Meagan Donovan’s home is a lesson in how to make the most of your space.
Her ground floor flat in St Paul’s, which she shares with boyfriend Gareth and cat Scrabbles, squeezes a kitchen, living room and bedroom effortlessly into two rooms.
Designer Meagan bought it three years ago, intending to spend a few weeks doing it up. It’s taken much longer than that. “Nothing has been straightforward,” she laughs.
With limited space, she’s had to be creative. The bespoke kitchen has been moved into the front room, and a wall built to separate the hallway and bedroom. The ceiling of the hall lowered to create a mezzanine in the bedroom to provide more storage.
“It’s been a labour of love, it hasn’t been easy by any means.”
Each inch of space has been carefully considered and decorated with a bohemian touch.
Despite it being stacked full of pictures, candles and knick-knacks, the flat feels airy and spacious. Pale walls let the colourful artefacts from Magen’s life stand out.
“I’m a bit of a hoarder. A lot of what’s here is history, of me moving round a lot.”
If not from her childhood spent in Seattle, or months spent travelling in Central America, the pots, pans, cushions and rugs come from all over. All sourced for as little money as possible. The brass tap over the kitchen sink came from eBay. The tiles beneath it from a reclamation yard in London. Though the origins are very different, they work perfectly together.
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There is something to catch your eye on every surface. Mirrors, stacks of brightly coloured bowls and walls of books. The eclectic mix of colours and textures creating a warm, welcoming place to be.
Meagan has tried to do most of the decorating herself. Her most recent project was reupholstering a chair with fabric she printed herself. The thing she’s most proud of? The shelf she built out of old floorboards in the kitchen.
Despite the blood, sweat and tears that’s gone into Meagan’s flat, this isn’t home forever. She wants to find somewhere with more space, somewhere she and Gareth can call ‘their home’
Read more: My place: Holly and Jim
If you’d like your home to feature in My place, email editor@bristol247.com
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