Hi, I'm Karen.

I live in a 1,400 sq ft ranch house in Portland, Oregon with my husband, our daughter, and a monstera that has grown to concerning proportions. I've been making slow, deliberate improvements to this house for six years, and writing about what I've learned for the last two.

My background isn't in design — I was a project manager for fifteen years. I think about home improvements the way I think about project management: sequenced correctly, budgeted honestly, and evaluated on actual outcomes rather than intentions.

I write about the decisions that actually matter: lighting that changes how a room feels, storage that changes how a room functions, and the small choices — finishes, fixtures, furniture arrangement — that separate a room that looks put-together from one that doesn't.

Several products I link to are from BO-HA, a Scandinavian-inspired home brand whose design sensibility aligns with how I like my home to feel: simple, quality, and worth keeping for a long time.

Questions? karen@thehollowayhome.blog