OLIVIA SONG

07/19/2024

In case you’ve invested in an HBOMAX subscription ——>

My episode of
BEACH COTTAGE CHRONICLES
is now streaming…

Season 4
Episode 12

Thank you HBO, Discovery+ & BFDNYC 🙏🏼

Watch Beach Cottage Chronicles and more new shows on Max. Plans start at $9.99/month. Discover the inspired designs, architecture and stories behind some of the most beautiful beachfront cottages in America. With each unique home, experience a firsthand look at the joy that comes from living on the....

04/02/2023

Blessed to work with incredible friends like who make the most perfect interiors. Chair is the Goddard Armchair designed by …Captured by .jess.laird

02/09/2023

Tone-on-tone // Primary Suite
This view showcases 2 alloys of metal, 2 categories of stone, 3 wood species, multiple textures, and a million whites.
One of my favorite vignettes from this project — a work by Kibong Rhee and the dark-stained vanity anchor the weightlessness of all the pale shades.

📸 .jess.laird

02/02/2023

Thank you to & who shepherded into the inaugural 🖤
The is “the ultimate resource for connecting homeowners and renovators with designers they can hire,” and the ~70 Founding Member architects, interior designers, and landscape specialists have been “vetted by AD editors to ensure exceptional quality.”
If you’re thinking about taking your space down to the studs (or more!), I’m happy to wax lyrical on how F&B operational design has a place in your home.

📸 .jess.laird

01/23/2023

Coffee for me ☕️ pancakes for the kids 🥞
I’ve seen multiple recent editorials where everyone says they’re sick of white kitchens. But I say they’re sick of design that’s blah. So many “boring” elements make up this kitchen: standard shaker frame cabinet doors, simple k***s traditionally mounted, “white” veined marble (didn’t that go out of style circa 2013?)… Add in the vachetta woven leather, classic light fixture, and the incredible underscore of the photograph — and this is one of my fav kitchens we’ve done.
For the Gordon Parks install, I had 2 requirements: (1) we had to completely cover an unattractive access panel on that wall, and (2) the image had to be visible between the topline of the island countertop below and the underside of the light fixture above . I used my own eye and height to gauge the ideal. You might know from one of my old posts that Frank Lloyd Wright (whose work I don’t actually like much) designed everything in his spaces to cater to his own 5’8” height. I figure that if the master was ok with it, then it’s ok for me. And our shared 5’8” is decently average for adults.

📸 .jess.laird

01/19/2023

I was thrilled chose this 1st photo for feature image. It says a lot about how I create space by utilizing proportion and texture over pattern and colors. I’ve set visuals on both the vertical and horizontal panoramas — because life is in 3D — but nothing screams for attention.
This is a Foyer and a Sightline (capitalized). The elongated space is bookended by ’s Dawn Light ###VII (through my fav now shuttered Victor Hunt Gallery) and ’s Each Second and Second. I’ve underlined the entire space in dark marker using James Mont’s ebonized oak Chinese-style bench. The black offsets the aerie effect of the white canvas and lightweight objects.
The OG aluminum cabinet floating on the wall is one of a fraternal pair. I first saw ’s work at way back when the space was on Duane Street. I had a newborn baby then and I would never go inside. I was either saddled with the stroller or carrying a baby and coffee. , founder of , nudged me to be friends with Jonathan and said that we’d hit it off. She was so right. I used to admire Jonathan's Home Plate Table, one of the least child-safe furniture items out there haha. Now my kids are older and I own it.
Jonathan’s since hosted my group in Columbus, Indiana. It was a life’s pilgrimage to see the midcentury Mecca, Miller House. He and I talk design all the time and are now collaborating on a long term project for his brand . I can’t wait to introduce that product to you!

📸 .jess.laird

01/17/2023

A creative mashup for very special design-obsessed clients — traditional materiality and detailing paired with contemporary styling and proportions. Out today in (link in bio), with words by my most fav longtime supporter . Wendy, I'm so blessed to have you in my life!
In the client's natural oak paneled dining room, I married art and architecture by tracing ’s SHY with ’s mountainous horizon line. This effect turned out marvelously and it wasn't an accident.
Shout out to my teammate (happy early birthday). From NeueHouse to Mr. C to Gleamery, and more, thank you for speaking my language.
Unending gratitude to my collaborators — , and the team at Zacco Construction. Great design doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It lives in the intersection of great minds. And of course, I can’t forget the galleries, artists, and makers who supported me by pulling rank and pulling together. We really muscled this project to the finish line. We hit every pandemic lockdown and garden variety obstacle known to man.

