Spoonflower Employee Home Tour: Theresa Rizzuto

Step inside the home of Spoonflower’s Theresa Rizzuto, Senior Manager of Content and Creative! Learn how she styles her favorite designs to create her dream space, what Spoonflower artists inspire each room, and the “color compass” that makes it all feel uniquely her own. From adding playful throw pillows to installing wallpaper on the ceiling (we know, cool, right?), there’s a special touch of Spoonflower in every room.

Theresa: Hello, MTV Cribs… ahem… I mean, Spoonflower—welcome to my home! Here you’ll find a playground of colorful design, prints, and wallpapers from my favorite Spoonflower artists.

I believe deeply in the philosophy that design and color in the home can transform your mindset and the way you feel. I’ve let that concept be the driving force of every stylistic choice I’ve made since purchasing this 90s-era home in 2021. Each item is thoughtfully chosen with a sentimental story or memory behind it, which helps me feel grounded in what I love and who I am, allowing me to bring that energy back out into the world.

My goal is to create a space that feels functional, warm, constantly inspiring, and most importantly, fun. I can’t wait to show you around!

If there’s one color that represents my happy place, it’s easily this kelly green. I painted the inside of my front door this vibrant shade last March while coming out of a difficult period of seasonal depression. As I finally started to feel like myself again, I found myself wanting to surround my home with all my favorite colors—bringing joyful hues back into my environment in a bold, intentional way.

Now when I look at that door it reminds me of the importance of expressing myself, and of filling my home with art that speaks to my soul. That front door is my color compass, and I have made many stylistic choices based on that color since then—including this Kelly Green Wavy Check pillow by perrinphilippa. I especially love the way it looks next to Sheldon the shrimp!

While the vibe in most of my home is playful, colorful and fun, I prefer to keep the palette much more serene and neutral in my primary bedroom to create a sense of calm, and help my nervous system relax at the end of the day. My go-to artist in the Spoonflower Marketplace for that particular vibe and aesthetic is usually juliaschumacher. I love the way this Belgian Linen lumbar pillow in Spaghetti Hieroglyphs Sand helps me find my zen when it’s time to turn out the lights (plus the texture is incredibly dreamy).

We have so many talented surface artists here in the Triangle area of North Carolina where I live, and I try to incorporate their work into my home wherever I can. One of my favorites is Alison of oneandonlypaper, who I was introduced to when she collaborated with a local boutique in Raleigh. She worked with the boutique’s owner to create a custom collection, and I knew I had to have these gorgeous Spoonflower cocktail napkins the second it launched! I love how these Orange Blossoms on Dark Green napkins add a little drama to every tablescape, plus they coordinate well with all my colorful East Fork Pottery glazes.

These indigo-dyed shibori printed tea towels are some of the oldest in my collection! I love the way the indigo shade goes with everything, and how the Linen Cotton Canvas has softened beautifully over time and with every wash. They’re perfect draped over the oven handle, used as napkins on a picnic, or at my bar cart—ready to be tossed over my shoulder while I mix up a cold gin fizz.

Another local-to-me Spoonflower artist whose work I love to fill my home with (and who is also one of the kindest, most genuine humans I’ve ever met) is katie_hayes. For my home office, I chose her Peck and Plume in Dark Pine design and had it printed on Peel and Stick wallpaper. As a huge bird-lover, I was drawn to this print because of all the beautiful quails, cardinals and other local plants and animals subtly woven into this print. The color palette adds an air of sophistication to my office/craft space, and makes me feel like a grown up! Having a personal connection to the Spoonflower artists’ work I fill my home with is just the icing on the cake.

I took a sample of it to my local Benjamin Moore and they were able to mix up a custom shade of green to match which I used to paint the trim and doors. The leftover Peel and Stick wallpaper was used to create a laptop skin for my computer.

Who doesn’t love a big birdy moment in the powder room? I have installed many types of Spoonflower wallpaper over the years, but our Prepasted Removable is by far my favorite to work with! It’s super forgiving and easy to install due to its re-positionable nature. This design, Heron Green by holli_zollinger, is the perfect pop of color for my powder room / guest bathroom. I just love how it adds a bold zing of brightness you wouldn’t necessarily expect.

Are you starting to notice a trend? When I had the opportunity to wallpaper my ceiling for a recent blog post, I knew I had to give a nod to my spark bird (the bird that ignited my love of the feathered world), the Eastern Towhee. Eastern Towhee Birds by somecallmebeth is a bold choice for this space, but it’s such a special print to me and I knew it would make me happy every time I pop into the guest room.