Olivia Stutz

What’s your design philosophy?

Design Philosophy. That's a big one.
It's so broad and it's an amazing question. I feel like it would take me hours to answer it!
When we’re talking about working on projects with clients, I always say this: Everyone has a distinct style.They're all very different and it's important for me as a designer to understand that. My job is to guide that style.

My clients come to me because they know and trust that their aesthetic is really going to be seen throughout the project. I guide every decision and I'm not afraid to say ‘no’ or ‘that doesn't look good.’ I'm not afraid to say ‘I don't think this should be here.’ But with every ‘no’ comes three ideas on how we can take that initial idea and make it something different.

I'm always trying to make things work within the projects while definitely keeping my style intact. It's almost innate, like we [designers] were born with it. The style and the eye for design, we just intuitively know. People ask me sometimes how I did a certain thing, and I don't always know. It's a learned thing from growing up and it's about all the years of research, travel, design experience and art school that have formed my opinion and my design philosophy about how a room should feel.

When was the first moment you recognized you’d made it?

I still have a lot of work to do and goals to accomplish, so I haven’t made it yet! But the first thing that comes to my mind is when I had a project in Tribeca that was fully shot for feature in Architectural Digest. I got all this recognition. I thought that was a great turning point in my career, which I look back on and think really highly of. It was a project that I completed and styled, and that was shot and successfully ran in a publication.

So many people from all over the world loved that space and used it as inspiration for their own spaces. It was a really interesting time that I honestly was not expecting. It's always great when you're not expecting it and it comes. When you wake up and you have 50 messages in your inbox and you're like, “oh my god, how did this even happen?” I didn't realize that my work would reach this many people or be this popular. That was such a nice surprise.

Do you remember your first Frette purchase?

Ooh, yes! When I moved to New York, when I first got my apartment, I went to Bloomingdale’s and got my first mattress on my own, my first bed cover, all my pillows.
The really nice sales associate, Hilary, helped me get my first Frette set: the duvet cover, all the pillow cases, even a few towels maybe. Those are still with me today. I just remember loving it and cherishing it, and really taking care of them. They're worth it. I remember starting a new chapter of my life with them. They're gorgeous and I had the best sleep of my life.

What’s your approach to your own bedroom?

Sometimes people don't focus on things that actually matter in the bedroom. For example, they’ll get a really expensive nightstand, cabinet or lights but skimp on the sheets and the mattress. To me, that kind of investment is all for nothing.
You should start with the basics: great sheets and a great mattress. They’re so important and I don't think people understand that yet. In my bedroom, there are other things that matter like accent rugs, candles and accessories but truly the most important things are those basics needed for a good sleep.

Who are the clients you are designing for?

It ranges from couples who were recently married and are just about to have a baby, to the younger side. I’m seeing that a lot of my clients are in their mid- to late twenties, just starting their art collections, need to finish up their homes, and they're really amazing people. Between New York and Miami, my clients are willing to take unique risks with me, whether it be with art or with the color on the wall.

For example, a client just went ahead and purchased a twenty foot light that I have been eyeing for about four or five years. I've been wanting to get this light, and I knew it would happen, I just didn't know with whom. Finally, I recommended it to him because it fit his vibe, and fortunately it really resonated with him.

The power of [things coming back to you] is just unbelievable. I shock myself everyday. I had thought about this light so much. I’d saved it, wanted to use it, and now I look back and can say, ‘I achieved it!’ It's really cool to have the types of clients who make it possible to actually do these things.