Our homes are personal reflections of our beliefs, values and interests. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, more and more people are rethinking their home design, using furnishings, wall coverings, pillows and paint to express their personalities through their living spaces. Baltimore Style introduces you to the following Baltimore-area design experts dedicated to infusing character, luxury and warmth into the heart of every home.
Read about Mona Hajj, with links to our first two designers here. Below, learn why Catonsville designer Laura Hodges gravitates toward modern styles with a focus on sustainability.
Laura Hodges | Laura Hodges Studio
Born in England, Laura Hodges grew up locally when her family moved to Montgomery County. Although she had gone to school for business, she found herself gravitating toward something more creative.
Following a stint in New York after graduating from the New York School for Interior Design, the draw of family, and more green space and clean living, brought her back to Maryland.
Hodges opened her own design firm in 2016 and now owns a shop in Catonsville with her husband called Domain. The shop provided the perfect opportunity to source items locally
for her clients with items near and dear to her: handmade, fairly traded and sustainable.
When it comes to design specialties, Hodges is no one-trick pony. She focuses on sustainability top to bottom, working with architects from the very beginning—including landscaping and exteriors—all the way through to turnkey projects.
“Some of our clients just walk in there with a toothbrush,” she says.
Her aesthetic is modern, with a clean-lined tailored look but with the added character of vintage pieces. She likes to incorporate cultural items from travel to add a layered feel.
“With our clients we really try to focus on how they want the space to feel,” she says. It could be based off how they felt traveling “in some really amazing castle” or “in Morocco and it feels bustling and the colors are vibrant.”
In keeping with her sustainable design practices, Hodges loves nature-focused environments and nontoxic materials. She is seeing these items, as well as sustainable sourcing, become more of a trend in the industry as well. In terms of color, shape and form, the industry seems to run on a 30-year cycle. She’s noticing the ’80s making
a comeback.
Her recent projects include a 2,000-square-foot Baltimore loft space that she gutted, renovated and designed from scratch while working with local artisans. This summer, she will have also completed a waterfront home project on the Eastern Shore with lots of reused materials and vintage decor.
