By 6 p.m. the evening prior to an LSU football home game, loyal fans have already started making their way to campus. Some are parking their motorhomes in orderly lines in the lots near the stadium. Others—often in khaki pants and sport coats—are hauling tents, tables and speakers out to the Parade Grounds. Another group of faithful Tigers are making their way up I-10, heading from New Orleans to Baton Rouge for the weekend.

For many in this last group, the pilgrimage is a familiar one, with plenty of sporting seasons under their belts, in addition to their four-year stays as they pursued degrees at the university. And with the Capital City always calling, it only makes sense to have a home base when in town to celebrate the home team. At least that is the mindset of the homeowners of this townhome that sits in the shadow of the pantheon of concrete and steel.

“They go to almost every home game and always have,” says interior designer Rebeckah Blossman of New Orleans-based design firm Master & Man Interior Design. “They had a larger house in Baton Rouge but knew they wanted to downsize. They kept an eye on these townhouses for years, and when one finally came up for sale, they bought it.”

Just a short walk to tailgating, the stadium and local favorites like The Chimes and Louie’s, the new spot was a no-brainer. The couple parks their car on Friday and does not touch it again until Sunday. But what was not ideal was the dated interior of the townhome which evoked memories of LSU’s several forgettable 1990s football seasons.

“It needed an upgrade for sure,” Blossman notes. “They wanted something fun and LSU-centric, but we wanted to make sure it wasn’t in a jarring way.”

With design partner Lauren LeMaster, in addition to a team of Baton Rouge-based vendors including Jeff Raybon Construction, Timberline Millworks and Denicola’s, the team took to transforming nearly every inch of the home. Utilizing a palette of purple and gold, of course, their focus was always on functionality for entertaining. Since the home sits almost on LSU’s campus, it is a hub for family and friends on gamedays. With this in mind, Blossman and LeMaster worked to optimize seating in spaces like the dining room where they placed a custom-built banquette, and the living room, which sits 12 thanks to upholstered ottomans and a pair of couches.

But it wasn’t all about practicality. The designers decided to go bold in a few key areas to make an impact and key into the fun that goes on within the home’s walls. In the dining room, custom built-ins were installed and painted in Benjamin Moore’s “Eggplant.” And then there’s the powder room with its black and metallic gold tiger wallpaper and its statement-making black trim in Benjamin Moore’s “Almost Black.”
“We went wild in the powder room,” LeMaster says with a laugh. “We wanted to make those memorable moments that would set the house apart and make it feel elevated.”

Art was one thing the design team didn’t have to look far for. Other than a few pieces like the vintage tiger sketch over the dining room banquette and a framed matchbook, all of the artwork came from the homeowners’ personal LSU collection. “They have a plethora of LSU paraphernalia, so it wasn’t hard to fill the walls,” Blossman says.

From the newspaper front page following the 2008 BCS National Championship win to signed photos of Early Doucet and Jacob Hester to a stylized portrait of Pete Maravich, the memorabilia calls to mind not just major moments in LSU sports history but also the homeowners’ personal memories of each season.

The renovated townhome offers new opportunities for carrying on that memory making tradition alongside LSU sports. It creates the space for friends and family to come together and celebrate, no matter the season—sports season, that is. And it carves out a piece of LSU just for the New Orleans natives, so they’re always able to come home to Baton Rouge.