Chelsea DeBoer and her husband Cole are best known as the couple behind Down Home Fab, a popular home renovation series on HGTV, the third season of which just wrapped. Chelsea first entered the public eye as a young mom on MTV’s 16 & Pregnant series; her daughter Aubree, who appeared on the show with her, is now 15.
Now a mom of four, Chelsea and her family live a life largely out of the spotlight in South Dakota, where they also have a homeware storefront, Down Home by DeBoers.
For this week’s Meet a Mom interview, we spoke to Chelsea about working with her husband, her best kid-friendly design tips, and what she wishes she could tell her younger self.
Congrats on your show’s success! What’s your favorite part of doing this show—and working with Cole?
I feel like my favorite part of the show is that I get to work with Cole. For most people who have four kids, it’s hard finding time with your partner, but we get to be together 24/7. But also, just meeting other families in our community and being part of their home and journey—it’s very rewarding.
People feel like they know you, from watching you years ago on reality TV and now on HGTV. What’s something that surprises people about you?
I love that people feel like they know me! They truly have been with me for all my stages of life. They’ve seen me down in the dumps, they’ve seen my vulnerable moments and watched as I pulled myself out of them. Everyone is so kind and supportive when I meet them!
I feel like people assume I’m outgoing and can easily be on camera or a stage, but that is not the case! Anything outside of my little safe bubble is scary for me—I live such a low-key life. I have a small friend group, and I rarely leave South Dakota. We just love our little safe space here in the middle of nowhere.
Was that a deliberate move and change for you?
Yes, after living my teenage years so publicly and really just having nothing off limits, you learn to value your privacy. South Dakota is such a great place to raise a family and own a business. Nothing like Midwest nice people!
You have a teenager and three younger kiddos—what’s a typical day like for you?
It’s a madhouse at all times! I wish I could say I was one of those type-A personalities that has everything organized and on the calendar, but I’m definitely not. My day involves getting the kids to school, heading to our warehouse, shipping out orders, checking in on the store or any other work-related things while they are there, and then before you know it, it’s pick up time and time to make dinner and play around until bed.
If you could tell yourself anything when you were a young mom that you wish you knew, what would it be?
I wish I would’ve worked on loving myself more. I was always looking for that outside thing or person to make me feel valued and never focused on it myself. I work on that a lot with my kids: making sure they feel confident and comfortable with who they are. I love that Aubree seems so confident in who she is and her style as a teenager! She’s so cool.
Speaking of Aubree, she’s a new (restricted) driver—how is that going?!
It’s been a game-changer. Very scary at first—I’m still learning to let go! But it’s amazing she has this freedom now, and I can tell she’s so happy. I still stalk her driving when she leaves the house to make sure she gets where she’s going safely. I think she’s already annoyed of me saying “Drive safe!” and it’s only been a couple months!
How would you describe Cole as a dad? And how would he describe you as a mom?
Cole is just the best dad. The best. He’s so caring, loving, and he’s such a softy. I feel like Cole would describe me as a fun, loving parent. I’m definitely more of the disciplinary parent compared to him, though. Again, he’s such a softy.
What are your favorite tips for making design kid-friendly?
I think incorporating any kind of storage, or hidden storage is huge for a kid-friendly house. So, any way you can incorporate storage in your built-in furniture, ottomans, side tables with storage, benches that lift up and so on, is going to be a win. Also, you want to get durable surfaces—floors are a huge one. We have an amazing line of flooring with Hewn Floors, and these are the best of the best, especially for families and kids!
As a designer, what are your best tips for transforming your home for fall?
The easy swaps are my favorite! Changing out a throw blanket to a chunky knit cozy one. Swapping out faux stems to bring in those fall colors. Changing out your pillows for some more fall or jewel toned ones. Bringing in that moody cozy feeling without making any huge changes!
I’m loving the rich moodiness that is coming in this fall and holiday season. It’s so my vibe and it makes a home seem so much cozier. I’m also really loving seeing some vintage or vintage inspired decor coming in right now, and our whole fall collection on Shopdh.com,
CHELSEA DEBOER’S SOUTH DAKOTA FAVES
Chelsea shares her Tea & Sioux Falls go-tos:
- Go to dinner as a family: Look’s Marketplace
- Go for a date night: Morries Steakhouse or Ironwood. Or Maribella.
- Go for a girls night: The Treasury
- Grab a coffee: Makers Exchange in Tea
- Go to for outdoor family fun: The Good Earth Farm! They have the best pizza, and you are surrounded by farm animals.
- Go to for indoor family fun: Air Madness and Union Social !
- Go to for a workout: Oh I love Hotworx, but I also have a Pilates reformer at home that I’m obsessed with.
- Get your hair done: Landon Blow at The Factory! He’s been doing my hair for YEARS!
- Get your nails done: Elegant Nail Bar and Spa
- Shop for clothes for your kids: I honestly love Target for kids clothes!
- Any other faves? I love 22ten for lunch dates! Pickers and i29 Antiques are my favorite stores to go antique hunting.
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