A Clean Slate

HAVE A SEAT In the sitting room, Buschor loves to hang out with her husband, Curtis, or work from home. She picked the Kardiel Maddox chairs in Cream Bouclé because they are beautiful and comfortable, and, she says, “I love bouclé! With the wood tones, they were the perfect style for this room.”

A CLEAN

SLATE

Via her Olympia, Wash. home, interior and product stylist Meegan Buschor shares the power of DIY, upcycling and rearranging.

Photos by •• Bret Gum

CREATIVE SPIRIT Buschor built the coffee table herself, using stones from an old fireplace as the legs. “One of my favorite things to do is to rearrange things and see how things work in different places, to repurpose,” she says.

“I ‘VE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN INTERIOR DESIGN AND HOMES, EVER SINCE I WAS LITTLE,” says Meegan Buschor. As a kid, she rearranged her furniture weekly. This ever-evolving, “let’s see how this looks!” attitude has carried forward into her adult life. After a career in event planning, Buschor says she finally gave in to her artistic impulses and started her own business, Mia Interiors, specializing in designs for home interiors a few years ago. These days, she shares her DIY projects and creative décor stylings with her followers on Instagram (@mia.interiors), inspiring them with the power of transformation.

Top: THE WOMAN BEHIND THE PAINTBRUSH Homeowner and styling whiz Meegan Buschor.

Left: ON TREND The touchable texture of the Kardiel Maddox chairs in Cream Bouclé.

Opposite: STYLE ASCENDS In this busy area, Buschor made sure there was ample storage, with the hooks for hats and coats and a bench for putting shoes on or taking them off. The shelf is a former table; she cut off the legs and mounted it to the wall. The terra cotta pot is also a makeover; she used baking soda mixed with paint to give it an interesting texture. An abstract painting on the wall is Buschor’s own work.

“One of my favorite things to do is to rearrange things and see how things work in different places, to repurpose.”

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Buschor lives in Olympia, Wash., with her husband, Curtis, and their children, Jack (17), January (7), Nixon (5) and Radley (4). “Curtis pushes me to be my best self and has always supported me while I was trying to figure out what my passions were,” says Buschor. While she does the bulk of the interior design, “he does have an opinion.” Fair enough, Curtis.

Buschor’s fans know her for her minimalist, vintage-inspired aesthetic, and kind, down to earth demeanor. Her DIY prowess is impressive. She stripped and sanded her dining room table, for example, and creates lighting fixtures by drilling holes in baskets. As her family grows and changes, she moves furniture around, adjusting the living spaces. For example, in Nixon and Radley’s room, a bunk bed was sawed in half and painted white. A table from the living room became a bedside table, painted … white. “Curtis makes fun of me because I paint everything white,” Buschor laughs. But the result is a clean background that allows her furniture and accessories—many of them special vintage treasures—to shine.

As her family grows and changes, she moves furniture around, adjusting the living spaces.

VINTAGE VIGNETTE “The picture is from my favorite vintage shop,” says Buschor. “And the butcher block countertops we put in the week I was due with Radley—not stressful at all!”

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SLIDING DOORS The glorious green door is upcycled. “My parents were renovating their house and wanted to get rid of that door, and I was like “Nope! I want it,” laughs Buschor. “I painted it green. Their home is Mid Century modern, very 1950s. My parents were always into white walls, and as a child I wanted color. I hated it—and now here I am with white walls everywhere.”

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LIGHT IT UP Buschor DIY’d the light, layering two pieces and painting the underneath light white. She also put in the shiplap here. “My parents did the subway tile for me as a birthday present. My dad is very into renovating and projects. I have learned so much from him. When I was little, I’d help him build furniture or paint.”

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COZY TEXTURES Up close and personal with the Gris Bouclé fabric on the Kardiel Domus sofa.

“My parents were always into white walls, and as a child I wanted color. I hated it— and now here I am with white walls everywhere.”

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STAY A WHILE This space serves as the kid’s playroom, and family hangout area. “It’s gone through a lot of phases” says Buschor. “The shelves were walnut and in a different home, so we resized and painted them.” The fireplace area has similarly been through a lot of changes—it’s been black, white, faux marble, and currently, she did a stone-like finish using a rag and paint. That is a Kardiel Domus 93" Fabric Sofa. “It’s the perfect size,” says Buschor. She layered two rugs; the one on top is vintage.

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Opposite: ROOM TO GROW “That dresser was the first piece I collected at the beginning of my vintage love,” recalls Buschor. “We wanted a dresser/diaper changing table, as we were in a tiny home at the time. I wanted to paint it, but Curtis wouldn’t let me, and I’m so glad. The wood is beautiful.” The floral pattern on the wall is a wallpaper mural. “January is very dainty and a perfectionist,” she says. “I felt like the mural suited her.” The ceiling fixture was a table that Buschor turned into a light, and that faux tree is also a DIY project. “I cut a stick from a tree in our yard and bought faux eucalyptus branches and assembled it,” she explains. CALIFORNIA DREAMING “Radley is our wild child. She is hilarious and makes everyone laugh,” says Buschor. Since she shares her room with her brother, Nixon, Buschor went with a cool, California vibe that suits them both. The retro poster, for example, reads “Make art, not war.” Radley’s side of the room is a bit more feminine, with touches of pink such as Kardiel’s Mid-Century Orb pillows in Old Rosa velvet.

SURF’S UP On Nixon’s side of the room, Buschor hung one of her husband’s surfboards. “Nixon is more mellow,” says Buschor, who loves to take walks with her family down by the ocean near their home. On the walls, she used rope to create a textured surface. Kardiel’s Mid-Century Orb pillows in Gris Bouclé decorate Nixon’s bed. “The kids love these pillows—it’s like a beach ball.”

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WHERE YOU HANG YOUR HAT In the master bedroom, Buschor used some of her hats as wall art. She created the abstract over her bed, finding a canvas at Goodwill and painting over it. She put the shiplap on the walls. “I wanted a cozy, light and bright room that was easy and feminine but not too feminine, for my husband’s sake.” She used a door from her parents’ home to create a slider, providing more room inside the closet. “The chair was one I have wanted—it’s vintage—I had no idea where I would find one and then I was at a beach town and went into a vintage shop and there it was. I think I manifested it!”