Talk Shop: Marissa Whitley Tago // The Whitley Co.
ABOUT MARISSA
Marissa Whitley Tago is an interior designer and owner of The Whitley Co., a full-service design studio in Columbia, Missouri. Growing up in Springfield, Missouri, Tago was a creative child, whose entrepreneurial spirit ran the gamut, from fundraising for school activities to organizing closets.
Today, the designer enjoys creating beautiful spaces for her clients through her firm The Whitley Co., which she founded in January of 2018. Through her work, she aims to highlight each client’s unique voice, and brings their treasured possessions to the top of the heap in order to enhance their spaces. Tago feels strongly that her passion for interior design allows for more than just creating spaces, but also the ability to enhance people's lives in the most intimate settings. (We agree!)
With each new opportunity, one thing has remained a constant in this designer’s life—her love of making spaces better than she found them. Her design aesthetic was broadened and her life enriched with each new adventure she’s embarked on, and she brings that unique perspective and passion for life to each space that she designs for her clients.
Marissa is a proud former Navy wife and mother of three children. She is also a member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Black Artists + Designers Guild, and the Female Design Council and was awarded the "Emerging Business of the Year" by the City of Columbia in 2019. We loved chatting with Marissa about her career, take a peek below!
Describe your style in three words or less:
Eclectic, Curated + Intimate
What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:
1. Moving to different cities (both big and small) and 2. venturing into local antique stores, flea markets and high end boutiques and 3. Meeting new people of all walks of life.
How did you start your company, and/or what is your favorite thing about what you do:
I have always known that I would be my own boss, having an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. I loved juggling academics, sports, playing cello and extracurricular activities and always flourished managing my time with multiple responsibilities. Living a nomadic lifestyle for much of my 20’s to see much of the US before meeting my husband in 2011, I became a wife and stay-at-home mother to two little girls by 2013. I knew that I wanted to do something that I loved that would make my time away from them worth it, when I re-entered the workforce. I thought about the saying, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” That “thing” for me was always designing spaces for people that I loved. The common thread through my entire journey was one thing--shaping spaces that I worked in, lived in and for those that I had met in my travels.
After putting myself through the Art Institute’s online ID program and graduating with honors with my Interior Design degree just shy of my 35th birthday, I knew that I wanted to have creative control and the freedom to be a hands on mother to my now three children under 6 years old and take that natural transition from being a stay-at-home mother and full-time student to business owner and entrepreneur. That is how The Whitley Co. was born, Whitley being my maiden name, and one of the only things of my father who was killed when I was five years old, that I possess-- his name.
Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:
Yes! Mentors have made my life what it is! Growing up on Mimosa Street in Springfield, Missouri, I was one of three kids in a five cul-de-sac radius of retirees. This was such a blessing in my life! As my fundraising efforts started, my surrogate grandparent list grew as well and listening to their life stories and advice was what my childhood was nourished by. One neighbor, in particular, took me under her wing as is my best friend of 30 years. Beth Richard was that woman in my world who gave me the design foundation and allowed me to realize my passion in helping others through design. She spoke my language and saw our similarities, even at five years old. To this day, we send each other images of projects, latest inspiration and she knows me better than I know myself.
What does your home say about you:
My home is filled with photographs, knick knacks and lots of color! It says that I love patterns, prints and showcases the random trinkets that I have picked up along my journey that speak to me at the time. It is mixed, layered and functional, something like myself, I guess!
Where do you find inspiration:
I find inspiration EVERYWHERE but I have found that the art of discovering is my deepest method of feeling creative and inspired. Venturing to new places, observing new things and meeting interesting people are the three key components of feeling inspired and alive.
Who are your style icons:
1. Gloria Steinem 2. Pam Grier 3. Naomi Campbell
What are your key ingredients for entertaining:
1. Live greenery/fresh flowers 2. Layered lighting 3. Eclectic music in the background as a wonderful foundation for the feeling that is being emitted.
Do you collect anything:
I never thought of myself as a collector as I lived a sort of nomadic lifestyle. I would liquidate each time that I moved to a new city, only keeping photographs and art that I had a deep connection to. So, looking back, I collected art, vintage rugs and keepsakes that hold deep meaning for me.
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:
@kellywearstler, @traceeellisross, and any designer that I happen to stumble upon organically. IG is nothing short on inspiration, depending on what mood you’re in and what you are searching for. I call it falling down the rabbit hole!
What design “rule” do you always follow, and which is made to be broken:
“Do what feels right” should be kept. The rule to break every time is “play it safe!”
What are you working on right now:
I have a custom build that is getting furnished, two master bathroom remodels, two salon spaces, a commercial space build-out and helping guide the furnishing selections for a multi-home project in Chicago. My goal this year is to collaborate with artists on as many projects as I can.
Wardrobe staples:
1. Vintage dresses 2. Oversized earrings 3. High-Waisted Jeans
Favorite fabric/wallpaper:
As a member of the Black Designers + Artist Guild, they have partnered with S. Harris to unveil the Orejen collection of fabric and wallpaper that were inspired from 3 different regions and they are luxurious and stunning.
Best interior advice you ever received:
Every room needs a touch of black. (Thanks, Beth!)
Best career advice you ever received:
If you do something you truly love, the money will come.
Types of home purchases you invest in, and save on:
Invest in the areas of the home that make you happy where people spend a ton of time. Kitchens, sunrooms and bathrooms are my top 3 spaces. I save on the decor and mix high end permanent pieces with money-saving options for the aesthetic elements.
Your greatest extravagance:
At the conclusion of 2020, I swapped my minivan for a luxurious Cadillac Escalade.
Favorite places to shop for home:
Anthropologie
Most prized possession and why:
Old photographs of my mother and siblings when I was a child. My mother passed away when I was three and my siblings and I were separated so they hold so much of my history of a time that I barely remember. And today, my family is my most prized possession. My husband Nick, my daughters Kalea and Atalia and my son, Kalel.
Your interiors motto:
Tell your clients story as best you can. Then throw in a few surprising details to add texture, color and visual interest.
Your life motto:
Resilience is beautiful, strength is sexy and there’s always room for improvement. Be the narrator of your own story and never stop working to create the life of your dreams.
Advice for someone looking to define their own interior style:
Trust your gut, learn from others, listen more than you talk and lead with authenticity and kindness.
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: Crab Legs and any kind of pasta
Drink: Ice Cold Lemonade
Film: Out of Africa
Hotel: Basin Park Hotel in Eureka Springs, AR (complete with a ghost tour and massages!)
City: New York
Bedding: Parachute linen sheets in Terra are simply gorgeous linens...
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): Kona Coffee with cream and sugar
Playlist: Khruangbin, Miguel and Thievery Corporation
Weekend Activity: Venturing out to get the lay of the land in Northern Virginia after relocating in January of 2021 from Columbia, Missouri with my husband and three children!
Design Book: Anything featuring spaces, places and art.