that confidence doesn't always come first. Often commitment comes first. My guest today is Tamara Day, the award-winning designer and host of Bargain Mansions on Magnolia Network and HGTV. Tamara is known for taking on big neglected homes and bringing them back to life with styles she describes as glam and cozy spaces that feel elevated, livable, and made for real families. Today's conversation, we're going beyond the before and after shots and talking about what it takes to lead with passion, build the brand, and stay grounded as your visibility grows. Tamara, thank you so much for being here. It's really I'm very excited about this conversation.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, thank you, Mary. I'm really excited about it as well. And what an introduction. That was lovely.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you. Okay. So I did a little homework before, and I learned you grew up working on your family's farm, and your dad taught you a lot of the skills that you have taken in to build your career. Walk us through uh, you know, your journey of, you know, working with your dad and making it to where you are today, which is a pinnacle for many.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, it it was really um my my love of design was from a lack of design, I believe. Um, growing up on a farm, it's not like I knew designers that worked around Celina, Kansas. And um, I'd never been in a home that was designed. And my parents were always just do-it-yourself kind of people. And so it really, I think started from a love of like, I remember babysitting for families and being like, ooh, I love their kitchen. That's so cute, and things like that, um, really inspiring me. And then when I left home and I had that farm girl mentality of like, I can make anything, like you just there's a way to figure it out. What's the worst that can happen? You know, it breaks or whatever. And so I just have always been a do-it-yourself kind of person and get it done. And so when we, my husband and I bought our first home, it was a short sale, it was in really bad shape. And we started cleaning it up, fixing it up, doing a lot of the work on the nights and weekends and and all those good things. And I just fell in love with design and um with the invention of social media. I think I think social media gets such a bad rap for all the negative things, but I think it is berlient for so many things. And one of them, if I had had Instagram back in the day or Pinterest back in the day, I would have had a whole different career path because I was 40 years old before I started designing for other people. Wow.

SPEAKER_02:

I agree with you completely because the inspiration that comes from social media in the especially those two channels that you uh listed is incredible. And the access that now people have to designers like you is incredible too. Um, but I think one thing that I love about it is is the commitment that your answer kind of talked about. I mean, like you're working and then you come home and you're doing all the work till you sleep and wake up and go to work and then come home. I mean, like it takes a lot to do what you and your husband did. Oh my gosh, yes.

SPEAKER_00:

It was it was a ton of work. It was really tough. But at the same time, I love I love the physicality of it. I love getting in there and getting it done. And like there's something to be said for like sweat equity and labor of love. Like it's it's really joyful to be able to do something like that for yourself.

SPEAKER_02:

Before the show and the brand and the recognition, you were uh simply learning. So you were kind of building your skills. How important was the season of building and doing it quietly before like all the fanfare and and visibility came?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I look back on that as probably my favorite time. Um, I loved that. My boys were really little when I first started. We had bought our current house, um, forever house in the first bargain mansion. It was a short sale, it was five dumpsters of trash before demo. Like demo hadn't even started, and it was five dumpsters of trash that the previous owner had left behind. And it was cats living in it, just total filth. And when we were renovating it, it was 2008, and halfway through my my husband's day job was in the financial world, and Lehman Brothers and AIG fell, and the whole financial world collapsed. At the time, we owned, I think, a dozen rental properties that we had fixed up and were renting, and all of a sudden, overnight, his his main income dropped 90%, and all of our real estate was worthless, right? It was very stressful. And we had three babies that were three, two, and brand new, and I was staying home. It was super tough and a stressful time. And so we were halfway through this renovation and I just started doing the work myself. And while that I would not want to live through again, that was pretty hard. That was the tough times. Once we did get it done and we moved in, um, I started, I was like, well, I need furniture now. I've got this giant house with nothing in it. And so I started painting furniture that I'd be buy at garage sales and estate sales. And the boys and I had so much fun during that time. It was just the best. And we call it the driveway days because that's where we lived was in the driveway. And we were, I was taking them to estate sales every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and dragging home a minivan full of stuff. And then we'd spend the rest of the week painting in the driveway. And it was just wonderful. And through that, we started doing these big sales at my house twice a year. It was this open house. And I harnessed all the moms that I knew that were selling bags and jewelry and oil or whatever it might be. And um, everybody'd get a little booth in the house and I'd move out the stuff I wanted to keep and I'd bring in all new stuff, and we'd open the doors and have somewhere around a thousand people come through in a weekend. And it was so much fun. And it was just some of the best days. Those it was exciting, low stress, just really fun times. And my boys were with me the whole time. Um, and then my name got out there because I had renovated our house during the Tuscan phase, but I had done it in a white kitchen with open shelves and subway tile. Like this new idea. And um, and so that's when my design business started, is because of those sales, people were seeing my kitchen, seeing what I'd done that was so not what was being done, and wanted me to to help them. And so it just kind of grew from there. But I look back at that at that time and I I just I have nothing but fond memories. It was awesome, it was a mess, but it was awesome.

