Interview ‘House of Ali’ Toronto interior designer Ali Budd

Ali Budd, luxury designer and star of House of Ali on HGTV, has grown her business from her basement to designing some of the most bespoke and upscale homes across North America. Leading an all-female team, Ali tackles epic builds and extensive renovations, managing tight timelines and demanding clients, all while delivering chic, custom spaces tailored to each homeowner’s unique vision. From remote lake houses to bold beach properties, Ali’s relentless pursuit of design perfection pushes the limits of luxury design.

The Extra Mile chats with Ali about her incredible milestones, how she turned her vision into a reality, and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in today’s competitive world.

TEM ( The Extra Mile) : I read you originally started your business 13 years ago in your basement. Now that you are starring in your own TV show. What would you say are some of the key challenges you faced starting your brand?

Ali: I mean name a challenge I’ve faced it for sure.  I started my own business in 2010, and I did everything at the beginning. It was just small, tiny little things. I remember I had a family friend moving into a retirement home. That was one of my first jobs, to decorate her room. Everything from that to picking one pillow for a living room. I did everything. At the beginning, I remember my clients didn’t have assembly budgets, so I would go to IKEA, pick up the stuff myself, and bribe my friends to come and assemble IKEA furniture for my clients at the time. So it’s definitely been a journey, that’s for sure.

TEM : It paid off, right?

Ali: I actually feel like the best way to do and learn anything is to do it organically, and sometimes that means starting at the beginning. I always say to my team, every job they do, I’ve done myself in some capacity at some point. Definitely not as well as they do it, but I understand all of it. And I think that starting a little bit slower and taking the time to understand the business, make sure I’m so well-versed in construction, and everything that we do has been really beneficial for growth.

TEM : How did you go about assembling such a cohesive and power-dynamic group?

Ali: You know, it started with one person, and it’s just grown. We’re a team of 13 now, and everything’s sort of what we need, and then filling that role. So, you know, jobs are being created, I think, all the time, and the way in which it’s sort of, we always look at, like, what’s not working for us right now, or who’s feeling really overwhelmed, or, you know, what’s something that we think if we added somebody to take over this would be better for the company. So, you know, we’ve always kind of looked at it that way, and I think that helped us to figure out when we hire someone, what we need them to do, you know, and then in terms of the actual people that I work with, you know, I’ve been so blessed to have, like, such incredible people, predominantly women, come through the doors, and lots are still with me, and some have moved on to other things, and we still, you know, wonderful relationships, but I definitely, we have no room for drama. There’s no kind of hierarchy. Everybody helps each other out. I feel like we’ve all worked in offices and in situations where you’re constantly walking on eggshells when you get to work, and you never know what somebody’s mood is going to be or how they’re going to make you feel that day or if your boss is going to yell at you, and I just don’t ever want that. So I’m probably, well not probably, I’m definitely highly inappropriate as a boss slash human. I don’t really care about norms, I care about meeting targets and getting things done. Everybody works differently, and I care about women being supportive and loving and bigging each other up, so that’s something I just really wanted to build.

TEM: You work on all kinds of other sort of designs, like, what’s kind of your favorite? Do you have a specific design that you like working on? Do you like working on, like, those remote houses or more of the condos or residential ones?

Ali: So, we mostly do luxury residential, which, again, has been built organically throughout, you know, the last kind of 15 years. But that’s kind of, I think, our bread and butter at this point, is taking something from beginning stages to the end. So, sometimes that’s building. Sometimes that’s just decorating. You know, sometimes it’s a combination of both. But at this point, most of our projects that we’re working on are sort of full-scale.

TEM: In The House of Ali, we really get to kind of see your leadership on full display. And it’s really awesome seeing that. How do you hope that your story will kind of inspire other women in design and  professionally and personally?

Ali: I think that, you know, for so long, and honestly even now, you know, women are up against it professionally. I think we have different challenges. I think that oftentimes we’re looked at differently. You know, even for me, I work in construction, so I deal with a lot of men, and even at this point, I’m still showing up for meetings sometimes, having to prove that I know what I’m talking about, and I find that insanely frustrating. I think by having a team of all women, we’re able to create a space that can help people find their own voices and confidence in these kinds of situations, and then hopefully take that with them. I think there’s enough room for everybody. The only person I’m competitive with is myself, really. I think that we need to sort of lean into this notion that, like, I’m not a girl boss. I, like, want to roll my eyes every time I hear somebody say something like that, because it just, to me, pinpoints exactly what the issue is. Like, I’m just a boss, you know, and I think trying to sort of figure out those sort of stereotypes and Look at those different things is something that I feel really passionate about. I also, you know, I’m proud of the show because it definitely is very real and follows, you know, what we do day-to-day, my career, our dynamics, our team, but I feel so proud that I have a group of women in a reality show for all intents and purposes that are really loving and supportive, like nobody’s the villain, like nobody’s playing sort of these stereotypical roles that women have to play in groups when they’re on TV together, and I want to get rid of that.

TEM: Is there any piece of advice? Let’s say to any aspiring designers or even female entrepreneurs?

Ali: When you’re young, you know, one of the biggest—I mean, I’m very young still, as you can see, but when I was younger, let’s say, I was always so worried with what everybody else thought about me, and I wanted to emulate other people that I thought were successful. And I think that finding that confidence within yourself and doing things your way and trusting your own decisions and your own gut—like, I always know now, as a grown-up, if I have to ask a million people’s opinion, I’m trying to convince myself. Like, I always already know what feels like the right answer for me. So I think no matter what you’re doing, when you’re starting out, you have an intuition and you have a gut response to things. You know when you’re not being treated right. You know when you’re in a bad situation. You know when there’s something that you should be doing in a way that you think you should be doing it. And I think trusting yourself and not trying to emulate other people’s success would be the best way to authentically go forward and find your own place in whatever you’re trying to do.

TEM:  Listening to your gut feeling, right?

Ali: Yeah, and I think just being yourself, you know? Like, that person’s successful, so I’m going to do exactly what they did. Or like, you know. I also think this notion of just being famous for any reason at all is insane. So it’s like, if you want to be on Instagram or TikTok or social or whatever, like, find something you’re actually good at and then do it. Well, no, thank you for that.

TEM: So my final question before we wrap up here, here we’re all about going the extra mile. How do you go the extra mile, whether that be in your personal life or professional life?

Ali : I have three kids, and a husband, and two dogs, and a business, and a TV show. I just launched a property in Costa Rica for rent. So, like, I’m busy. There’s a lot going on. I really try and just be, like, whatever I’m doing in this moment, in the moment I try to be present. And I think, in this world of distractions, that’s going the extra mile. So, when I’m with my kids, I’m really trying to be with my kids. When I’m working, I’m trying to focus on that. You know, when I’m filming or doing that, like, whatever I’m doing, I’m trying to just live in that moment. And I think that’s doing it. I don’t know. I have so many miles. I need more minutes in a day. Honestly, I don’t know.

House of Ali peremierd on HGTV on Septemeber 5, 2024