By Tara Duncan, Hosted by Haley Hinson Ishmael
Thoughtful. Intentional. Unapologetically authentic.
Those are the words that come to mind when talking with Marie Cloud.
As founder and principal designer of Indigo Pruitt, Cloud has built a design studio known not only for its fearless use of color but also for an approach to interiors that extends far beyond aesthetics. Her work explores the relationship between people and place, asking clients not simply what they want their homes to look like, but how they want those spaces to shape the lives they live within them.
That perspective has helped transform Indigo Pruitt from a boutique interior design studio into a growing lifestyle brand encompassing product design, education, wellness, and now blHUEprint—a new platform designed to make intentional design more accessible to homeowners and designers alike. Along the way, Cloud has become one of the industry’s most recognizable emerging voices, earning a place in House Beautiful’s Next Wave Class of 2026 during the magazine’s 130th anniversary year.
For Cloud, however, recognition has never been the destination.
“I never really cared about the spotlight,” she says. “Press and recognition are tools for the business, not validation.”
That mindset—equal parts creativity, strategy, and humility—has become the foundation of everything she builds.
Discovering Design
Long before Indigo Pruitt became a nationally recognized studio, Cloud was already designing.
She just didn’t know it yet.
“I feel like I’ve been designing spaces probably before I knew I was doing it,” she says.
Growing up, Cloud found herself paying close attention to the environments around her—not necessarily how beautiful they looked, but how they made her feel. She noticed the energy of a room, the atmosphere it created, and the emotional response it inspired.
That curiosity eventually led her to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design, alongside coursework in art and other creative disciplines. Even then, she wasn’t entirely certain what form her career would take.
“I knew there was some sort of creative entity I wanted to create,” she says. “I just didn’t quite know the layers.”
The answer emerged gradually.
Rather than beginning with a rigid business plan, Cloud found herself having deeper conversations with clients and friends—conversations that shifted away from furniture and finishes and toward something much more personal.
Eventually, she realized she had already become the kind of designer she had been searching for.
“When I launched Indigo Pruitt,” she says, “I wanted to build a studio where that instinct was the actual method.”
Even the company’s name reflects that philosophy.
For Cloud, Indigo represents richness, depth, and emotion—qualities she wants every project to embody. Today, the Charlotte-based studio has become known for interiors that are vibrant, deeply personal, and unmistakably individual.
Designing Identity
Traditional design conversations often revolve around trends, inspiration images, or favorite colors. Cloud believes those questions only scratch the surface.
“I stopped asking clients what they liked,” she says. “I started asking them how they wanted to live.”
That subtle shift fundamentally changed both her process and her business. She encourages clients to think about the rhythms of their daily lives.
How do they want mornings to feel?
Where do they gather with family?
How do they rest after difficult days?
The answers become the foundation for every design decision that follows.
“The home really does shape our nervous system,” Cloud explains. “It shapes how we rest, how we work, and how we show up for the people we love.”
That realization eventually gave rise to one of Indigo Pruitt’s defining ideas:
Home is identity made physical.
For Cloud, a home quietly tells the truth about the people who live there.
“Our homes are not lying to us,” she says.
“The colors you choose, the things you keep—or don’t keep—the way you move through your space…all of that is data.”
Rather than imposing her own vision, Cloud helps clients interpret that information.
“It’s less about taste,” she explains, “and more about truth telling. We’re often creating homes based on what we think we should like, instead of who we really are.”
Peeling back those layers has become one of the most rewarding parts of her work.
Beyond Beautiful Spaces
That same philosophy extends to Cloud’s signature use of color.
While Indigo Pruitt has become known for bold palettes and fearless combinations, Cloud is quick to point out that color alone isn’t what defines a successful room.
“It’s not the color,” she says. “It’s the context.”
The same shade can feel dramatically different depending on natural light, architecture, geography, and how the room functions throughout the day.
“Color behaves differently in every room,” Cloud explains.
Someone selecting paint from a small sample under fluorescent lighting may be surprised when that exact same color transforms completely inside their own home.
Context, she says, includes everything—from lighting conditions and scale to how adjacent rooms interact.
“Color is a responsive material.”
That understanding is one reason Cloud continues to advocate for professional interior designers.
Rather than choosing colors in isolation, designers understand how every decision contributes to the larger emotional experience of a home. Freedom and expertise, she believes, are not opposing ideas. They’re complementary.
Expanding the Indigo Pruitt Vision
As Indigo Pruitt grew, Cloud saw an opportunity when she began hearing from homeowners who admired her philosophy but weren’t ready—or able—to commit to full-service interior design.
The result is blHUEprint, which Cloud describes as the design house for intentional living. It serves as an extension of Indigo Pruitt’s design philosophy, offering curated resources, educational tools, licensed products, and one-on-one consulting designed to meet people wherever they are in their design journey.