SPEAKER_02:

I love how it evolved. Did you have any inkling like when you were having people come through your home, like, oh, I'm gonna show off my kitchen or I'm gonna show off this?

SPEAKER_00:

No, no, no. All I wanted to do was buy a new couch. I was like, I hope I sell enough crappy old furniture to buy a new couch.

SPEAKER_02:

One man's treasures, right? Or trash is another man's treasures, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. So, and it was really fun. It was like the thrill of the hunt and finding the cool thing and bringing it back and just filling the house in a new way every time was was super fun.

SPEAKER_02:

What did those early days teach you about risk and resilience? And then, I mean, partnership from your husband to like, okay, seeing what other partnerships could open up with whether that's with the women you partnered with, etc.

SPEAKER_00:

It was all about the partnership. You know, my husband was very patient in letting us have a bunch of crappy old furniture everywhere, um, twice a year, having a thousand people walk through our house. Like, that's not normal. Um, but it he knew how much fun we were having and he didn't mind it and enjoyed and helped. And so that was awesome. And then the partnerships with the other moms. I mean, that was truly how it worked, is because I didn't know a thousand people that wanted to come buy furniture, but I knew a dozen moms. And if each of us brought a hundred people, we had a hundred new people we knew, right? Each, like I'm bringing you my hundred, they're bringing me their hundred. And so that's how you you harness that mom mom preneur spirit, and you get all the people there, and all the people that are just like us, just trying to figure out how to make their house look good. Um, and so, and it was also like the kind of perfect timing because the world was going through an economic crash, so nobody was going and buying fancy stuff and by like our price point was just that perfect price point of like it's it's a little bit of a splurge, but it's not like oh, I can't do that kind of feeling. You know, you can spend a hundred dollars and splurge here and there, and and if you have enough stuff, you can make some good money doing that.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh, grassroot growth, I think, is just the best. It's like gorilla marketing, you know, it's like when you have less and you make more with it, that's when it's really fun. Like you get creative.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. Exactly. I mean, we were putting up little little posters at every coffee shop and every preschool, had a stack of flyers, and it became an event people looked forward to because we had a food truck out front and we did music and signs, and it was just people were here to have fun. It was awesome.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. So a lot of women, especially now, I'm gonna say, with social media, looking at Instagram and Pinterest, they feel pressure that they have to arrive quickly. You know, they have these aspirations like, oh, I want to be the next host, you know, but they haven't done the work. And obviously, your journey, and most people who are really successful, I think the journey is in the doing that you know, you it looks like you were an overnight success, but you know, it took you whatever length of time to get there. To get there. Yeah. What do you tell women about patience?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh goodness. I mean, enjoy the ride. You know, I think that that's so true in so many parts of it, in mothering, in business, in just life. Just enjoy where you're at because I would do anything to go back to those driveway days, right? Like just to get to have those days back again. It was so much fun. And my boys love thrifting still when we travel, thrift together. It created such great memories. And my daughter now, too, she wasn't along for the driveway days yet. She was she was a a five-year add-on. And so she missed out on those early, early days of the business, and all she really remembers is the the TV world that we are part of, which is a fascinating you know, study in children. Like my boys have this whole other life memory of the the garage sales and the thrifting and you know, big wheels in the driveway. And she has this like film crew in her kitchen every day kind of memory. How did how did the television opportunity come about? Um, a lot because of those open houses. People were seeing it, getting my name out there. But then also my brother, um, I come from a handy family. We all do stuff. And my one brother was renovating a house downtown and met a casting person who introduced, she got his name, said, Would you want to do a commercial for something? And he was like, Oh, sounds fine, whatever. He gave her his number. And she called him five years later because Matt Antrim had moved back from LA and was a casting agent wanting to do an HGTV show in Kansas City. And um, she's like, So he talked to every casting person in town and was like, Do you know anybody that would that fits this? So she was just calling everybody she'd ever met, and she called him and said, Would you be interested in doing something like this? He's like, Nah, I'm good. But my other brother does some cool woodworking stuff. You might talk to him. And so she called him and Caleb met her and was like, Oh, yeah, I'd love that. That sounds fun. And she introduced him to Matt. Matt said, You're you're cool and all, but um, I can't make a TV show about woodworking. Thanks anyway. He's like, Well, I don't know what you're looking for. My sister does some house stuff you might think is cool. And um, and he looks me up on I think Facebook at the time. I don't think I had Instagram back then. And he was like, Yeah, I want to meet her. And so my brother tells me this guy wants to meet me and do a TV show. I was like, uh-huh, sure he does. How much is that gonna cost?

