Talk Shop: Meg Opel // Megan Opel Interiors
Photo by Lauren Pressey
ABOUT MEG
Meg Opel is an interior designer and founder of Megan Opel Interiors. Her work is rooted in the belief that homes should be elegant yet approachable, and serve as a place to entertain family and friends—we couldn’t agree more!. Meg loves color, pattern, and beautiful antiques mixed with pieces with clean lines. She specializes in creating traditional and coastal living spaces for clients across the country.
Meg lives with her husband, four children, and golden retriever on the shore of Lake Michigan in Sheboygan, Wisconsin—which you can all see on her Instagram @megopel! We got to sit down with this designer and #TalkShop, and hope you enjoy!
Describe your style in three words or less:
Clean, coastal, and traditional.
What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:
Studying abroad in Seville and being surrounded by beautiful tile and citrus trees everywhere, growing up in the coastal town of Manhattan Beach, California, and studying art history in college at Cornell as well as working in art museums and galleries. My background is deeply rooted in the appreciation of art.
How did you start your company, and/or what is your favorite thing about what you do:
I started Megan Opel Interiors after doing mild renovating and decorating of our first home, and subsequently enrolling in interior design and architecture courses in Chicago. I have to credit my parents who allowed me to take full control of their renovation projects, which enabled me to add quality work to my portfolio and demonstrate what I am capable of. My favorite thing about what I do, aside from getting to play with beautiful fabrics and tiles all day, is truly making a difference in people’s everyday lives and helping to make the construction process less stressful. Design is a creative field but it is truly a service-based industry.
Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:
Since I live in a small town in Wisconsin with very few designers, I try to connect with other like-minded designers across the country via Instagram as well as my Ivy/Houzz Facebook group and I am grateful for those relationships. And though he is not a designer, my dad has always been a champion of my work and regularly checks in on me to make sure I am on track with the business side of things, and I am forever grateful for his help.
What does your home say about you:
It says that I love art. You will find colorful little gallery walls composed with all of my treasures in every nook you can find. It also says that I have lots of children! Though I do try to contain them in baskets, you will inevitably find children’s toys and books everywhere!
Where do you find inspiration:
First and foremost, Instagram. I use Instagram as a tool to discover new vendors, makers, product and textile lines, and artists. I also STUDY design books and read them like they are textbooks. On my nightstand now is More Beautiful by Mark Sikes, Summer to Summer by Jennifer Ash Rudick, and The Perfect Kitchen and The Perfect Bath by Barbara Sallick.
Who are your style icons:
I worship the ground that Mark Sikes walks on! To me his spaces strike the perfect balance between elegance and comfort, and I especially admire the way he mixes richly patterned fabrics in a single space.
What are your key ingredients for entertaining:
First, make sure your powder room is immaculately clean. Second, have plentiful food on hand that is “fun” to eat - my favorite menu to serve is a taco bar on a buffet because it is beautiful and colorful and people can pick and choose the toppings that they like. And how fun is it to assemble a taco?! I like to make a homemade slow-roasted pulled barbacoa beef or pork, and then have tons of toppings to choose from like queso fresco, fresh lettuce, limes, roasted corn, flour and corn tortillas, and an assortment of salsas and hot sauces. It is always a hit.
Do you collect anything:
I love collecting small works of art, especially abstract pieces from Kayce Hughes’ daily Instagram @kayce_hughes_art, as well as small still life paintings of fruit. I cannot resist anything that has lemons or oranges in it! I am constantly on the hunt for new work and would rather have a new piece of art than new shoes or clothing. I also collect vintage blue and green spongeware from Etsy - I love the uniquely American feel of it, and the happy color it adds to my home. Lastly, I collect seashells from beach vacations and store them in little blue and white bowls around my house.
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:
Oh so many! Some of my favorites for design inspiration are @andrewjhow (he is hilarious and also a master at color and pattern mixing), @markdsikes_interiors, @peterdunhamtextiles, @elementstyle, and @summerthorntondesign. My favorite artist to follow is @christinabaker1 - her work transports me to another place. For fashion inspiration, I am loyal to @juliaberolzheimer and @caitlingeierfisher.
What design “rule” do you always follow, and which is made to be broken:
I always make sure that every space has a good amount of sconces and/or table lamps in it for soft lighting. I also believe in the rule that you should get the biggest rug that your space will allow. A design rule that was made to be broken is having shades of colors from different elements in a room *perfectly* match one another. While it’s always a nice touch when your lamp matches the color of the pillows and the tile in your kitchen, it’s okay if they are a little different from one another. What’s most important is how they play when mixed together and looking at them from afar. Different shades of blue for example, such as aqua/green-toned ones mixed with more cornflower-toned ones, can actually be really beautiful when used in similar ratios throughout a space.
What are you working on right now:
Right now my projects include the remodel of a mid-century style home in near San Luis Obispo, California for a fun, outgoing client who loves a blend of modern and trad; a contemporary new build in Manhattan Beach, California; and a colorful, farmhouse-style lakeside cottage in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. I’m also in the conceptual phase of the remodel of my own home in Wisconsin that I am hoping to turn into something much more traditional and Cape Cod-esque (eek I am SO excited!).
