two-tone

Lonny

Back in the day, I wouldn't go for any mismatched furniture in a room. Now, I adore mixed finishes! So much more style and character. But I don't know if I've really embraced the idea of two finishes on the same piece. It's a little mod/retro for my taste... but I think I'm warming up to it. Especially dark stain and white together. Looks good.

6th Street
 

obsessed:

Prada via This is Glamorous

Can't get this space out my mind...

but don't really want to.

LOVE.

dwell studio vintage plumes giveaway!

I am so excited about this giveaway.

WoodyLiana is one of my absolute favorite Etsy shops. The shop is about to re-open for Spring, and I have no doubt I will love what's in store because I always do! Liana has a great selection of designer fabrics and also takes custom orders. She will hunt down fabrics, offers great suggestions, and her sewing is perfection. 

Take it from me: she is a dream to work with.

And you're about to like her even better, because today WoodyLiana is sponsoring an amazing giveaway:

Two 21" Dwell Studio "Vintage Plumes" cushion covers in Jade,
with navy welt and jade linen backing. 

I seriously can't say enough nice things about Liana or her work... these covers are gorgeous!

F O U R  C H A N C E S  T O  E N T E R:

Become a follower and...

1. Leave a comment!

2. Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link

3. Post to Facebook about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link

4. Tweet a link to this giveaway and tag me (@wmarissa)

Remember... you must be a follower to win.

Would it be tacky if I entered? ;)


The giveaway will close Friday at midnight, and I'll announce the winner on Saturday morning.

Don't forget to visit WoodyLiana soon for all the Spring updates!

my living room: bird prints

 I am making really good progress on decorating my little apartment (yay!), but the bane of my existence has been the wall above the sofa in my living room. For the life of me, I could not decide what to put on this big, blank wall. It had to take up space, and it had to be cheap. Or free.

I had put together these framed bird prints and was planning to use them in my bedroom. But they didn't work well with the rest of my design for the bedroom, so they were hanging out in my closet along with the feathers and the cone things. I got desperate for at least something to put above the sofa until I figured out what I really wanted to do with it... and this is what came of that desperation.

 And you know what, I like it!

Is this what I'd do with a big budget? Maybe not. But it is made of things I already had and it incorporates two of my favorite design motifs-- birds and black & white stripes. Success!

little things: lilly's notebook

I love Lilly's Notebook. Lilly's style is super colorful and bold--check out this amazing Wearstler-esque paint job she tried! In the end, she deemed it a fail... but isn't it so awesomely brave? For the last day of Men's Week (tear), Lilly is sharing some of the knick-knacks she keeps around that make her husband feel at home.

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 Chris loves this backgammon board. He is always asking me to play. He would totally freak out if I got rid of it.  Fireplace tools are big. The blow poke is his favorite thing in the world.

Turvis Tumblers are Chris and my dad's favorite cup. I fill all of my cabinets with them. Chris also loves animals. The rest of my house is hot pink, regular pink, purple, magenta and red. That's how we like it over here (four girls and one guy)!

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It's the little things that count. :) Thanks, Lilly!

And thank you to everyone who joined me for Men's Week!

creating a "man mountain": abode love

Laurel-Dawn is the sassy Southern gal behind Abode Love. She decorated  a room for her husband to do his thing and have his space, which she calls the "Man Mountain." But the room is also stylish and flows really well with the rest of their home--she did a great job using the colors of their alma mater in subtle ways with great patterns. No crusty old Cheetos between the cushions here!

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Hello Roosters! My name is Laurel-Dawn and I am the blogger behind Abode Love. Thanks to sweet Marissa, I am here to talk about how to make a Man Mountain (my super-awesome word for a man cave that happens to be UPstairs instead of DOWNstairs) in any abode that will please both your hubbs and yourself.

Mister Hubbs and I love Auburn Football-- we are both proud Auburn University Alum, and I promised Mr. Hubbs that he could have a little shrine in our abode... but I still got to design the room... for the most part. Here is a photo of Mister Hubbs and I in our prime, we were students in college, and when Britney Spears was on top of the world (which is why my tummy is out for the world to see...) aaaah, the glory days... this is the first football game we attended together.

Since Auburn's colors are orange and blue- there were a lot of different ways that I thought that we could pull the colors into the space without looking tacky. Mister Husband really wanted to paint a huge "AU" on the wall...ugh.... and that was the last time I asked him what he wanted.

I knew what style my hubbs was after, a space that would say "I am in love with Auburn Football, and I am a MAN. " So- I kept this thought in my mind while making every decision in the space.

