What, When, Where: Team Pride

By Erin Marvin

Are you ready for some football? I certainly am, and college football season can’t start soon enough.

College football is actually what brought me to Boston. I visited the city in 2005 when I followed the Florida State football team to Boston College for their first ACC match up. It was a perfect weekend: the weather was gorgeous, the Seminoles beat the Eagles and I fell in love with Boston. I moved up here the following year (although I still root against the home team).

While I’ve personally never looked to my team’s mascot for design inspiration, many fans endeavor to fill their home with sports memorabilia. (Luckily, interior designer Leslie Fine showed us how to display our team pride tastefully.)

With the recent release of the USA Today Coaches Poll’s 2011 preseason rankings, I wanted to see just how well school colors work on and off the football field for this year’s top five must-watch teams.

While the boys of fall take to the field, we can–tastefully–take their team colors inside our homes:

#5: Florida State
I may be somewhat biased, but garnet and gold are easy on the eyes, even when they’re used in home decor. Just look how well the deep red and gold accents warm up this dining room.

Photo courtesy of omahtrends.com

If you can’t get tickets, watching the game in this cozy living room seems like a perfect alternative.

Photo courtesy of bhousedesain.com

#4: LSU
Though LSU isn’t quite the coaches’ top pick (at least in preseason), purple and gold are the colors of royalty, and that’s certainly evident in this lush living room.

Photos courtesy of hautekhuuture.blogspot.com

Purple-and-gold striped wallpaper also makes a bold statement.

#3: Oregon
Though the Ducks have been playing since 1894, their green-and-yellow color combo adds a modern look to this living space.

Photo courtesy of trend-dir.net

The colors also brighten up this bathroom!

Photo courtesy of archdeco.net

#2: Alabama and #1: Oklahoma
Though fans would (rightfully) argue about the huge difference between the football programs of the top two teams, their colors (crimson and white and crimson and cream, respectively) are mighty similar.

Here we see a balance between dark and light in this contemporary kitchen…

Photo courtesy of decoratingdesigninterior.com

…and the colors also play out quite nicely in the bedroom.

Photo courtesy of modernbedroominterior.blogspot.com