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And then um, before you knew it, I he talked to me. He's like, No, he's legit. You gotta talk to just just have coffee with him. I was like, okay, fine, sounds good. And so I met up with Matt, and two weeks later I got a call, and he is saying, I want to pitch you to the network. How about we film a little like hour here or there at your house just so they can kind of see who you are? And here we are, 10 years later. That's mind-blowing.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, it really is. The fact I love that story because it could literally happen. Granted, you have to have the skills, but like it literally could happen to anyone. What a what an awesome story.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, I like to tell people, you know, if you have two cute brothers that like you, you get a TV show. Like, that's all it took.

SPEAKER_02:

Um so obviously the television and larger visibility came into your life. And I want to talk about confidence because you were stepping into a world that was new to you. Even though you have all the talent in the world to do it, sometimes women need like our confidence to catch up when we step into new rooms.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, a hundred percent. Um, I mean, the first time we ever filmed in my house, I had a I had a face twitch right here. I'm like, I can't make my face stop twitching. This is so nerve-wracking. It's awful. I can't do it. So, how'd you grow into that? You know, um, the filming became second nature really, really fast because you trust the people you're around. And it's not like, you know, you're you're in front of a camera with a dozen people, but it's always the same dozen people. So, you know, I have lunch with them every day. I hang out with them all the time. Like I they're friends, I know they're families. Like it's I'm just talking to my friends, like it's not a big deal versus the the reality is I'm talking to millions of people inside that camera. Um, that's terrifying. And so it just became really that part became very, very easy, but by nature I'm more of an introvert. And so it was um initially very scary, but then quick because those people became friends quick, the day in and day out is not scary. It's it's the rest of it that's scary.

SPEAKER_02:

Do you remember the first time you were walking down the street and someone recognized you outside of your local group?

SPEAKER_00:

I remember the first time it was like really shocking. It was it was kind of shocking. And we were at like our favorite little Mexican place around the corner with my kids, and there was an older gentleman. I think I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt that he was hard of hearing because he was yelling across the restaurant. And my kids wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I'm with them. I was like, oh, that's super uncomfortable. Um that doesn't happen very often, but it was so loud and unexpected and new. We all were like very different. What are we supposed to do now? I don't know what to do now. Um and I think when it really became a bigger thing was during COVID. So I think I got I got a lot of grace period that that maybe other people don't get because season three was when we went on to HGTV and season three was the spring of 2000. So March of 2000, early March was when we aired, and we all know what happened, early March. And so I was wearing a mask everywhere. Nobody would nobody recognized me out and about because everybody was masking. So I got a little bit more lead time to to grow into it slowly, which was very nice.