Here is how the space started: dark and skank.

And here it is now!

 

I painted the ceiling a pale blue to really lighten up the space and offset all of the orange I added to the room. I painted the walls in large, horizontal cream and white stripes to again, lighten the space- the stripes make the room feel so much larger and much more open. The rug is from Pottery Barn- the pattern is fun, graphic and vibrant-- I love this! I knew that orange and blue would need to be used- but by using a creamy backdrop of paint and pattern, the "guy stuff" is softened.

This trunk from Restoration Hardware is the newest edition to the Man Mountain.... we're loving it. One reason I chose THIS particular trunk, was the fact that it mixes a silver and brassy/gold finish... very glam. Another reason that I love this piece... hello storage! There are two super-deep drawers on either side of the trunk that are perfect for stashing extra blankets, magazines, or junk... for the trunk.

I created a wall to display all of Hubbs' artwork that he has collected over the years, thanks to his wife being an artist... as well as some of our favorite "game day" photos at Auburn. (check out tips for hanging gallery walls here!) I painted an enormous canvas with one of Mr.Hubbs' favorite photos of Ronnie Brown in action. It's amazing what art can do for a space! I also love bringing in the M wherever I can- I think Mr. Hubbs is getting sick of it- but I love the personal touch that letters and monograms can bring into a space.

This is a vintage trunk that I found at an antique store here in Birmingham, and the circle canvas with the vintage Aubie mascot was something that we bid on at a local VSA benefit- check out the link!

The golden drapes are from World Market- they sell 96" drapes now, and they're cheap! I liked the idea of bringing in another warm color to the space to balance out the orange rug- so these golden, velvet curtains were perfect! I then went to Calico Corners and purchased a few yards of an orange, green, pink and gold paisley that I could use to give the drapes a more custom look. (yes... that's right, pink paisley in the Man Mountain...) They also add more color options to the palette of the room. I love the way the drapes tie into the horizontal stripes.  The brassy-gold fabric acts as a bridge between the bright Auburn orange rug and the cream and white stripes. I also went with a brass finished drapery rod and finials from Pottery Barn.

Mister Husband got this old wooden crate from his mom- she is great at finding fun things for us! The small gold table is something that I got from Pier 1 about a year ago. The Restoration Hardware Aviator chair... and Vintage Air Force pillow via Wisteria make for a lovely combination. The lamp shades are from Anthropologie- and I love that they are colorful, graphic, and contain Auburn's colors.

The hardware on the desk is also brass... I like these pulls because they give this sweet, white desk a little punch of masculinity.

And to finish up the tour... 

THIS is what Mister Husband picked out for the room... (it can be hidden in the oversized closets with double doors... thank goodness) This is for playing his x-box, seriously. I mean, you should have seen his face when it arrived in the mail... it was like Christmas. I wonder what this room would have looked like had it been up to him? Who knows!? 

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I LOVE the school pride and all the color. Thanks, Laurel-Dawn!

For more, check out Abode Love.

convincing the husband: danielle oakey

With two girls and one guy in the house, the balance in Danielle Oakey's home naturally tends toward feminine! She has fantastic ideas for creating unique and personal space on a limited budget. While initially hesitant, her husband loves what she has done with their home--and she has done a lot of great things in a pretty small space!

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Hi, I am Danielle from Danielle Oakey Interiors. I am so excited to participate in Marissa's Mens Week series.

Incorporating my hubby's style into our home... hmmm, you're suppose to do that? I must have missed that class in interior design school. I am the luckiest girl, my husband does not care. He lets me make all the decisions! Although my husband is compliant, he is skeptical about my design decisions. Actually, I think he doubts most of them. Let me show you a few:

One of the first purchases we made when moving to Salt Lake City was this yellow credenza from Ikea. Zack, my husband, was not so sure about this purchase. He has since changed his mind.

Imagine his reaction when I purchased 2 christmas reindeer from Michaels and transformed them into wall art. Guess who likes them now?

The B&W stripes in my daughter's room had him really worried.

"Are you seriously painting her room black?"

A couple days later, "Wow, that looks really good!"

And the silhouette animal plates, who does that?

He wasn't convinced about the ikat curtains in our master bedroom.

I actually think he still doubts that decision.

I recently added blue trim to our bedside table lamps. Guess who doubted me? I think he has changed his mind now. (btw- the finger prints on the lamp are my daughter's contribution to the decor)

I also added this gallery wall to our hallway last year--$12.00 total from the thrift store. He didn't love the bottom middle picture.

