A Sense of Home

By Wensdy Von Buskirk

Megan Rose Atkinson, a true Northville native, has always had a knack for transforming spaces and creating warm, inviting homes. Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, she witnessed the hard work and dedication it takes to build a successful business. Inspired by her parents’ drive, Megan decided to combine her passion for interior design with her real estate expertise, launching MEGANROSE Interiors in 2020.

With a team of talented women and trusted contractors by her side, Megan’s business quickly took off. Now, three years later, she continues to bring functional beauty to homes in her beloved Northville, blending traditional styles with modern touches that reflect the families who live there. With a deep-rooted appreciation for the sense of home, Megan is committed to helping her clients create spaces where new memories can be made.

Atkinson has deep roots in Northville. Her mom, Michele — a past Victorian Queen — and dad John, opened their law firm Kelly & Kelly, P.C. in Northville in 1991, the year Atkinson was born.

She spent her childhood going to work with her parents, spending countless hours in the very building that now houses her own venture.

“I watched my parents build their business, the sacrifices

“That was just part of our lives,” she says. “We’re a projectbased family. We like to roll up our sleeves.”

Atkinson earned a degree in communications from Oakland University in 2013 and jumped into a career in real estate with Patti Mullen of the Patti Mullen Group.

“She is an incredible mentor,” Atkinson says. “She took me under her wing and I was able to gain so much insight into return on investment, home values, what improvements to make on properties that made sense for first-time homeowners and people ready to sell.”

When COVID-19 shut down real estate, Atkinson looked for a new way to serve her clients. She decided to combine her keen eye for style, her business acumen and her experience with real estate together into a design business.

MEGANROSE Interiors took off right away. One client led to another and three years later she now has a staff of five women and a team of contractors to carry out a wide range of projects. She also has a warehouse full of inventory, and her office in the family building at 422 Main Street. For the last two years, MEGANROSE Interiors has been named Best Interior Designer by HOUR Detroit.

“It just snowballed,” she says. “We are a family of entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial spirit is very much in my blood. I was raised to look for a need and to create solutions.”

Atkinson works with a lot of clients in her hometown.

“What’s really interesting is a lot of us that grew up in Northville have maybe gone and explored, went away to college and returned to the nest where our roots are,” she says.

For one recent client, who came back and purchased the same house where he grew up, Atkinson redid the master suite with coastal-style white oak floors, painted the walls a warm white, added modern lighting throughout, and updated the cabinets and countertops in the kitchen.

In the formal living room, a space in a traditional home many homebuyers don’t know what to do with, she created a swanky lounge absorbed in Hale Navy, cognac leather, and nods to the bourbon he enjoys.

Still, she preserves a sense of home.

“We like the traditional home styles in Northville that we grew up in. We like all that symbolizes but we’re looking for a way to modernize it and make it more reflective of us. A space to create new memories,” she says.

Atkinson puts her design acumen to work in the Novi home she shares with her husband, Jake, and their three small children.

Megan and Jake were high school sweethearts in Northville High School’s class of 2009.

“I’m still obsessed with him,” she says.

Raising a young family — Liam, 7; daughter, Blake, 5 and Tatum, 3 — informs Atkinson’s design choices.

She goes for functional beauty — elegant furniture with high-performance fabrics and modern rugs of durable wool “so you can live in your home without reservation.”

“That’s what I want in my own home. It’s a very come-asyou-are feeling when you walk in,” she says. “I’ve always really believed in the sense of home.”

For more information about MEGANROSE Interiors, visit themeganrose.com.