House Tour with Kat of Making Chicken Salad

It is an honor to have Katherine Jalaty of Making Chicken Salad here today showing off her cozy retreat. I love Kat’s home almost as much as her blog. Both are really lovely. And Kat has done an amazing job creating an inspiring place for her, her son, and boyfriend to be proud of. Enjoy the tour…

Tell us about yourself.

I write a creative lifestyle/craft blog, named Making Chicken Salad; The Art of Something Out of Nothing. I also run a few small etsy shops (one and two) where I sell both vintage and handmade items.

-What kind of home do you live in?

My boyfriend, Josh, my son, Henry and I live together in the house where I grew up. My mom was getting ready to move to another town just as Henry was born, so when he was three weeks old we moved into her house. The house was built in the mid 1940s and had a kitchen remodel and family room added on during the 1990s.

My mom left her house furnished, and it has been an interesting challenge to incorporate all of my belongings and my style into this house. She and I have very different taste in furniture and décor, and slowly over the past six years I have been swapping out her things with my own. It has taken a long time (and countless hours in thrift and vintage shops!), but the house finally feels like my own and the style is nothing like it was when she lived here.

-As you mentioned before, you have two shops: Katherine Handmade and the Making Chicken Salad shop. What is your favorite thing to create for them?

I have fallen completely in love with crochet. Since the birth of my son six years ago, my mind has been in constant motion and it is hard to slow things down and relax. Sitting down with pretty yarn and a crochet hook allows me to unwind in a way that nothing else does. It helps that one can crochet an item fairly quickly, too””I love instant gratification!

-Writing a successful blog and juggling your shops, I imagine takes a lot of work. What advice can you share with us on getting a business started?

Jump in and do it! I am a firm believer in doing everything you can to make things happen. Dont sit around wishing you could do something””start doing the research and learning as much as you can about what it is you want to do in order to make it happen. I like to do things myself, and have read hundreds of tutorials online in order to learn about formatting my blog. The internet is such a great resource for learning skills, which I have not been able to learn elsewhere (college was a long time ago!).

Also””do not be afraid to practice the shameless art of self-promotion. This is something that I have struggled with. I sometimes feel shy (and, lets face it””cheesy) talking about myself and what I do. Not everyone gets it. But, I have become much braver about telling people about myself and my business and have found that it really does pay off.

-On average, about how much time per week are you able to put into creating?

I am lucky that I am able to a lot of time into creating at this point. I usually have a couple of projects going at one time and I will work on them periodically throughout the day (in between dishes, laundry, making meals, etc.)  I also try to put a creative spin on everything I do””that is what makes life interesting for me!

-What is your favorite decorative element in your home?

Textiles””both old and new. I love fabric of all sorts, and I love being surrounded by pattern and color. Whether it is a new pillow from Urban Outfitters, one of my grandmas handmade quilts, or a kilim rug, I enjoy incorporating and layering many different textures and colors into our home. I especially love old textiles where the work of the person who made it is evident. There is nothing sweeter to me than evidence of hand stitching on and old quilt or garment.

-Many of us enjoy collecting things over the years. And I see that you do as well. What is it that you collect and when did you start collecting it?

The first year we were together Josh bought me two vintage miniature sewing machines for my birthday. Since then I have been collecting them and am really on the hunt for a pink one!

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How sweet. Thanks so much for the interview and house tour Kat. To view more photos of Kat’s home, click here.