Spaces: Creating Sweet Tangerine Dreams in Providence

Homeowner Marissa Daniels, craving a floor-to-ceiling fireplace setup, made one herself: Two cement-covered wooden frames serve as a background for terra cotta tile, artwork and sconces, while the bottom frame holds a space heater to add to the room’s cozy vibes. Photography by Angel Tucker

Marissa Daniels lives her life in full-on Technicolor.

Vintage cookware and a variety of plants line the floating kitchen shelves. Photography by Angel Tucker

As owner of Pretty Things, a permanent makeup and hair studio in Federal Hill, she daubs rosy tints on lips, perfects kohl winged eyeliner on lids and sprinkles just the right amount of tawny freckles on cheeks and noses. Wild-colored rooms, yellow ceilings and David Bowie posters complete the space’s ’70s rock carnival feel.

But it’s her circa-1965 split-level home in Mount Pleasant where her vivid personality truly shines.

It’s a vision of Space Age chic, with burnt orange and avocado green accents swirled throughout, along with deep moody hues and midcentury modern furnishings. Where vintage Pyrex bowls are right at home next to a brand-new matcha-colored KitchenAid mixer and a flat-screen TV holds court near Daniels’ collection of vinyl.

But it wasn’t always that way.

An avocado tile backsplash (“Palm Tree Glass” by Fireclay Tile) sets the tone for the Space Age kitchen, while the Terrazzo tile floor is done in “Sputnik” by Zia Tile. Photography by Angel Tucker

The three-bedroom home had been a rental property for years when Daniels bought it in December 2022. She had been looking for something quiet with a backyard where her ten-year-old border collie, Ellie, could roam.

It was a “landlord’s special,” she jokes, with spackled white walls everywhere, groaning appliances and odd fix-it jobs taking the place of regular maintenance.

“Walking through, I thought, ‘Man, this needs a lot of work,’” she says. “But I also saw the potential to fix it up and bring it back to life.”

Daniels and her mother found orange drapes online and cut off the fussy bottom details to make a focal detail in the living room. Photography by Angel Tucker

With the help of her contractor, Fred Bagley of Bagley & Son Carpentry, Daniels set about creating a modern-day kitchen. The previous space was divided into two rooms, with the cabinets strangely situated in a former breezeway with bland linoleum flooring. They tore down a wall to create a seamless kitchen and dining area and replaced one of the breezeway doors with a double window, adding natural light throughout. The white cabinets and quartz countertops are from Ikea and serve as a chic, gleaming counterpart to the mossy green backsplash and Terrazzo tile floor, both of which Daniels installed herself.

“From a distance, [the Terrazzo] reads nice and neutral, but when you see it up close it has nice chunks of color,” she says.

The kitchen’s dry bar features an assortment of period barware. Photography by Angel Tucker

A warm geometric tile floor from Zia Tile anchors the updated bathroom. Photography by Angel Tucker

An orange vinyl banquette (a Facebook Marketplace find) serves as dining area seating, along with two chrome and cane chairs, all reupholstered by Daniels’ mother. The sunny corner is anchored by a bubble-shaped lighting fixture by Ukrainian artist Artem Ronsky she found on Etsy.

“I saw it and was like, “Yep, that looks like a spaceship or something,” Daniels says.

Retro artwork — think Warhol, Bowie and old concert prints — is peppered throughout the home. Daniels, an art school grad who majored in printmaking, has a mat cutter in the basement to precisely hone her prints to size. Most of her furnishings and decor are retro finds from Esten Ave Vintage in Pawtucket, Rocket to Mars in Providence, Facebook Marketplace and Etsy, coupled with contemporary items — think shag rugs and modern runners from Ikea — and pops of greenery everywhere: in tiny pots, macrame hangers and vintage ashtrays doubling as planters.

Daniels and Ellie, a ten-year-old border collie, relax in the dining area. Photography by Angel Tucker

Just as in the kitchen, the bathroom was also taken down to the studs. Vertical white tiles replaced the standard ’60s-era sky blue-and-black subway tiles, with a warm orange floor underneath. An ecru shag rug, vintage Beach Boys print and an organically shaped mirror complete the luscious vibe, along with Benjamin Moore’s “Painted Sands” — a beige with hints of orange — on the wall.

The moody main bedroom and adjacent dressing room — Daniels hopes to connect the spaces someday with a set of French doors — are done in rich, burgundy walls (“Negroni” by Backdrop) and plush, colorful rugs. A floating rosewood headboard, found on Etsy, anchors the soothing space.

The dressing room is done in rich burgundy tones, midcentury pieces and wallpaper from Spoonflower. Photography by Angel Tucker

“I love the dark color on the ceiling,” she says. “It’s so cozy.”

Aside from some minor interior projects and outdoor landscaping, Daniels is nearly done designing her swanky dream home. Next year, she’d like to complete the midcentury modern vibes with a breeze block entryway. It would give guests the tiniest hint as to what to expect once they cross the threshold into the vintage, dreamy world Daniels has built inside.

She even has a breeze block tattoo framing nasturtium flowers on her right arm.

“It was part of my tattoo artist’s flash,” she says. “I was like, ‘Of course. I need that.’ That’s so midcentury. It’s so me.”