About
Kara Illig is passionate about online shopping, lifestyle hacks, product research, and sharing the best of everything in BobVila.com’s handy shoppable guides. When she’s not editing and researching buyer’s guides, she’s finding clever ways to stay organized (read: sane) in her own home, which is an ongoing project. Prior to her role as a senior editor for the Commerce team at BobVila.com, she contributed to the launch of the commerce departments at Woman’s World and First For Women magazines. She has also contributed to various home and lifestyle brands such as HGTV, DIY Network, Town & Country, and more.
Experience
Kara and her husband are co-owners of Illig Properties, a family-run company that manages 200+ rentals and multiple properties in western Pennsylvania. Renovation, economical design, and historical restoration are essential for both her business and personal life. She lives in a 100-year-old stone house and is passionate about finding ways to maintain the integrity of an original design while providing vital home upgrades that are practical for her family of five.
Prior to putting down roots in Pennsylvania, Kara lived in a small apartment in Brooklyn, New York, and learned the value of minimalism and efficiency. She has deep reverence for small-space decorating, cleaning shortcuts, and decluttering hacks, many of which she attempts to apply to her daily life as a mom of three kids, three cats, and an ever-shedding golden retriever named Adele.
Education
Kara attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in writing for publication, performance, and media, where she focused on magazine journalism and fiction writing.
Highlights
- Specialties: Small-space organizing, cleaning hacks, home design, kid-friendly solutions, and old houses
- Education: Bachelor of Fine Arts in writing for publication, performance, and media from Pratt Institute
- Other work: Woman’s World, HGTV, DIY Network, HGTV Gardens, Food Network, Town & Country, First For Women, Redbook, and several other women’s lifestyle magazines
Proudest DIY
While she happily passes the more skilled projects on to her contractor husband, Kara has assisted in several home renovations, including the construction and installation of a sprawling wooden fence that enclosed her yard (and allowed her family to finally get a dog!). She also holds tight to early memories of installing IKEA furniture in her tiny Brooklyn apartment.
