A Place To Call Home For a Chef and Leather Goods Maker in Portland, Maine

For years my sister has rented homes, never really taking ownership over the space and enjoying it. Only recently, with her current place, has she thrown caution to the wind and made an effort to make her temporary rental space feel like home by investing in decor, art and furniture that make her happy and feel at home.

Like my sister, it’s not common that the people behind these sneak peeks own their homes. But whether you own or rent your space, having a place you can call “home” is oh-so important. After all, there’s no place like it — wherever that may be, for however long. So it was refreshing when leather goods maker Meg Farrell said of her gorgeous rental, “Well, honestly this isn’t the one. But this place had a lot of things we really liked!” Meg has lived in the beautiful 1920s home with her partner Greg Mitchell and their dog, Remy, for the past year. Though it took a while for it to feel like like it, it’s the place they happily hang their hat. Greg is co-owner of the Palace Diner and Meg runs Farrell & Co, so after a long day of work, the name of the game is relaxation; whether it’s making a good meal together, enjoying the company of their friends, playing with Remy in the backyard, enjoying a drink on the porch (there are two of them!) or listening to records. Meg and Greg’s home is akin to walking inside a well-curated antique shop; the kind where you wish you could buy everything in sight and recreate it in your own space. They’ve done such an amazing job making this 1,200-square-foot space feel like a home that’s been lived in and loved for years and prove the message that home is wherever you want it to be; that “home” is a feeling. Though they’re still in search of “the one,” Meg and Greg say “for now, this place makes us pretty happy.” —Sabrina