Wardrobe staples:
Right now I am LIVING in my J.Crew demi boot crop jeans in white and gimlet wash. They are so comfortable and the high waisted button fly is so flattering. I also cannot live without the J. McLaughlin Jamey sweater and own it in tons of colors. I love that it is thin enough to tuck into jeans and wear underneath coats which is super important in chilly Wisconsin. For bags, I alternate between my Cuyana Classic Leather Zip tote for fall and winter and my Pamela Munson Petite Isla Bahia for spring and summer - both are roomy enough for design notebooks, measuring tapes, sunglasses, and diapers!
Favorite fabric/wallpaper:
I am currently using Lee Jofa Althea Cotton Citron and Bennison Kazak Stripe in Blue Charcoal on Yellow/Oyster as the “lead fabrics” in the creation of my house palette. Blue and yellow has always been my favorite color combination so I am embracing it.
Best interior advice you ever received:
Measure, measure, and measure again. And wait to buy until you can afford what you really love. You’ll never be happy if you furnish your space halfway. I’ve been living in a sparsely decorated and furnished house for years as I wait to afford the pieces that I truly covet.
Best career advice you ever received:
Outsource the tasks you are not as skilled at, whether it be bookkeeping, computer drafting, or web design. And invest in quality photography for your work.
Types of home purchases you invest in, and save on:
I like to invest in custom made designer fabric pillows with contrast welting, major pieces of upholstery like the bed and sofa, and custom woven wood cordless roman shades.
I like to save on rugs and have discovered some of my favorite affordable patterned wool rugs from Pottery Barn.
Your greatest extravagance:
Getting my roots dyed every eight weeks! I was able to avoid this until my thirties but now it has become a must, hah!
Favorite places to shop for home:
Chairish and Heritage Trail Mercantile in Chicago for antiques, Rejuvenation and Visual Comfort for lamps and lighting, Serena & Lily for children’s and nursery bedding, wallpaper, and unique dressers, Aerin for picture frames and placemats, Etsy for vintage serving bowls and pitchers, Pigeon & Poodle for bathroom accessories, Jill Rosenwald for pottery, Hudson Grace for candles, Amanda Lindroth for woven-wrapped hurricanes and vases, Brahms Mount for herringbone cotton throws, and Amazon for solid colored linen napkins and striped Turkish tea towels.
Most prized possession and why:
A 19th century European faux bamboo dresser that I discovered via The Blue Door. I gasped when I saw it and knew I had to have it, and had it trucked all the way from Santa Barbara to get it. It is the one place in the house where I get to curate my displays without the kids getting to it, and the drawers store all of my kids’ art supplies. You can see it styled up for the holidays here.
Your interiors motto:
Surround yourself with things you love. I am a big believer in the KonMari method. If something does not “spark joy” in me, I try to find a way to donate it. Stuff inevitably finds its way into my house with having four kids, so I try to make regular donation drop offs to the local thrift store.
Your life motto:
Love the one you’re with! This has become especially true in the age of Covid, and I actually really enjoyed the extra time I was able to spend with my family and “quarantine crew” during the height of the pandemic.
Advice for someone looking to define their own interior style:
Start reading design books. My favorite for beginners is The Perfectly Imperfect Home by Deborah Needleman. Also, start a Pinterest board of spaces that move you, notate the specific reason you love that image, and then you will start to find the common thread between those spaces.
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter is my main source of nutrition.
Drink: Pellegrino with a splash of cranberry juice and a lime.
Film: All of Nancy Meyers’ films. I study all of the set design of all of her films. My favorite is Father of the Bride.
Hotel: The Four Seasons Maui is my favorite place in the entire world.
City: Paris, hands down. The shopping, art, sights, food, kid-friendliness, and ease of getting around cannot be beat.
Bedding: The percale Serena collection from Matouk which has the prettiest scalloped wave pattern, and the Fresco Luxe White sateen collection from Eastern Accents for incredibly soft, plain white pillowcases.
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): Both! In the morning, I take my coffee with a tablespoon of coconut oil and a dollop of raw honey. People think it’s crazy but it’s so tasty and moisturizes my lips with every sip! In the evening, I make my own tea by steeping fresh sliced ginger in hot water and then adding the juice of 1 lemon and a scoop of raw honey. It is so refreshing!
Playlist: My kids are addicted to The Greatest Showman soundtrack. We blast it on the Sonos after dinner every night and the kids run around the table dancing while my husband and I finish dinner. It’s a hoot.
Weekend Activity: Packing up the car and heading to my parents’ lakeside home in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (tagged as the #grassylaneremodel in my portfolio). In the winter we mostly stay inside and snuggle by the fire, and in the summer we enjoy all the outdoor activities that the town has to offer such as swimming, hiking, canoeing, cruising on the pontoon boat, the farmers market, and taking the kids to the local park.
Design Book: Beautiful by Mark Sikes and Coastal Blues by Phoebe Howard.