Inside a One-Bedroom Glasgow Flat Where Being 50 Feels Like 25
Lisa and Donnie are both in their 50s, but their home feels light, ageless, and full of warmth. It’s a flat that proves small doesn’t mean temporary — and that you don’t need a second bedroom when the main room does everything.
This film began with a casual scroll through Instagram. Ilya stumbled on a photo — a just-finished kitchen renovation, posted by a wedding dress stylist named Lisa.
There was something about that first shot that made him pause.
Maybe it was the calm rhythm of the lines, or the colourful row of cookbooks, or the view of Glasgow’s tenements outside the window.
Whatever it was, it led to a DM — and soon enough, we found ourselves in Lisa and Donnie’s home, making a film about their space and the life they’ve built there.
They’re both around 50, but this flat in Glasgow’s West End feels like a kind of tonic — a place where age loses all meaning.
Between the soft white curtains, the shelves of books and vintage film cameras, the high ceilings with their grand cornicing, and the buzzing city just outside, there’s a lightness that stays with you.
In Their Own Words: Lisa on Living in Glasgow’s Bustling West End as She Nears 50
We only planned to stay a few years. One-bedroom flats weren’t even on our radar. But 20 years later, we’re still here — and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
The West End sold it to us. You’ve got Finnieston, the city centre, Kelvingrove Park… it’s all on your doorstep. It just feels alive.
You don’t need loads of space — just good rooms. Our flat has one bedroom, but the main room does everything: workspace, living room, dining room, hangout zone.
