Meggie H. Interiors

I have a special treat today!  We will be touring Meg Hosler's home, that is Meg of Meggie H. Interiors.

Meg Hosler is the founder of Meggie H. Interiors.  As a former educator and full time mother, Meg has always maintained a passion for decorating.  Meg’s interest in decorating was very obvious from early on in her life as she enjoyed her mother's decorating magazines instead of the usual teen ones.  I would say that's a sure sign!

Meg's obvious love for decorating was undeniable and instead of the usual gifts for a graduate she was received her first oriental rug.  Fortunately Meg's husband was smart and understood his wife's love for all things involved with interior decorating.   She chose beautiful paintings and furnishings to fill their lovely home.   After receiving encouragement from a dear friend, Meg started Meggie H. Interiors.  After fifteen years of renovating and decorating five homes of her own and helping numerous friends with theirs, Meg started Meggie H. Interiors in 2008, working part time while still maintaining focus on her family.  Eight years later with her first born setting off to college and her baby about to get his driver’s license, Meg is able to pursue her passion full time.

Meggie H. Interiors is a decorating, and interior design consulting firm located in Wenham, Massachusetts, just north of Boston near Cape Ann.  You can visit and contact Meg Hosler at Meggie H. Interiors.
 

Meg, your home is rich in color from the walls to the paintings and textiles. Have you always been drawn to color?

I love color, however it is more about the space and the climate. My first home was in the Silicon Valley where it is sunny and hot most of the year. Add to that, most of the architecture leans towards contemporary. Using lots of bold color in our first home wouldn't have worked. It would have made the space feel as hot as the outdoors, as well as dealing with high ceilings and walls without breaks, saturated wall colors would have been too intense. I went with an all blue and white theme, keeping the walls white and the textiles in various blues and white. It wasn't until I moved back to Massachusetts, where the climate is colder for most of the year and many homes have been built before 1930, that I began to go a bit bonkers with saturated colors. If I were to decorate an older home on the east coast in a warm climate, like Florida, I would use color, but paler softer colors for walls, then bring in more saturation with accessories and fabrics.




Do you believe that people can have an emotional response to certain colors?

Absolutely, emotionally and physically!! It has has been scientifically proven. The book 'Drunk Tank Pink' written by Adam Alter is a great resource on the science behind how color affects us. I highly recommend reading the Prologue and chapter seven, entitled Colors. The title of the book is based on Professor Alexander Schauss' paper he wrote for the academic journal 'Orthomolecular Psychiatry' where he goes on to explain how pink is a soothing color, hence why drunk tanks were painted pink. Pink was also used in sports, using it to paint the visiting team's locker room. It was shown that the athletes with the pink locker room did not perform as well. It is now illegal to paint an opposing team's locker room pink. I love pink in a living room because of its soothing quality, well that and pink makes everyone look better.


Dining Room


When decorating a room, what is the first step for you? Everyone starts somewhere different it seems. Is the color first? Where does the idea come from? Is a fabric pattern? Wallpaper? Or art?


Great question and my answer is simple. What will the room be used for? Will children be in here, pets? Will it be used for entertaining? Is it going to be a formal or informal space? From there I will go to what the most costly item the client owns that will be in the space. Usually it is an oriental rug, but it may be a piece of art work. If we are starting the room from scratch then I start with a printed fabric. This will be that to die for fabric that the client absolutely loves and has to have. Now that I know what colors I have to choose from, I let the room pick how those colors will be used. How much sunlight does the space get? Do we need to make the space bigger or cozier? How do the clients want to feel while they are in that room? Once I have all these questions answered I can pull it all together.













As you all know my house is over the top with color, however my kitchen is very neutral with white and cherry cabinets, soapstone counters, black appliances, dove white woodwork and pale oak walls.  My pop of color would be the oriental rugs I have on my pine floors.  They give the room so much warmth and they are marvelous at hiding dog fur. - Meg





I know many with the neutral homes rely heavily on accessories to bring interest into the room. In a sense does the color fill the room so that there is less need for small clutter?

I don't think so. In fact, I think the answer to that can be found in the first part of your question. If someone needs more accessories to make their neutral space interesting, then that tells me that they aren't happy with their space being neutral, but are afraid to commit to painting the room a color or to use a bold fabric. Accessories should be things you LOVE, collectibles, family heirlooms, art and memories. You can have a very colorful room and still have lots of accessories. However, when you are purchasing pieces to just fill space, they will just be things and things can't make you happy. Take the chance and paint the room, if you hate it after 4 months, paint it back. It may end up being less money than all that useless tchotkes you would have purchased.




The biggest mistake being playing it safe.  Now I believe do what you love, never settle, and if it doesn't work change it. - Meg

Library



I painted the whole room in a high gloss coral.  The only way to make a dark room light is with lamps, not paint.  However, you can make it feel warm and that is why I had the entire space painted coral. - Meg









Some say we are drawn to the colors we would wear, is that an accurate description for you and do you think that is why you are drawn to certain colors?


I do believe that there is some truth to that. We all have colors we love and colors we dislike, so it only makes sense that we want to surround ourselves with colors that make us happy. I tend to wear a lot of black and grey, colors I rarely use when decorating. However, I do find myself drawn to orange based pinks, whether they are pale peach, apricot, salmon, or deep coral. In almost every room in my home you will find an orangey pink, even if it is just a bit in an oriental rug or painting.




Dressing Room




Are you loyal to a color or do you find yourself bored with colors and want to change them often?


The curse of being a decorator. We always find something on our hunts for clients that make us want to redo our whole space. Right now I am still in love with my pink living room and coral library, and they have been these colors for over five years. I love my bold blue dining room and it probably receives the most compliments, but I have seen a half dozen other wallpapers I would love to redecorate with and they are all green. As for my clients, I pay attention to the colors they love and how those colors will work in their spaces.







Jan