SPEAKER_02:

So when it comes to and I I kind of want to just stick on the confidence thing a tiny bit more. Was there techniques or things that you told yourself, or or what did you do to feel confident?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I think the day in and day out, I knew I had the design. I I knew I could do the design. I didn't question my ability to design a beautiful house. And I I trusted my crew that um somebody said to me early on, and now I say it to every guest that comes on the show because they get nervous. And I'm like, look, there's a whole team of people in LA, and their whole job is to make us look good. You can't mess this up. Like, we you're never gonna look better than right here, right now, because this whole group of people is gonna make sure that that we both look awesome. So relax. Like, we've got this. You're doing awesome that you can't mess it up. And that really helped me in the beginning to feel like, oh, okay, that's true. They're not putting me on here to embarrass me.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Nobody's like wanting to catch me, you know, doing something stupid. And that took a minute to get used to, um, feeling like everything had to be perfect. And the gosh, it was tough though. Like it was very tough to be out in the world and have um have everybody the perception of everything being so perfect. But everything's very, very hard. It's a very hard job, and it's really grueling hours, and everyone's so excited. And like you said, it's the pinnacle. It's like this is what everybody dreams that they get to do, and I get to do it. And yet I'm exhausted, I'm worn out, I'm tired, I'm stressed, and all the all the hard, hard things that nobody can see. And so it was a matter of having that confidence to appreciate the positives and appreciate, like, wow, trying to take it in and be like, wow, I'm this tired, I'm working this hard, I'm I'm killing myself to make this happen, but I'm getting to live so many people's dream. And I try to never take that for granted.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. Um, what point did you say, okay, I need a team, and you decided you needed to start delegating so that you could focus on the growth of the business. And then how do you find good talent to support you? Because I'm sure everyone is lining up. Around the corner to say, Hey, I can help you out. I want to work with you.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I one of my favorite stories is how I hired Livy, my um manager. And it was season two. And I really didn't have a budget to pay anybody very much. And I had a very small, small team, but I needed, I just needed like admin help of just keeping up. Like I just couldn't keep up with like, oh my gosh, the insurance needs paid, or you know, whatever it might be, or pay the pay the phone bill. I don't know. Um, the all these little things that were just bogging me down while I'm doing all the other stuff. And um she had some, we we would get all of these requests. Like, I mean, we were getting resumes and requests for jobs daily. And um it was getting to the point where it was like, I felt like I should give everybody my time, but it was too much and overwhelming. And so we put together this very grueling process to even get to me of you have to do a one-minute video, you have to give five references, a cover letter, like all these things. And so we were just accepting them and and feeling like that would just weed anybody out. And I I got Livby's, and 99% of them that I'd get were people wanting to be designers, not wanting to be my admin or my bookkeeper, right? Like the things that I needed, they wanted to be me.

SPEAKER_01:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And so it was um kind of like okay, I saw her video and I I didn't give it the attention it needed because I thought, oh, she just wants to be a designer. I was like, ah, I don't get a designer vibe. That's not that's not it. And so I said, just tell her we'll pass. And she came back with a response of thank you for considering me. I'd like to give you some feedback. I put a lot of time and effort into this, uh, the video and my response because you have all these requirements. If you weren't ready to hire someone, why would you not be more respectful of people's time? And I was like, Well, now I want to meet you because I I really appreciated the not yes person.

SPEAKER_01:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And not like just tell me what I want to hear, and that she did it in a respectful way that was not, she didn't like upset me, she didn't make me feel lousy about what I like our process. She just said, I you might want to consider how much time people are putting into this and be more respectful of that. I'm like, I fair enough. That's fair. I was I will consider my process and I'll look at it a new new perspective. And so I hired her um as an office manager, super low, like I mean, embarrassing, I'm sure. And she's been with me now five or six, seven years like that. And she has worked in every part of my business and now does all of my talent management. And it's fantastic.

SPEAKER_02:

That's that's great. Um and the early days when when the TV deal came through, did you ever worry like it would be just a flash in the pants?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I assumed it would be, I think. Okay, I'm always surprised when we get to do it again. I I never expected any of this. And so that is such a great um surprise in life. Like you couldn't have told me a decade ago that this is where I'd be sitting and that I'd I'd be getting to do all the amazing things I get to do. Um not in a million years, I would have guessed this. And so, no, I I I still feel like I'm a flash in the pan. Are you kidding? It's it can all go away in a heartbeat.

SPEAKER_02:

No, I I love it. Um okay, so when did you realize you went from a designer to a brand? And what was that like internally do to you?

SPEAKER_00:

That was a tough one for me because um, like I said before, I'm a little bit more of the introvert and I'm not really um I'm a I'm an us kind of team person. The first two years I would have to repeat so many lines because I'd say, we did this, we did that. Like, Tamra did this, Tamra did that. Say I, I, I like that's maybe the most frustrating criticisms I will get is people watch the show and they're like, She says I all the time. I'm like, they make me.