“It’s a different way that we can offer our design philosophy,” Cloud says, “without feeling like you have to commit to full-service design.”
Visitors can download curated playlists to complement different moods in the home, schedule virtual studio sessions with Cloud, or explore upcoming color guides and educational resources.
Designing for Wellness
While wellness has become one of the design industry’s most talked-about trends in recent years, Marie Cloud hesitates to call it a trend at all.
In her view, design has always influenced how people think, feel, and function. The difference is that the industry is finally beginning to recognize it.
“We’re in a place where people are looking for spaces of retreat and refuge,” Cloud says. “That’s a good thing.”
Today, clients are asking deeper questions about how their environments support their daily lives, reduce stress, and help them reconnect with themselves and the people around them.
For Cloud, those aren’t marketing buzzwords—they’re measurable outcomes.
Holding accreditation in neuroaesthetics, the study of how the built environment affects the brain and body, she incorporates research into her design process alongside creativity and intuition.
“Wellness design isn’t a trend or an aesthetic,” she says. “It is understanding that space has a measurable effect on how people feel and function.”
That perspective also challenges one of the industry’s common misconceptions—that wellness can be achieved through a predictable collection of finishes or furnishings.
Minimalist white walls.
Natural linen.
Indoor plants.
Those elements may contribute to a calming environment for one person, Cloud says, but they are not universal solutions.
Instead, every design decision should respond to the individual. Just because a room looks peaceful does not mean it genuinely helps the person living there feel at peace. This is the heart of Indigo Pruitt’s work.
Building More Than a Design Studio
As Indigo Pruitt has evolved, Cloud has become increasingly intentional about growing a business that reflects her own values as much as her design philosophy.
One of the biggest turning points, she says, came when she stopped trying to accept every project.
“We needed to get comfortable saying no to the wrong projects,” she says.
The change wasn’t easy.
Like many entrepreneurs, Cloud initially felt pressure to say yes to every opportunity that came through the door. Over time, however, she realized selectivity strengthened both the quality of the work and the clarity of the brand.
“When I started being more selective,” she says, “the caliber of the work went up—and so did the clarity of what the studio stood for.”
That clarity also influenced how she built her team.
Cloud describes Indigo Pruitt as intentionally lean, with every role designed to support both creativity and execution.
“I can have a vision all day,” she says, “but the execution requires people.”
Delegating has allowed her to spend more time doing the work only she can do—developing ideas, guiding clients, and expanding the Indigo Pruitt brand into new spaces.
At the same time, she has learned to separate recognition from purpose.
“I never really cared about the spotlight,” she says. “Press and recognition are tools for the business—not validation.”
It’s advice she believes many emerging designers need to hear. Awards can open doors. Features can build credibility. But neither should become the reason for doing the work.
A Year of Momentum
2026 had been a particularly meaningful year for Cloud. She was named to House Beautiful’s Next Wave Class of 2026, joining a select group of designers recognized for shaping the future of residential interiors during the publication’s 130th anniversary year.
For someone who has admired the magazine long before launching her own business, the recognition carried particular significance.
“House Beautiful has always had a special place in my heart,” she says.
The honor, she explains, affirmed that the ideas she has spent years developing—identity-driven design, intentional living, and emotional connection—are resonating across the profession.
“It definitely affirmed the way I’ve been positioning this work,” she says.
Perhaps most importantly, the recognition reinforced that deeply personal design is becoming central to where the profession is headed.
“It tells you the market is catching up to the work.”
Looking Ahead
Cloud has never viewed Indigo Pruitt as a finished idea. Every new venture grows from the same foundation.
Alongside the continued expansion of blHUEprint, the studio is introducing additional educational resources, expanding its licensed textile and wallpaper collections with Spoonflower, and continuing to develop products that allow more homeowners to experience the Indigo Pruitt philosophy beyond full-service design.
When asked what comes next, Cloud doesn’t hesitate.
“All of it.”
It’s an answer that perfectly reflects both her ambition and her curiosity. There are more collaborations on the horizon. More collections. More speaking engagements. More opportunities to educate.
Yet despite the momentum, Cloud says her focus remains surprisingly simple.
“I really want to stay faithful in this foundation,” she says.
That foundation is the belief that every home has the power to tell the truth about the people who live there.
It’s a philosophy that has guided Indigo Pruitt from the beginning and continues to shape everything Cloud creates.
For members of the Designer Society of America, it offers a reminder that successful design businesses are built on more than talent or technical expertise. They are built on authenticity, understanding people before projects, asking better questions, and recognizing that beautiful spaces are not the final goal—they’re simply the visible expression of something much deeper.
As Indigo Pruitt continues to grow, Marie Cloud is proving that design is about far more than selecting furniture or choosing the perfect shade of paint.
It’s about helping people create homes that don’t just reflect how they want to live—but who they truly are.
