Starting Over in Minnesota

Lauren Hunter is the founder of Lauren Hunter Design. The St. Paul-based interior designer has become known for creating deeply personal spaces that balance refinement with real life. Her work is layered, warm, and human, an expression of someone who has spent her entire life studying how environments shape the way we feel.

A Creative Foundation Built in Art

Hunter's design career did not begin in a showroom or on a construction site, but rather with a paintbrush in Houston. As a child, she spent countless hours painting still lifes and landscapes, even earning a few commissions before she was old enough to drive. Those early experiences taught her something that would become central to her design philosophy: color, light, and composition can completely transform how a space feels.

Her creative instincts eventually led her to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where she studied Interior Architecture and Design. After graduation, she deepened her technical grounding through roles at a lighting company and later at HSH Interiors, where she spent seven formative years designing everything from ground-up builds in Marin to full-scale historic renovations in San Francisco.

"Those years were essential," she recalls. "They taught me how to bring creativity and structure together — how to dream big while obsessing over the details."

In 2019, she relocated to Minnesota and joined Heather Peterson Design as a senior designer. By then, her aesthetic voice was clear: layered, soulful, and grounded in daily life. In time, she was ready for the next step. The launch of Lauren Hunter Design became the culmination of nearly two decades spent refining her craft.

A Philosophy Rooted in Livable Beauty

What sets Hunter apart is not only her fine-art background — though that foundation gives her a rare fluency with color and composition — but her commitment to designing homes that are as functional as they are beautiful.

"I want my clients to live in their homes, not tiptoe around them," she says. "Everything I design has to feel elevated, but also effortless."

Her work blends vintage pieces, modern silhouettes, custom details, and meaningful art. Spaces feel collected rather than decorated, and every layer has a purpose. Instead of chasing trends, she favors timeless foundations balanced with unexpected textures or accents, spaces that will feel just as fresh ten years from now.

Navigating Challenges With Curiosity and Calm

Starting over in Minnesota presented one of Hunter's biggest early obstacles. With no existing network of vendors or trades, she had to rebuild everything from scratch. It took persistence, patience, and countless coffee meetings, but it also taught her the value of relationships.

Design, she emphasizes, isn't just about materials and measurements. "It's really about people," she says. "Listening carefully, communicating clearly, and guiding clients through a process that can feel overwhelming."

She also points to the unpredictability inherent in design. Supply delays, damaged materials, and disrupted timelines are all a core part of the job. Adaptability has become her superpower. Keeping clients inspired, even in moments of chaos, is part of the service.

A harder lesson has come from designing through recent economic shifts. With budgets tighter and client expectations unchanged, she has learned to maximize impact through thoughtful sourcing, blending retail and trade pieces, prioritizing vintage finds, and reinventing existing furniture.

"Constraints make you a better designer," she says. "They force you to be inventive and intentional."

Career Highlights That Reflect a Lifetime of Craftsmanship

Hunter's resume reads like a steady climb guided by curiosity and discipline:

• Featured in the Academy of Art University's juried 2004 Winter Show
• Promoted from intern to Junior Designer within three months of her first post-college role
• Earned her Lighting Specialist (LS) designation from the American Lighting Association
• Designed a four-year Mill Valley project defined by custom art, layered materials, and deep creative collaboration
• Founded her own studio, allowing her to build a more personal, client-centered approach

Her lighting expertise in particular has shaped the way she works. "Light is everything," she says. "It changes color, mood, and texture. It's the secret ingredient that brings a space to life."

How She Works

Hunter's primary offering is full-service interior design, start to finish, from space planning and concept development through sourcing, logistics, installation, and final styling.

Every project begins with flow. How someone moves, gathers, and lives in their home. Once the layout feels intuitive, she builds layers of color, texture, and tone around a single anchoring idea: a wallpaper pattern, a beloved piece of art, or a vintage treasure.

What's Ahead

Hunter sees herself taking on more out-of-state and vacation properties, along with one dream project: designing a boutique hotel lobby.

"I'd love to create a space that tells a story through texture, light, and mood — something guests feel the moment they walk in."