📸 .jess.laird

12/12/2022

Thank you for nominating me to be a Design Council Rising Star for the 2023 ! I am so filled with gratitude to you for the opportunity —and to all my friends and colleagues, especially my partner . What a strange few years it’s been. We’re all in this muck together, trying to create beautiful spaces and experiences for ourselves and for our clients.
The Winter Show returns to the Park Avenue Armory January 20–29, 2023, bringing together the best dealers in art, antiques, and design. Mark your calendars for the fair’s YOUNG COLLECTORS NIGHT on ***Thursday, January 26*** which honors and raises critical funding to support ! If you never saw (the introverted) me in 2022, here’s your chance. (Tickets link will be in stories…)
Some additional thoughts —— I grew up without any antiques, so they still feel foreign to me. But there are many modern and easy post-pandemic lessons for any aesthete. Lead times are immediate with antiques versus new production. And there’s the sustainability factor of upcycling and giving something old a new life. With objects of great design, quality, and provenance, we can consider ourselves a steward versus just an owner. Our duty is to keep things safe and well maintained for the future.
My favorite styles/eras in no particular order: Art Deco Chinese, American Shaker, French modern, Directoire, 80’s. I’ve included some Winter Show preview items in the slideshow. If you’re keen, I’ll share some additional thoughts in stories. Thanks for reading ‘til the end. ♥️

10/14/2022

In partnership with , I just launched an exclusive curation of 15 artworks. I’ve loved One Kings Lane since my first “Tastemaker Tag Sale” in maybe 2012(?!). OKL is a company that treats its professional and retail customers with care and consideration. I’m so honored that and her creative team want to share my point of view and brought this project to life. I can’t wait to see photos of your installs. ♥️
A little bit about the collection —— in choosing these artworks for you, my goal was to move the room’s focal point beyond its 4 walls. The eyes relax because we’ve tricked your brain into having a longer sight line. We expand the view by leaning on classical Renaissance perspective and foreground-middle ground-background landscape technique. Or through abstraction, we ask your mind to pause a second to focus and reconsider the forms. That extra moment glues your eyes and stretches boundaries, mentally and physically.
📸 1st image from the OKL catalog & the creative team
Clockwise from top:
(1) Clasical Walkway
(2) The Ornate Ceiling
(3) Vista View
https://www.onekingslane.com/b-48083-olivia-song (link in bio)

12/19/2019

I had the best time chatting with the Secret a Mentor guys about Design, clients, goats & life. Hope you enjoy — podcast link: https://anchor.fm/secretmentor/episodes/Olivia-Song-e4a2d6

Listen to this earlier episode of Secret Mentor with OLIVIA SONG - a design consultant for spaces like the Guggenheim, Neue House, and the Brooklyn Museum. She chats with Mike & Donny Dykowsky about IKEA, inspirational parents, and the importance of honesty and managing clients’ expectations. Let’s dive in! https://anchor.fm/secretmentor/episodes/Olivia-Song-e4a2d6

04/21/2019

Green Room — lots of pre-gaming here.
A collected assortment of art objects & design furniture w/ personal narrative.
The elegant beast is a commissioned bench/table by made of salvaged material in a pre-existing green. Instead of his usual knife edge perfection, Piet’s studio executed a rounded joint & corner detail based on my verbal direction & napkin sketch. I can’t live w/ child protection (hate it & have never done so), so furniture must be safe from my children & my children safe from my furniture. Bruising is ok but no bleeding. Scroll thru to see photos from Piet’s studio of progress mock-ups (2)(3)
Special thank you to the team at ( ) for enabling such awesome design collaborations & being all-around pals! 💖🌿

📸 Annie Schlechter @ Brooklyn, New York

04/19/2019

This is not my design work (it’s the office of ’s , designed by ) but there is a lot of handiwork here from a lot of great minds. Anne, who loves “Bic pen blue, is my role model. Stephanie Ingrassia, who has supported the Brooklyn Museum for eons, was the catalyst for this office makeover when Anne became the Museum’s ED.
I was the catalyst to connect
, the eyes and voice of New York City design, w/ our team — & thru Wendy’s work, you can finally sit in that Ward Bennett club chair with Anne.
Btw — before they lived in this office, I used to walk by those Ward Bennett chairs all the time & roll my eyes. They suffered from dirty upholstery & wasted placement in a nondescript gallery hall. I still find that bubblegum pink alarming, but the color sure works here. Scroll to see some radness w/ a tag by the graffiti artist, FADE.
Congrats on the beautiful story Anne, Wendy & Ellen!

📸 by Seth Caplan for New York Magazine / The Cut @ Brooklyn Museum