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She came in so nonchalantly with her backpack on and was like, “I’m just going to shoot your house.” I was like, “OK, great, what can I do to help? ” And she was like, “Oh, nothin’.” And she toured around and took these incredibly bright, happy, vibrant shots of the house, and it just clicked. In that moment, I was like, This is my girl, she’s getting my vibe. What drew some of your initial clients to your work?
Primitive Modern
You work so hard and you want that moment to be so special, but we were realizing that things were broken, things were lost, we didn’t have accurate data about what was being received at what time. That so much was happening behind the scenes for their project? I think there’s always this concern clients have that it’s going to be extremely expensive, and how do we keep it from getting out of control? It doesn’t matter what the budget is, everybody should feel good about knowing where they’re going to end up.
Swordgate House
We threw beautiful costume parties in town for nonprofit events, and I just continued to keep my name out there and be involved in the community. We bought a lovely home on Sullivan’s Island and I was able to renovate and decorate it myself, and then, as people started to come over, my name started to get mentioned. After more than 16 years living in her historic South Carolina home on Sullivan’s Island, designer Cortney Bishop decided it was time for a makeover—especially in the kitchen.
The Charleston Place to Undergo Transition and Transformation - LODGING Magazine
The Charleston Place to Undergo Transition and Transformation.
Posted: Fri, 14 Jan 2022 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Family Room
Did you pursue design right away yourself, then? My father was a huge businessman and it was always about economics with him. And I was quite an entrepreneur as a child—I would have lemonade stands, or make and sell braided barrettes with ribbons, or stationery—whatever I could do to make money. He pushed me to continue to get my business degree and go into the corporate world. Once I graduated from the business school at [the University of Georgia], I went to work for [a] consulting corporation, where I was selling beautiful beach club memberships to high-end resort communities.
Marrakech, Australia, Greece — there are a lot of places I could live for a month or two. A sense of irreverence infuses Cortney Bishop’s residential and commercial spaces. Part of the fun of decorating with art is the unknown aspects of their creation – although I will never discover all the details of the work's maker, I get to live with it and bring its energy and world into my space. One of my favorite pastimes is to stroll through thrift and antique markets and fairs, whether in Paris or North Carolina. These events are places of pure discovery, meeting vendors from around the world who have collected and found unique pieces with their own discerning eye. This console-speaker hybrid from Symbol Audio was a must-have.
The Oliver Hotel
In 2021, Bishop made her mark on downtown Charleston’s hospitality and social scene with the opening of The Ryder Hotel, a modern lifestyle destination imagined and executed in CBD’s vision. What’s the biggest thing you wish you had known when you started your firm? How much I would be invested in it emotionally—how much of a toll it would take on me. We’re intuitive people; we’re trying to create this beautiful environment for [our clients] to live in, whether they’re creative or not. Which, by the way, some are, and they can see things three-dimensionally. It looks dark, but the walls are all white.” You have to build it for them, and that’s really tough, and I get really deflated when I hear them say that.
How hiring a business advisor took this Kentucky designer’s firm to the next level
What it does is mix the boldest of the bold [talents] and brings forth true artists who aren’t in a business atmosphere. When collaborations are not under a business constraint they can push the envelope to the farthest level… and I need to see that. Cortney Bishop’s approach to design involves creating resonance between the interiors, the architecture, the location and its views. Cortney’s fervor for contemporary art extends beyond her own collection. It’s this passion that is shared with clients when selecting and installing that final layer to personalize a space.
When I moved to Charleston, there was an old guard of interior design firms that were extremely talented—and then the next jump was to people my age, this younger guard of women that were in our 30s. There were three or four of us trying to gain steam and do something a little different—and that was all before social media. And then [there was] the social media explosion with Instagram and everybody caught on—even the do-it-yourselfers caught on. It’s just a matter of evolution of lifestyle and design, and I do feel like everybody’s catching on to a little bit more relaxed living. "I'm a sucker for rugs, art, and unique accessories," interior designer Cortney Bishop tells us. Not that she has to—one look at her Charleston home makes this love for statement pieces very clear.
Cortney Bishop Filled a Waterfront South Carolina Home With Low Country Flair
An avid globetrotter, Bishop looks to her travels, as well as her love of art, music, and fashion for inspiration. Cortney Bishop, principal design and owner of Cortney Bishop Design, founded the full-service interior design firm in 2007. She holds a BBA in business marketing from the University of Georgia, and pursued her design career by blending her passions for travel, art, fashion and music. Her wide-ranging talent and innate ability to mix patterns and hues has resulted in a robust portfolio of diverse, inspiring residential and commercial projects, each reflective of a client’s lifestyle, personality and aesthetic. With a vision that runs the gamut of style and structure, Bishop enjoys inspiring other creatives, clients and everyday people through design.
I was doing very well and I loved it, but then I met my husband in Paris. Before you start knocking down walls or applying fresh coats of paint, Cortney recommends deciding on an overall vision for your home. For her, this starts with “a color scheme and a vibe.” She found inspiration for her redo particularly from the setting and her home’s exterior. “I like a black, white, and cream palette and then I layer on a color that feels natural to the exterior of the home, which for me is all of the blues,” she says.
Also, Luis Barragán, his purist yet energetic environments are sublime, I recently immersed myself in all three of his homes while touring Mexico City, the color and vitality in his approach to space is one of a kind. 'Taking risks – I’ve always taken risks, I’m one of those who does believe the larger the risk the larger the reward – and I have learned that that is what life is worth living for. It’s the heart of our business – visualizing beyond your Pinterest boards, beyond the pages you rip from a magazine, beyond your collected wishlist.
She attributes her innate ability to mix patterns and hues to her love for travel, art, fashion, and music. Ultimately, the path to interior design became inevitable as Cortney realized she could blend these passions, first with a partner in 2002, and eventually to founding her own interior design firm in 2007. Cortney has also earned success in multi-family communities as well as in the commercial realm – most recently with hotel, restaurant, and storefront projects. Likewise, Cortney’s passion for design has evolved into the development of her own custom furniture in addition to plans for a textile line in the near future. Cortney regularly contributes to Homes & Gardens. We’ve got to work—we’ve got to design these homes and make our deadlines and make our clients happy.
I’m excited about all the opportunities that have come my way, but I’m also biting my nails all the way to the holidays. Our spaces are meant to tell our stories and mine is constantly progressing. I’m always taking new risks when it comes to my own home, my fashion, and my personal style. Definitely a bohemian at heart, I’m all about mixing materials, colors, and textures - whatever it takes to create layers and a meaningful story that feels like home to me. I am passionate about complete home builds that involve collaboration between an architect, a landscape designer, and an experienced builder, allowing me to bring my vision to life. I also love working on boutique commercial spaces where I have the creative freedom to experiment and fully realize a unique concept.
We’re going to take a little break from that and focus on our own community. There’s so much opportunity here, and it’s fun actually being home. That’s something that I’ve realized—nesting is good. I have the honor of bringing the Sword Gate House in Charleston back to its glory. It’s a landmark — the carriage tours go by and tell its story. I’ve almost finished the renovation with two wonderful clients who have the vision to mix historical accuracy and modern pieces.
She processes all the money and gets all that office stuff off my plate—and that’s the best money I’ve ever spent. She’s a great adviser, she cuts all the checks, she makes sure the checks are correct, that I’m not paying too much for shipping or tax somewhere, and that we’re competitive when we’re pricing out shippers. She’s also human resources now for the team and can make sure they’ve got their IRAs and insurance set up—all the things that they deserve, and that I would’ve never been able to process without her. We’ve had so much fun being able to travel—just the access we have in the modern world—and I was riding that.
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