Chelsea Handegan
photo by chelsea handegan
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? A ramshackle cottage on the coast of Maine
What are three words to describe your style?
1. Relaxed
2. Welcoming
3. Imperfect
Tell us about your childhood bedroom: My childhood bedroom consisted of a lot of brown furniture, and I had a propensity for rearranging my bedroom in the night when my parents had gone to bed. I would enlist my younger brother, and on hands and knees we would spend hours scooting these hefty pieces from one side of the room to the other.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? My antique French iron dining table from Casa Gusto
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? Tom Scheerer
No room is complete without books.
People think of me as unapproachable, but I am really shy.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Roses
An hors d’oeuvre: Platter cheese
A bar cabinet: Blue cheese olives
A song for:
Dinner at home: My Baby Just Cares for Me by Nina Simone
Working at your desk: Anything by The XX
Going for a run: I am not a runner
Biggest Vice? Homemade ice cream
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy?
Gustavian antiques or Manolo Blahniks
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? I like to think so! Living in downtown Charleston, I have to be selective and edit constantly so as not to overwhelm our small closets! I try to stick to basics and classics.
Who is your star crush? Mick Jagger
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Monotone
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be?
One Man's Folly: The Exceptional Houses of Furlow Gatewood
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Not trying too hard
photo by chelsea handegan
A Few Favorites:
Movie: The Parent Trap - both the original and remake
Book: I’m currently enjoying Julia Reed’s posthumous Dispatch from the Gilded Age
Scent: I order the candles from Hotel Le Burgundy in Paris
The fabric you always come back to: Floral chintzes
Dream project: A current project on Islesboro in Maine
Meal: Anything involving fresh summer produce - butter beans, watermelon, sweet corn on the cob, peach cobbler
Drink: Tito’s martini, up, very dirty
Hotel: Curtain Bluff
Travel Destination: Antigua
Artist: Sally Mann
A cause near and dear to me: The Historic Charleston Foundation, which promotes historic preservation, protects historic buildings, and advocates for sustainable growth in my hometown of Charleston
Thing to collect obsessively: Nothing - editing and purging gives me a high
Museum: Eagerly awaiting the reopening of The Frick
Paint Color that always looks great: a neutral pink with brown undertones… no blue!
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Julius Roberts
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Both!
