Our Design Approach

How we approach design and build

The Process

Step 8 – Construction support and oversight

Present through the build.

Studio Olio remains involved throughout construction to support the design as it’s being executed. This includes coordination with trades, reviewing site conditions, answering questions as they come up, and ensuring the finished work reflects the original intent.

Frequently asked questions

These are the questions that usually come up before reaching out.

Office hours: Tuesday – Friday, 9am – 5pm MT

Lora Frost during her own shop build. Please ignore the pink safety glasses, they were the only ones that fit.

How I got here

I didn’t come to this through a single path.

I came up through photography and fine art, added graphic design, and spent nearly a decade designing high-end residential and commercial landscapes in Vancouver, BC — working at a scale and level of complexity that reads as landscape architecture. Along the way I added certification as an organic master gardener and in irrigation design. That period taught me how to read a site, how to think about space from the outside in, and how outdoor and indoor environments inform each other.

From there I moved into interior design and renovation, adding formal training in residential design/build and hands-on construction work. I’ve done the work with my hands, and I know what it takes to build something correctly.

I’ve lived in Vancouver, BC, Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, Vermont, and Colorado — each place shaping how I think about space, climate, material, and what makes a home feel like somewhere you actually want to be.

Most of my work now is in historic home renovation in Denver — Victorians, Foursquares, Colonials, Craftsman bungalows — the houses built before 1960 that have an internal logic most people have stopped being able to read. I know what to touch and what to leave alone. Studio Olio is based in Denver, Colorado, working primarily in historic homes throughout the area, and we work remotely with those of you who are farther away.

Function first, always

I once lived in a beautiful historic home — twelve-foot ceilings, enormous windows, a primary bath that stopped people in their tracks. We moved in and discovered it didn’t actually fit us. The open plan had no doors, so there was no way to control sound or light from one room to the next. You couldn’t use the soaking tub without waking your partner. The space was beautiful, and it didn’t work.

That experience shaped everything about how I design. Function comes first. If a space doesn’t actually work in your daily life, it doesn’t matter how beautiful it is. Beauty comes after the fundamentals of how you use the space have been figured out.

One of my clients was nearly in tears, explaining that she’d moved into a beautiful new house and couldn’t figure out why she felt so uncomfortable in it. She was upset that she couldn’t identify the problem herself — but designing your own home is difficult, even for professional designers. What I found was that the previous owners had used multiple whites with different undertones, creating a subtle dissonance throughout every room. We chose a cohesive neutral palette, and the house finally felt like hers.

That’s the work I love most — listening carefully, figuring out why something isn’t working, and finding the solution that fits your specific life.

What working with me actually means

“This is definitely one of my top 3 reasons for hiring a Project Manager. I’ve managed 2 major renovations myself, and will NEVER do that again. Hire Lora, unequivocally.” – Client, Jennifer Wright

I’ve worked with hundreds of contractors over the past twenty years. I know what good work looks like, I know what the specifications should be, and I know when someone is hoping you don’t. I’ve had plumbers tell me something couldn’t be done, and then watched a different plumber do it correctly on the first try. I’ve had contractors install builder-grade millwork in a historic kitchen after we explicitly discussed matching the original profile — and then sourced the right millwork shop myself.

I decided early on that I never wanted my clients to go through what I went through on my own early renovations. When you work with Studio Olio, you have someone in your corner who knows enough to push back — and will. Someone who understands how a project should be built, not just how it should look.

During the early months of COVID, when material delays and permit backlogs were derailing projects everywhere, we completed a full kitchen relocation in a historic home. Here’s what the contractors said:

Beyond the work

I’m a wildlife photographer when I need to slow down, and I cut down trees and chop firewood when I need to speed up. I travel as locally as possible — less tourist trap, more living like someone who actually lives there. Boutique hotels that have attended to every detail make me unreasonably happy.

I have a border collie named Pai Mei and a flock of 8 chickens. I grow food and flowers — the garden is never finished, which suits me fine. I own more Fluevogs than is probably sensible

Colour, pattern, and bold statement areas bring me a lot of joy. So do quiet, considered spaces where everything is in its right place. I think we need both in our homes — and most homes don’t have nearly enough of either.

Coming Soon –

A Guide For Choosing Delightful Details;

Creating a space your mind and body adore being in.

And

A Guide to Soulfully Deciding on a Colour Palette For Your Wellness Office.

In the interim – sign up below and you’ll be the first to know when the Guidebooks are ready for a free download.