Cathy Newman has her mother to thank for her career choice. “My mother worked steadily on decorating jobs for clients she met at her day job in retail merchandising,” she relates. “She demonstrated that it is possible to be creative, solve problems, create strong relationships and have a direct and meaningful impact on people’s lives and how they live.”

After a decade in corporate marketing, Newman followed her mother’s path and combined her business savvy with her artistic training (she is also a painter) to develop her approach to interior design. “Both processes require a willingness to be flexible and the ability to solve problems that present along the way,” she explains.
Founded in 2019, Newman’s firm is located in Annapolis—though it serves clients “near and far,” she says. A solo practitioner, the designer takes special pride in building long-lasting client relationships through integrity, curiosity and creativity.

Newman’s projects take into consideration composition, color palette, texture and style. And as a painter, she loves color. “It injects unique personality, and character into a project,” she avers. “Those are the ones I find the most interesting, challenging and always unique.”

As for sustainability, Newman leaves nothing to waste, furnishing projects with a mix of vintage and beloved pieces from her clients’ own collections and timeless, quality goods that are made to last. “Old things tell a story, and reviving, repurposing and reupholstering heirlooms preserves and saves them from the
landfill,” she says.

Cathy Newman received Home & Design’s Grand Award for Whole House/Traditional Design in 2023.