Meg Pope is an events marketing producer, living and working in Bristol, who has always had a love and a keen eye for interior design. When she sent us a picture of her beautiful cat, Frank, on her equally lovely new sofa we asked if she would write a guest article for us.

I can very distinctly remember when my obsession with interior design first began. It was 1996, I was 10 years old, and I was sat watching the first episode of ‘Changing Rooms’ with my parents. As the episode unfolded in a flurry of MDF, gold leaf and Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen’s oversized shirt sleeves, I remember thinking “These people are PAID to make other people’s homes look beautiful - I want to do that!” And so it began...

After working at a soft furnishings shop in my teens, and training as an interiors and soft furnishing specialists in my early twenties, I decided that whilst I still loved all things design, I preferred it as a hobby rather than a career. This all happened at around the time I bought my first house, which looking back, is no coincidence - there’s just SO much more satisfaction to be had in decorating your own house rather than other people’s!

Now, whilst my dream home is very much still a work in progress, I’m forever on the look out for the key pieces that are going to bring it all together. Our flat is in a 200 year old converted school, and we’re lucky enough to have lots of original features, such as arched Gothic windows and lots of beams. Great for adding lots of character, but difficult when it comes to finding decor and furniture which will do it justice.

Ever since day one we’ve been on the look out for the perfect sofa; often the key piece in any living room, but until recently, it’s been impossible to find it. Everything we looked at was too small, too modern, too cold, and not to mention too expensive! But a chance visit to Furniture Village on a rainy bank holiday finally solved the problem!

The Harlequin sofa ticks all the boxes. It’s big enough that it will fill the awkward space we need it to sit in, yet it’s detachable, so if we wanted to use any of the sections independently we can. The mixture of colours means it provides a much needed flash of colour in our living room, and the velvet feel upholstery makes it impossibly cosy - something I’ve been craving after years of leather sofas!

So if, like me, you’re starting to feel that the perfect piece you’ve been daydreaming about probably doesn’t exist, then you might want to pay a visit to Furniture Village. They certainly managed to fulfil what felt like my impossible expectations, and at a considerably cheaper price than I was expecting to pay, so maybe they can do the same for you!

P.S - It’s not just me that loves our new sofa - the cats are big fans too!

We love Meg's style but we love yours too! Send us a picture of your Furniture Village furniture styled in your own homes and we'll try to feature them on our magazine or on our Facebook page. You can submit you images on Twitter, just mention us in a tweet @OfficialFV or send us a message on Facebook www.facebook.com/furniturevillage