Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago I had some photos taken of our house . Since everything is a work in progress I asked the photographer to just focus on a couple of spaces - the barn/studio, kitchen and powder bath . 

It's nice to have photos by a "real" photographer . If you are local and in need of photography work give Andrea Hubbell a call. She was great to work with & made the whole process really easy . 

A Nursery for my Niece

We spent last week in Connecticut getting to know our newest family member , my neice Sadie Grace . 

She is perfect in every way and we miss her so much already . Her mommy and daddy kindly asked for my help with her nursery . It was fun to see our plans come together in person . 

She was 8 days early so there are still a few details missing (artwork, accessories, etc.) but I think the room is so pretty and perfect for sweet little Sadie . I don't think I will ever get tired of designing nurseries !

Dinner Inspiration

I was at the bookstore a few weeks ago and made an impulse purchase -  the new Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook, It's All Good .

I never buy cookbooks since so many recipes are available online these days but when I flipped through the book everything sounded really good to me . Over the past week or so I have made several of her dishes and I have loved every single one of them .

And even more surprising, my family has loved them too ! A couple that we have tried :

Chicken Francese

Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas with Mustard & Parsley

Quinoa with Mushrooms and Arugula

Black Bean & Guacamole Tacos

Sweet Potato and Five Spice Muffins

I've got several more picked out to try next week . This book could not have come at a more perfect time . I have been in such a food rut lately - feeling like I am just making the same thing week after week . It feels good to have some new healthy recipes to try .

 Have any of you tried any of Gwyneth's recipes ? What do you think ? 

In a totally unrelated topic, Riley has her first ballet recital this weekend . It's going to be so adorable seeing her up on stage . Hope she doesn't get stage-fright !

Loving

this hook from Anthropologie

It is so versatile . It works horizontally or vertically and it comes in several different finishes . They also make minature versions to use as drawer pulls . I have already bought several and may go back for more . I have a thing for good hardware and tend to hoard it when I come across a good find . Any other hardware hoarders out there ?

Outdoor Round Up

As promised here are a few of my favorite outdoor items available right now. 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 

 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8* | 9

*Number 8 is technically not an outdoor pillow but it is making its way to my screened porch anyway. 

What are your favorite outdoor items this year?

Outside Progress

One of the best things about our current house is the outside space . Although I'm an "interior" designer, when we were house hunting the outdoor space was almost as important to me as the inside space . I love spending as much time as possible outside during the spring, summer and fall . And I LOVE a good outdoor party (I guess it is a good thing both of my girls have summer birthdays !) 

In the past few weeks, in addition to planting our first garden, we have also had our yard cleaned up a bit . Between the crazy derecho storm that moved through our area last summer followed by a couple of heavy snows, our trees have taken a beating . There were lots of broken limbs, a couple of small trees that had fallen over and quite a bit of debris spread all over our yard . Now that we've had everything trimmed, edged, mulched and mowed, the yard looks amazing . 

The girls were super excited about the mulch delivery .

Another great thing about the house is that I can cook dinner in the kitchen while the girls play outside . Our kitchen has several windows so I can keep a close eye on them while they are out in the yard or on the porch . They get along so much better when I'm not around and I love watching their interactions when they don't know I am there . 

And speaking of the porch - the screening in process has started ! They are finishing the frame this week . Next week everything will be painted and then the screens will be installed .

I am beyond excited .  Check back next week for a round up of my favorite outdoor furniture . Some of the items will be making their way to our porch soon . Have a great weekend !

A Kitchen Garden

Pinterest

Via Merci

Martha Stewart

Tumblr

Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design

Lisa Bynon

Country Living

Pinterest

The Wallstreet Journal

Via Lulabelle's View

Via My House My Home

We are attempting to grow a garden for the first time this year . Paul built the raised beds last week and now we are deciding what to plant and how to fence the area around the beds . I am not known for my green thumb so wish us luck . As long as we get some tomatoes out of this project I will consider it a success ! 

Checking In

Sorry for the radio silence on the blog lately . Last week was crazy . While preparing for a weekend of travel to NC so I could host a baby shower for my sister and a retirement dinner for my mom , I came down with a horrific stomach bug that lasted FIVE DAYS . Aren't stomach bugs supposed to last 24 hrs ? ? ? Not this one . Thankfully while I was in the ER getting IVs of zofran and saline, the other hostesses picked up my slack and created a really fun and beautiful shower for my sister . And although I arrived a little late I was able to attend and had a wonderful time celebrating my soon-to-be neice . Mom's retirement dinner was with a really fun crowd and from what I've heard, amazing food . (Unfortunately I wasn't able to really eat much of it .) I am so happy for both my mom and my sister so missing their celebrations just wasn't an option . Hopefully I didn't infect anyone else in attendance at either event - I honestly wouldn't wish that virus on my worst enemy ! We had a ton of flowers left over from the shower so now that I am feeling better I have been spreading them around the house . 

Between the flowers and having our windows thrown open it officially feels like spring around here .  I love this time of year !  

What's your style?

Brad Ford

Quite often when I meet someone for the first time and they find out what I do for a living the next two sentences out of their mouth are:

1. OH! How FUN!

followed by

2. What's your style?

I never quite know how to respond to that statement or that question . I guess we have HGTV to thank for making it look like interior design is always fast, fun and easy :) In all seriousness I know people are usually just trying to be nice so I've learned to just nod my head and agree with the first statement because despite all of the hard work , a lot of times design is fun . 

But the style question always stumps me . Modern, traditional, industrial, coastal, country, masculine, feminine, classic, mid-century . . .I can't limit myself to one style . I like it all .

Massucco Warner Miller 

Windsor Smith

Nate Berkus 

Thomas O'Brien

Steven Gambrel

Jeffrey Alan Marks

Darryl Carter

As a designer I feel like it is my job to work in any style so for me it isn't the style that matters as much as the overall design . If the design principles are sound I am usually inspired by the space even if it isn't exactly what I would put in my own home . All of the images in this post are living rooms by well-known designers whose work I consistently admire . These designers work in a wide range of styles and yet I am continually impressed by all of them because of their approach to designing a room .  

What do you think? Do you have a favorite style (coastal, modern, traditional, etc.)  or are you drawn to good design in any style ? 

Rachel Bishop Designs is now on Facebook

I'm not sure how most of you follow my blog - through Google Reader, a bookmark in your browser, randomly checking in? I personally use Google Reader to follow all of my favorite blogs and I am pretty bummed to hear that they are doing away with it this summer . I haven't decided which feed reader I am going to switch over to because, to be honest, I am really only familiar with Google Reader . Do any of you use one of the other options out there to follow blogs ? If so, I would love to hear about it in the comments !

To make it easier to keep up with me and my posts, I finally created a Facebook page for Rachel Bishop Designs. If you are on Facebook, just "like" my page and you will be notified when I update the blog .