SPEAKER_02:

I don't do that actually. But I think as women, we tend to do that naturally, no matter you know, whatever industry you're in. You never we were brought up to give other people credit right when we need to claim our own. So I think it's beautiful that they have you do that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, they they have done a great job of like, no, you did this. And I'm like, no, there's like 30 people that made this happen. I didn't do it. Are you kidding me? Um, it's always been important to me that the people around me feel appreciated in that way. I that they know I don't think I did it alone. And um, and so I'm I've I think I've lost track of what the original question was, but I think that that is one of the things that helps keep it grounded too.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I mean, I that's it goes back to the question of building a brand.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yes, the brand. So I that was really tough for me because my brand name starting out when I did the sales was Growing Days. My last name is Day. I had little kids, I was growing my days, and it felt meaningful. I loved it. It was the the aesthetic of it was very like home, garden, children. It was very, very fun and whimsical. Um, and I know early on they said you need to change it to Tamra Day design. And I'm like, that just feels icky, it just didn't feel good. And finally, after I think season four or four or five somewhere in there, the SEO just made it real obvious I didn't have a choice. Um, we had to move it from growing days to Tamra Day. And um, the when you look the numbers just they don't lie. Nobody's searching growing days, they're searching Tamara Day.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I mean, that's business, right? Right. And I think that's something that women who are listening have to understand when they're thinking about growing a business. Sometimes you do have to, you know, take what might be important to you, make tough decisions that are business sensible.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. And and we've we've still plugged my kids in. There's their logo is four little houses. And so there's still some intention behind it, but that was a tough decision. It felt very self selfish and self-serving, and I didn't love the feeling, but um I feel good about the decision. I know it was the right, right one for the business.

SPEAKER_02:

You've expanded into product lines, retail, partnerships, and digital commerce. What did you have to learn about yourself as a business warming woman during that expansion?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, it that's been so fun. I love product design so, so much. Um, I think it's my favorite thing I get to do. And um, it's been really interesting because I love so many different aesthetics. I love so many different looks and styles and feels. Um, but knowing that I'm not just making pretty things that I want to make, like I could just be a product designer without a name and work for a company and make stuff, but I am building a brand of things. And so there needs to be some continuity between the looks and feel of every product line, whether it's all in one brand that I'm working with or across multiple brands. And so my lighting line with Quorum, for example, has a very beautiful, it's feminine, curvy scallop texture. And then you've come over to Stylecraft, and my lamps and pillows and artwork has that same colorway and and the scallops, and you can see the thread between the product lines um in the wallpapers, the lamps, the the mirrors, whatever, whatever the products might be. And so um I'm really fortunate that I have partners that I really appreciate. Like Vera Luce has been amazing with my mirrors, and they really they look hard at the other product lines to make sure that there's consistency and and they all work together, even though they're completely different companies, they aren't um obligated to each other in any way, shape, or form. And yet we've built something that's collective and it's really nice.

SPEAKER_02:

I would imagine your journey and coming up and learning the product design and just the expansion of owning products was like getting an MBA in something like what an exciting opportunity.

SPEAKER_00:

It really is. I mean, it is so fun to be like, I need this is a product I need to have, and I can't find it. And to actually like design it and put it out into the world and solve a problem. I mean, that's amazing. Amazing.

SPEAKER_02:

Is that how products that you've worked with have started from?

SPEAKER_00:

Or a lot of them, yes. And so some of it's just I want this pretty thing and I haven't seen it anywhere, and let's make this pretty thing. But a lot of things like my my overhead lighting, one of my big things is I work in old houses. Sometimes they have low ceilings, you know, eight-foot ceilings, but they're these massive rooms, and so I end up with these light fixtures that are like this big or just a room full of can lights because you gotta have light, and you don't get to have that drama effect, and so a lot of my lighting with quorum is very shallow, specifically. So it could be hung very long in any space, but they're like 36 wide, but a super shallow, tight to the ceiling fit. So even in an eight-foot ceiling, you could have a statement light.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. That's how good design is done. Is is that a necessity?

