Michelle Slatalla

Michelle Slatalla is an American journalist and humorist. Currently, she writes a monthly column for the Wall Street Journal about interior design. Previously, she was a columnist for The New York Times, TIME magazine, Real Simple, and a reporter for Newsday. In 2012 she created the outdoor design blog Gardenista, and was the editor in chief of the site for seven years. She has written several books, including Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces and The Town on Beaver Creek: The Story of a Lost Kentucky Community.

Slatalla launched Gardenista in 2012 as an offshoot of the remodeling blog Remodelista, ten years after meeting Remodelista founding editor Julie Carlson through a mutual friend. TIME magazine named Gardenista to its list of the year's "25 Best Blogs" in 2012.

Early life and education Slatalla was born in Elmhurst, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She has three younger brothers.

She graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 1984 with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and English, Her work largely explored the intersection of technology and her home life through a comedic lens. and was then retitled "Online Shopper" from October 1999 through May 2007. It was then briefly renamed "Cyberfamilias" until October 2008, when it was retitled, "Wife/Mother/Worker/Spy." Slatalla's column had a large fan base as well as select critics, including gossip blog Gawker, which criticized Slatalla's humorous approach to detailing personal family interactions.

Slatalla has also contributed as a columnist to TIME magazine and Real Simple.

Gardenista Slatalla launched Gardenista with Julie Carlson in 2012 as an offshoot of the remodeling blog Remodelista,

Slatalla wrote Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces, which was published in October 2016. The book features Slatalla's own home garden in Mill Valley, California, along with twelve other gardens, including that of Manhattan-based designer and antiques dealer John Derian.

Personal life Slatalla lives in Mill Valley, with her husband Joshua Quittner. They have three children, including Ella Quittner who is also a journalist. Slatalla's Mill Valley home garden is featured in Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces, including in the first chapter.

Books Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces (2016, Artisan Books) The Town on Beaver Creek: The Story of a Lost Kentucky Community (2006, Random House) Speeding the Net: The Inside Story of Netscape and How It Challenged Microsoft (1998, Atlantic Monthly Press) Shoofly Pie to Die by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla (1992 St Martins Pr) Masters of Deception by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla (1999 Library Binding) Flame War: A Cyberthriller by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla (1998 Harper Perennial; Reprint edition) Mother's Day: A Novel of Suspense by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla (1993 St Martins Pr; 1st ed edition)