Interior designer Chelsy Christina furnishes spaces entirely secondhand

Gina DeLise
·Video Producer
2

The content creator showcases more sustainable ways people can decorate their homes.

Video Transcript

CHELSY CHRISTINA: Use what you have and buy less. I think a lot of times people assume in order to live a more sustainable lifestyle, you have to buy sustainable products and switch those out for the products you currently have that are less sustainable.

But really, the most sustainable thing you can do is use up what you currently have before switching to sustainable alternatives, and that goes for interior design as well. If you bought more of a fast furniture, newer item, just try and get it to last as long as possible.

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Hi, I'm Chelsea Christina. I am a content creator and interior designer. And I'm here with In the Now.

GINA DELISE: So Chelsey, tell us a bit about your journey with social media. And what inspired you to share your passion for sustainability.

CHELSY CHRISTINA: Since before I can remember, I have been very passionate about sustainability and caring for the planet. And then my other big passion is design. So I'm always looking for ways to bridge the two.

I was working in interior design for a few years at a firm. And while I loved the work, it really opened my eyes to the amount of waste that's created in the industry. And so when COVID hit, some of the on-site interior design work slowed down a little bit. And it gave me some more free time. I started doing interior design work, while I was creating content around low-waste living.

GINA DELISE: You're so amazing. You pride yourself on second-hand home design. And your series where you are furnishing your home with completely second-hand furniture has really found an audience on TikTok, which is incredible. So where did the inspiration for that come from? And has there been anything that's surprising about that process for you?

CHELSY CHRISTINA: Well, shopping secondhand is not only the most sustainable option, but it's also oftentimes the most affordable. So when you're just starting out and you want to bring higher end items into your home, shopping secondhand is usually the best way to do so.

And then what's been surprising is, well, the home I'm living in now is a little bit bigger than some of the homes I previously lived in. And so it's been surprising how much time and patience it requires to design your home the way you're envisioning it with secondhand furniture.

But I do think it's worth the wait to take your time, design slowly until you find items and furniture that you're really going to love long-term.

GINA DELISE: Is there a common misconception that you hear often about, you know, shopping secondhand?

CHELSY CHRISTINA: I would say the most common misconceptions I hear are that items are either dirty or that most secondhand items kind of feel grandma-ey. And I actually think you can find very modern furniture nowadays, shopping secondhand on places like Facebook Marketplace.

And if you're worried about the cleanliness of it, I always just recommend thoroughly cleaning things before they enter your home. And if you do want something higher end, you don't want to have to worry about that at all. I always recommend just going to a nicer, vintage furniture store.

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