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02:

How do you balance creative intuition with business strategy when making big decisions?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh gosh. I don't know that I've perfected that one yet. I'm still working on it. Um, I I think it just really depends on what the what the scenario is, because there's so many different things that you know, there's business strategy with um different brand partners. There's there's a brand partner right now that wants to do something that I love the idea, but I'm not loving what's coming out of it. And like the strategy behind that, I could move forward, I could move forward and create something with them that doesn't feel quite how I want it to feel, but and it's with a a great brand that I respect and admire and love. Um, but at the end of the day, I don't think it it doesn't feel like the other things I'm doing. And so that's that's something we've been trying to figure out what the the strategy and the creativity where where that goes. And so we're we're navigating it currently.

SPEAKER_02:

I love the integrity of the thought process that you're even talking about this as a real thing that you consider. So I think so many people get to a level where they just stamp their name on things and uh clearly I can see that's not your world.

SPEAKER_00:

I love doing it. I I mean I think I I probably shouldn't say it, but I I think I enjoy product design more than house design. It really is super satisfying. Um it's really fun to see it come to life.

SPEAKER_02:

And do you think that's part of like just evolution of you as a woman in your career?

SPEAKER_00:

I think so. I I think um I also really appreciate the um houses are stressful.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, they don't go, they don't do exactly what you say. It's kind of like children. And um contractors are don't always do exactly what you ask them to do, or something shows up broken, or you know, there's a lot of stress that comes along with design and and home renovations. Um, and not that product design doesn't have its stresses. I mean, all of a sudden you're tariffed and all the product you've just designed in one country has to get moved to a different country and figure all the pathways out. So there's definitely stresses, it's not as um personal though. It's a little less personal when it's product design because it's not in it's it, you know, the the troubles are long before it's in someone's house. Right. Once it's in somebody's house, it has a lot more heart and meaning. And so it's um more stressful for everyone involved when it doesn't go perfectly.

SPEAKER_02:

Um, success looks different at different stages of your life. How has your definition of success changed as your career and family has evolved?

SPEAKER_00:

I was just recently thinking about this. Um, I remember how exciting it was when I first started getting invited to go speak places and go to brands headquarters and do all this. And I was like, hop on a plane, let's go, let's go. And um can't wait to go check this thing out and go to that factory. And while I still do love, I really do love going and seeing factories and and all of our brand partners and the times that I get to do that, um, it's just gotten to the point where I could be gone all the time. And I really, really, really appreciate being home now. And so I make a lot more priority of like, we're not gonna go for a whole week, we're gonna go for two nights and we're gonna bust it out. Uh we're gonna get up early, work late, and get home. Um, but I think before I I really valued the excitement of getting to do all these new fun things. And now success to me looks like I still want to go hop on a plane. I just want to go someplace with my kids. Uh and so success for me is every summer we take a month-long vacation and we go serve for um the young life uh camps in Europe, someplace in Europe, wherever they need us. And so my kids and I will work for a week and then we'll take three weeks and get an Airbnb someplace. That's pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_02:

That sounds like memory making.

SPEAKER_00:

It's perfection. It's worth working 11 months to get to go do it.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, right. See, that's the the carrot at the end. Exactly. Uh, what's one belief about yourself that you had to unlearn in order to grow into this chapter of leadership?

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know that I ever thought of myself as a leader. That wasn't on my bucket list. It wasn't something I had very much experience in. And so I've had to learn how to grow into that role and like not not need everyone up in everyone around me's opinion to be the same as mine. Like it's still my business, and I am making the final decision. And so leaning into that has been a big challenge.

SPEAKER_02:

