My Space: Lisa Orman Olson’s handmade home

Photos by Collin Richie

The artist gene is dominant in Lisa Orman Olson’s family. She is a portrait and landscape artist, her mother is a designer and decorator, and her father is a writer and builds colorful wood collages. Even her husband, Randall, has an eye for photography.

So it’s not surprising that, when it came to their home, the Olson family wasn’t afraid of a little DIY.  They built their own mirrors, spraypainted furniture and accessories and created their own artwork—all with a little help from Lisa’s 85- and 81-year-old parents.

Growing up, Lisa’s family lived all over the world, in places like Australia, Brazil, Switzerland and California. Today, she makes a point to take a major trip with Randall every year, and her love of travel is woven throughout her home’s décor. She’s been in Baton Rouge the longest—17 years—so it was important to give her house as much character as possible.

There is, after all, no place like home.

Gallery wall: Randall takes most of the pictures during their travels. When they return home, Lisa paints or draws the scenes he captured using black and white gouache paints or pen and ink.

Dining table: The ceilings in the Olsons’ informal dining space are 14 feet high, so Lisa knew they’d need a large table to fill the space. “Anything small would be dwarfed,” she says. At Red Door Interiors, they found an 8-foot-long harvest table made of reclaimed wood. “Kind of cool—you can see the old wooden nailheads,” she says.

Wicker chairs: A Pier 1 Imports find that the Olsons spraypainted black and topped with cushions and pillows for added comfort and style.

Chandelier: The rustic light fixture was passed on to Lisa by her best friend, Sherrill, who had just moved into a new house and didn’t think it would fit in with her décor. The chandelier was originally gold, and the Olsons spraypainted it black. “Sherrill was over yesterday for our Super Bowl party and said that if she’d known it would look so good black she might have kept it,” Lisa says.

Mirrors: The Olsons have many handmade mirrors throughout their home, some in black or gold sunburst designs and others modeled after French trumeau antique mirrors. Lisa’s mother designs the mirrors, her father builds them and her mother paints them. “There was so much wall space in this house. We needed lots of big pieces. Mom decided: mirrors,” Lisa says.

Warrior statue: Shortly after they moved into the house, Lisa traveled to China, Thailand and Cambodia for several weeks. Her mother suggested she shop for a statement piece to put in the foyer—maybe a tapestry or a porcelain piece. She was not expecting a 650-pound crate to arrive following Lisa’s trip. The crate contained a full-size replica of one of the Terracotta warriors that Lisa found at a shop in Xian. “It is quite a conversation piece,” Lisa says.

Do you know of a remarkable interior in the Baton Rouge area? Tell us about it by emailing [email protected].