Make Life Beautiful with Laura Hodges

Where do you find the most inspiration for your work?    

I find a lot of inspiration from traveling and experiencing different cultures and ways of living. I love to research historical design styles, but I also learn a lot about new materials and design ideas from our clients’ travels, Instagram and design magazines.   

What does your creative process look like?   

I start the design process with space planning first. Understanding how the space will be used, maximizing natural light, and ensuring we’re addressing the client’s needs for function are the most important first steps. From there, we consider materials and the overall aesthetic, creating a feeling and mood for the project. Once we know where we’re going, it’s much easier to find the right furnishings to fit the space.   

One of our favorite moments via Laura’s portfolio

What was the most significant business or creative challenge that you have encountered and grown from?    

Transitioning from working on my own to working with my husband, Tim, and a small design team was a huge step, but it’s been the most rewarding, and it has definitely resulted in the most growth.   

What has been your biggest achievement? When was the last time you thought “wow, I can’t believe I just accomplished that!”   

We were lucky enough to have a project grace the cover of House Beautiful this past year for a home office/gym flex space we created for the Whole Home Show House in Texas. We poured a lot of love and creativity into that project, so to have it be so well received was a tremendous honor and a wonderful achievement.   

Laura’s home office design featured on a recent cover of House Beautiful. Photo by Stephen Karlisch

Which upcoming project or endeavor are you most excited for?  

We’re working on an amazing property on the Eastern Shore with multiple small homes and communal buildings like a gym, entertainment space, and art studio. We were able to reuse materials from the property and incorporate many other sustainable design ideas, showing that good design can also be sustainable.   

Photo via @laurahodgesstudio and photographed by @jenniferhughesphoto