Um, selfishly, I have to ask this. Um, what are a few design principles for someone who doesn't have a big budget but can be current um today?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh gosh. Um well, I have a new book that just came out. So I would say not a big budget, it's totally worth the splurge because there are so many tips and tricks in there. Um, we have checklists for every room in the house and of what you can do. And a lot of it talks about like the big budget items and the small budget. So if you're living in an apartment, if you're living in a mansion, there are tidbits that you can take away from the book and apply in your own home. Things like, you know, do you have a drop zone when you walk in the house? And when you when you first walk in, like I walk in from the garage and I've got my keys, I've got my shoes, I've got my coat. Where does it all go? And what is that process that makes life easier for you? And so, like being intentional with a key rack that's right there so you don't lose your keys and having a spot that your shoes can go. It doesn't have to be fancy, it doesn't have to be a big mud space. We don't have a big mud space. Um, I had one, it was a mess. We got rid of it. I turned it into a banking pantry because the kids just left their shoes on the floor anyway. So we have hooks in the garage, and I most of the time end up leaving my coat in my car because I don't I don't need it in the house. I need it when I'm out of the car. Um, so just having those processes in place of like a simple key rack at the door so I can easily drop that that one piece. Um, having a place when people come in the house with their when they're visiting and they walk through the front door, where do they put their keys? And so having that intentional little bowl right there. Um, and then moving on up to the bigger stuff, like painting. I am loving the color drenching um that's happening in the world right now. I am a big fan. I think it makes all the difference. And I think you can really um get a big impact by just painting everything one color. Ceiling everything, everything, fireplace, mantle, everything, everything, every inch, all one color. I just redid my dining room, added cabinetry and trim, and did everything in one color. I did take the ceiling color 50% lighter than it was on the walls because I didn't want it to feel too dark, but it's still the same color, just a little bit lighter. And um, it just is so it's a super cheerful room.

SPEAKER_02:

So I was gonna ask you, what's the emotion that you feel when you walk in there?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I painted it lavender, so it's very happy.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

And I created four different bays of stations. So one is just all entertaining at glassware, or two of two of the bays actually are entertaining and glassware. The intention was for all of it to be that because I have a massive obsession of dishes. But um, I decided to start working from home more. So I turned one bay into an at-home office and I have started painting um this summer. I started painting and just have fallen in love with it. So I turned another bay into a painting station. So it's really so relaxing for me to go in there. I can I can work, but I can shut the door and I don't have to see it, and I can sit there and paint, or I can get the champagne glasses out and have a fun little evening as well. So it's it is very multi-purpose and a happy room.

SPEAKER_02:

What is the name of your book?

SPEAKER_00:

Laid back Lux.

SPEAKER_02:

Laid back Lux. All right. I I know I'm going to get that for myself and for someone for Christmas. Um my husband and I, we must have probably four different paint chips on our on our wall, taped up on our wall right now. And we just gotta pull the trigger.

SPEAKER_00:

I know. It's tough, isn't it? Okay, before I let you go, what that's which which four are you do you have up on the wall?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh goodness. Um, we tend to go with Sherwin Williams, and it's more of a cream base. Right now we have gray in our house and living in Oregon, it's kind of gloomy here. So we wanted to kind of just neutralize it. And we have browns and browns and grays just yummy. So yeah. I need to watch your show and get more tidbits and buy your book and absolutely get my checklist.

SPEAKER_00:

We list all of our colors in there so you can like know what the colors are. And on our blog, we actually source everything. So anybody can go to my website, tamarday.com. And if there was an episode that you're like, that is what I want in my house, the light fixture, the tile, the countertops, the paint color, the hardware, it's all sourced for you. All free. It's amazing. No expense. It's all just right there for the taking. Amazing.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, last question before I let you go, because I know I'm hogging your time. Uh, what does to be bolder mean to you?

SPEAKER_00:

To be bolder. Um, gosh, I think to be bolder, I would say I push the boundaries in a lot of ways um with my design. I would say being bolder in color. I think that's something I really stand out in. Um, there aren't a lot of shows that have purple kitchens and yellow mud spaces. It's very colorful and bright and um lots of pattern. It's it's not your white kitchen subway tile show. Um, to be bolder in leadership has definitely been a big thing for me in like learning that leadership piece and choosing to be bolder. Um and then choosing to be able to take a month of vacation every summer with my kids is definitely a bolder move. That's not something everybody gets to do. And we're not we're not staying at the Ritz. We're not we're not um doing super um posh kind of things, but we are in posh places staying in in reasonably priced Airbnbs and making food in the apartment and just having a relaxed month of time, quality time spent together, which I think is the best move ever.

SPEAKER_02:

I can't thank you enough. I'm a huge fan, and uh it's been a real gift to to talk with you and kind of get this behind-the-scenes look into your life. So thank you very, very much.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you so much. You're so prepared. It was wonderful. All these great questions.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you. Thanks for listening to the episode today. It was really fun chatting with my guest. If you liked our show, please like it and share it with your friends. If you want to learn what we're up to, please go check out our website at 2beboulder.com. That's the number two, little beebolder.com.