Meet Courtney Chessen, the mom of three who brought Mandarine Home to Darien. After a career on Wall Street, she was inspired to try interior design and studied in New York. She grew up in Darien as well as New York, opening her first Mandarine Home in 2014 in Glenview, IL, when she was living in nearby Winnetka. The Darien location followed in 2019. Learn more about Courtney and what she loves about design and working with clients in her hometown.
How many children do you have and what are their ages?
I have a 20-year-old daughter, 19-year-old son and a 17-year-old son.
What brought you and your family to town?
We moved here, because I have always wanted to live in New Canaan or Darien. My mom and aunt grew up here and my grandparents lived here when I was young. We were living in Manhattan and my husband at the time was reverse commuting to Stamford. We lived in Darien for 10 years about 10 years ago. My kids went to First Congregational and then Royle School. They loved it.
What’s your favorite aspect about being part of the community?
I absolutely love this community, and we were of course drawn to the school district. It is a beautiful place to live and raise children. The proximity to the water, New York City, the whole Northeast corridor is wonderful. Also, my family and friends from all parts of my life are in driving distance.
What’s your favorite family activity to do in the area?
Golf, tennis or boat. Kids loved tubing and going to Fish Island and, of course, being with family and friends.
Tell us about your career. Why did you decide to get into interior design?
I had worked on Wall Street for 10 years and was going to attend Columbia Business School. That summer I took some classes at NY School of Interior Design and loved it. I started dabbling in it when we moved to Darien and started having kids, but I realized quickly how hard it was and that I needed to work for someone to mentor me. We got transferred for a work opportunity to Winnetka, IL. It was very tough to leave here, as I always dreamed of raising my family here with my family and great friends nearby. Randomly, while walking my youngest to Kindergarten in Winnetka, I walked into a store I loved. I asked if they were hiring, and they gave me the owner’s number. Turns out the woman had a large interior design business upstairs and had just lost her assistant. I apprenticed there for two years and learned the business.
At what point did you decide to open your retail location here in Darien?
I was visiting my mom in Rowayton, and my daughter and I went shopping all over Fairfield. I had grown up always driving by Good Goods and the French Provincial Store that was in our current space. It felt like a little design district with Good Foods next door. I saw it had closed after many years, and my daughter and I thought that we really hadn’t seen anything like my store in the area. We opened in November 2019.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
The people and the ability to be creative and business-oriented. I am very left brain, right brain. I am lucky to have had so many wonderful clients, and my team makes it all fun. Never a dull moment and every day is different.
Do you have advice for anyone considering a career in interior design?
Work for someone. You learn the basics in school, but there is so much more to design than what they teach you in school.
What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from another mom?
It is all about balance. Being an entrepreneur is a full-time job, as everything is your responsibility. Hiring a great team is essential and being able to turn all the stress off is key.
Between your design projects and the retail store, how do you create a balance between work and motherhood?
I have my design business all in the cloud, which enables me to work wherever and whenever I want. I have great people running the retail shops, as well as an associate designer and full-time assistant.
Any words of wisdom?
Doing what you love is the best thing ever. It doesn’t even feel like work. I would probably be redoing my house all the time and spending too much money. Instead, I get to work with wonderful people and clients and constantly be learning and growing.
Darien has always been a retail store only, and I am really excited to start to design out of both locations. Now that the kids are older, I will be spending half of my time back where it feels like home. We have a great business model that is not hourly and is a win-win for us and the client. We want it to be a fun process, not pretentious or intimidating. It is so wonderful to also have the stores for people to see things in person and be able to sit on furniture and see the quality of what we order. We go directly to vendors. So, there is no middle man, and we are able to carry so many lines and get them at great prices. We love creating beautiful spaces that are family- and pet-friendly and timeless! We want you to live and enjoy your home, not create a museum.
Visit Mandarine Home on Instagram: @mandarinehome // Facebook: @mandarinehome // and on the website: www.mandarinehome.com.
