We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chelsea Harrison a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Chelsea , appreciate you joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Most people think Interior Designers are expensive, their process is mysterious, their brands are extremely high end, and their projects require extensive renovation and time.

But, what if there were an affordable Interior Decorator that knew how to source locally, avoid costly and stressful renovation, complete a space in 30 days, and still prioritize functionality, durability, and aesthetics?

What if there were a content creator who tested products, showed how to install and style them, and that you could trust to give you the REAL deal review?

What if there were a mom who understood the struggle of raising kids, staying organized, sticking to routines, and motivating a family to be their best selves every day?

The vision of my business is to mesh all of these roles together and to not only help clients design a magazine-worthy home, but also to avoid buyer’s remorse, implement functional storage systems, and solve day to day annoyances in order to help them enjoy the biggest expense they likely have- their home!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

If you’re curious about how life ended up leading me in the direction of this unique career path, I would have to say it started (as so many other small business owners might predictably say) with the pandemic. After ten years of working and having notable success in the business to business sales and medical device world, I was let go of my job in 2021. Dumbfounded and slightly traumatized, my husband and I scrambled to first secure health insurance as FAST as possible before deciding our next move. As a mom of a special needs child NOT having healthcare was NOT an option with medications, therapies, and doctor’s visits always on constant rotation.

Once that was figured out, my husband told me something I did not expect. For the 6 years we had been married, he had been the primary stay-at-home-parent. But now, he was determined to keep me from going back to work and promptly found a job leasing apartments with a large property owner/management company. Fast forward to present day, had he is an actual ROCKSTAR cleaning up the streets of Los Angeles, by getting the dauntingly huge homeless population, housed, one tenant at a time.

In the meantime, I developed a passion for ways to aesthetically organize medications, toys, and therapy equipment for our daughter to live the happiest and most independent life that she can. Not to mention, arrange and then re-arrange the layout of our apartment and essentially convert it from a two bedroom, to four bedroom through *mostly* renter friendly creativity… just in time for the arrival of our second beautiful, rambunctious, curious little girl.

Through teaching myself how to sketch, source products, utilize 3D rendering software, stay within budget, manage a project expeditiously, and ultimately avoid buyer’s remorse when it comes to designing a room, I’ve completed over 40 spaces in the last 2 years and my mind is STILL literally blown by this. 😭

I love sharing behind the scenes, before and after’s, and hopefully a little inspiration that, despite the crazy twists and turns this life throws at us, if it ends in LOVE, it was ALL worth it!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I think there is a huge, un-tapped potential for social media and business owners. When I made my first reel on Instagram, I will admit, it was terrible. I wasn’t aiming to be a content creator at that time; rather I just wanted something sort of like a website, to showcase past projects and easily share with potential clients. While that use of social media is certainly a solid option and completely understandable use of the platform, I soon realized that if I spent some quality time figuring out how to edit videos, captivate the attention of masses in less than ten seconds, show past projects but ALSO provide value through behind-the-scenes experiences, showcasing new and trending products, and tips, tricks and hacks, I could actually cultivate another stream of revenue, not to mention increase exposure for my business in a BIG way.

Since my first post in 2023, I have actually been able to partner with many home decor brands, received gifted products, been paid to create content, received commission from sales from amazing followers, AND it’s given me a solid number of leads for clients, near and far. While I don’t boast to be an expert in content creation by any means, I’m excited about the small successes I’ve had so far and look forward to continuing to figure out what works best in the social media world.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I think the relationship with clients, for some business owners, can be a tricky one. I think sometimes we are very concerned with making our income, being treated fairly, and being respected that we forget what a huge chance our clients are taking on us, ESPECIALLY with something as intimate and delicate as interior design.

When first starting out, I exclusively worked for friends and family, for free or for highly discounted rates. I wanted the experience to build my portfolio but I also wanted their honest feedback. While a few kindly gave me suggestions and ideas, I was and have always been my own biggest and harshest critic. I’ve tried to give myself constructive criticism after each project, and improve and do things better each time. I think examining my own process, pricing, doing extensive research, and continuing my professional education will always be a huge priority.

That’s why, if and when clients EVER have a question or concern, I always take it very seriously and give it a lot of weight. I consider their perspective, digest the feedback, and adjust the part of the process that had not previously been optimized. I am very honest and upfront with my clients, and often times, we become good friends in the process. However, I also do my utmost to remain professional, transparent, diligent, and double check every single detail before, during, and when wrapping up a project to ensure I am doing my best to protect the client relationship.

I believe I have managed to foster strong client relationships because of this mentality. As shown in my Instagram highlight labeled, “Reviews,” I’ve been able to collect an abundance of testimonials, positive feedback, recommendations through word of mouth, and many repeat clients. I say this VERY humbly, because my clients are truly all amazing and supportive people, and without their support and interest, I would NOT be where I am today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://msha.ke/chelseaharrisondesigns
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelseaharrisondesigns/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-harrison-0648262a/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chelsea-harrison-designs-los-angeles