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You don’t have to get sucked down an HGTV hole to know that Americans are obsessed with remodeling and interior design. But Palo Alto-based husband-and-wife team Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen really hit on something when they started online home-improvement destination Houzz, after a particularly frustrating home remodel of their own. In the three years since launching, their site has exploded into a kind of Facebook/Pinterest hybrid for the D.I.Y. set and design professionals, with 16 million monthly unique users and more than 12 million Houzz mobile app downloads. We chatted with C.E.O. Adi Tatarko, a Tel Aviv native who previously founded a software company, about using her iPhone 5s to find the right work-life balance.
__Phone:__iPhone 5s.
__Case:__None. “I had a ‘keep calm and carry on’ case for my old iPhone, but the new one is so beautiful that I haven’t covered it.”
__Background:__My kids. “I love to keep the best things in life closest to me at all times.”
__Ringtone:__None. “Good question. Maybe I should get one!”
Last text: Alon, husband and Houzz co-founder. “It was a mix of work and home stuff. Something like: ‘The meeting went really well. I think we can close this deal. I’ll be at home soon. Don’t forget to get diapers.’”
Last app used: Uber. “I use Uber whenever I travel, whether it’s to San Francisco, N.Y.C., or any other big city. It’s a great service—easy and convenient.”
Most-used app: Mail. “Before Houzz, I preferred meeting people face-to-face or at least talking to them over the phone. Now, there’s no substitute to e-mail—it’s very efficient and allows me to keep track of everything that’s going on, both at Houzz and at home.”
Last download:Yahoo Weather. “I used it to check what it’s like in New York as I am heading there next week. Beautiful user interface. Weather could be very boring, but the visuals of this app make it more fun.”
Current obsession:Dropcam. “My husband, Alon, discovered it and got really excited about it. Who said men are not into buying baby gear? I have a baby at home and love checking in on him during the day.”
Travel necessity: Waze. “I’m attached to my in-car navigation, but when I travel to different cities, Waze is incredibly helpful for getting around."
Favorite mobile game: Fruit Ninja. “It’s my kids’ current favorite. I never use games, but my kids keep downloading them. I keep having to drag games out of my home screen every time my kids get a hold of my phone.”
Mobile guilty pleasure: iPhoto. “I take tons of photos of my three boys and love scrolling through their photos when they’re not with me. The new camera app is so great that I don’t use a digital camera anymore.”
Voicemail greeting? Automated. “I never changed the default in hopes that people will text or e-mail instead of leaving a voicemail.”
__Clean inbox?__Clean inbox. “I read everything and use my inbox as a to-do list—once I’ve completed something, I archive it. I try to keep it under 20 to-do e-mails at any given time, but I get hundreds of e-mails a day, so sometimes it can be very challenging.”
__Text or call?__Neither. “I’m always checking my e-mails and [e-mail] is the easiest way for me to communicate since I can access it whether I’m on my laptop, iPhone, or iPad. I prefer meeting in person to talking on the phone and have only made three calls today.”
Remaining battery: 60 percent. “My New Year’s resolution is to remember to always charge my phone. This first week has been a success so far.”