He finally took matters into his own hands and replaced the picture with a print of his choice.

See, I let him add his touch.

One day, when we live in more than 900 sq. ft, Zack will have an office to design the way he wants. I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

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Fresh, colorful, and fun without being too girly. Beautiful. Thanks, Danielle!
For more, check out Danielle Oakey Interiors.

masculine + feminine: a thoughtful place

Using a neutral base with just enough color, Courtney of the wonderful blog A Thoughtful Place has created a beautiful home for herself, her husband, and her children to enjoy. She does a great job balancing masculine and feminine to create a traditional look with a little of both genders mixed in.  And she's been kind enough to share some of her ideas with us today!

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Hi. I'm Courtney from A Thoughtful Place and I am so honored to be a part of this series here at Roost. Marissa is such a sweet girl and I enjoy her blog so much. I am excited to dish about how we make our house a home for both of us!

Let me start of by saying that we are extremely fortunate in that we share many of the same design sensibilities. My hubby and I both prefer a traditional look with current trends as accents. We are both attracted to mill work and appreciate a more sophisticated and simple look. Having said that, I definitely keep him in mind when designing a space. For example, in the master bedroom, my side of the bed hosts a more glamorous mirrored side table, while he has a more masculine dark stained wood piece. I know he wouldn't be down with waking up to a mirrored feminine nightstand.

I also incorporated a photo that he took over our bed. This was originally a large French print with a horrible maroon mat and bronzed frame. I tore all of that out, sprayed the frame silver, and cut my own mat board to fit the photo. My husband loves music and playing  the guitar and this was a particularly special image he composed back when we were dating. So not only does it mean a great deal to us, but it's nice to have his work above the bed.

In the downstairs bathroom, we used a gallery wall of photos taken by my husband on our various trips. Again, it's great to use his work and it is  a nice way to remember all of our travels. So it might be nice to keep in mind your man's interests when choosing artwork. It's an easy way to capture things that both of you enjoy. When framed and matted well, photography always looks great.

 In our living room, I was careful in choosing some shiny, glamorous pieces but mixed them with some darker accents. The subway art is rather masculine and is a tribute to the streets that we both grew up on.

Resting on top of the dresser is a collection of our books. Many of the books I have nestled in different spots are old books of my husband's or books he collects. As avid readers, it's a great way to infuse both of our styles and to keep us surrounded by things we love.

When we redesigned our kitchen, I definitely had the vision and made most of the choices. He just held his breath and had confidence that it would all come together {what a guy!}. I devoted a whole corner of the kitchen {and it's not huge} to my hubby. I have never had an espresso in my life {oh, maybe once on our trip to Paris}, but know that he LOVES it. So this shiny "space taker-upper" is all him! So he gets one corner and I get another with my old school coffee maker. Two happy people.

All in all, we tend to gravitate towards the same style. I am positive there would be much more pink in this house if it weren't for the hubby! So instead I stick to pops of pink with flowers. While not technically a spot all to himself, we do use the garage as a hang out when people are over and it's time to relax and just chill. With darts, ping pong, and a TV, the unofficial "man cave" is a great spot for the entire family and it reminds my husband of growing up back East. It was all his idea and I have never regretted it! Because of him, we have a spot everyone likes!

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Great job collaborating with your husband Courtney, thank you for sharing!

For more, visit A Thoughtful Place.

big boy room: hi sugarplum!

Cassie from Hi Sugarplum! (doesn't that name just make you smile?) has done a fantastic job transforming her home to fit the needs of everyone in it. She's a thoroughly creative DIY Queen--check out her tutorial on new-sew pillows! Today, Cassie is sharing some of her thoughts on the process of creating a cool, big kid bedroom for her 9-year-old son.

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Hello Roost Readers! I'm Cassie from Hi Sugarplum! and I'm thrilled to be taking part in this fun series.

I've only designed one room with a guy in mind...and that was my 9-year-old son's 'Big Boy Room' last Summer. I chose strong, non-traditional colors in a masculine palette since the space is all his.

I think the lines of furniture contribute to the gender of a room as well. For instance, the clean, modern lines of his desk and dresser lean towards masculine:

         

Whereas the curved, delicate lines of my daughter's bed and dresser are extremely feminine:

I also paid close attention to the accessories, making sure nothing was fussy or fancy.

 

 

As for the rest of the house, it is a delicate balance to join the two genders. But fortunately I don't live with guys who are afraid of pink!

  

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I'm sure any little boy would love such a cool space. Thank you, Cassie!

For more, check out Hi Sugarplum!