Reading, Writing & Pondering

  I find home decorating books to be fun and relaxing to look at. We love the character of older homes so we bought one and have been working on fixing it up and decorating it a bit at a time. Feels Like Home by Marian Parsons is a simply gorgeous book with lots of pictures and encouragement to decorate your own home. In Feels Like Home , Parsons offers a lot of budget-friendly, practical tips for making your home the relaxing place that you want it to be. She has chapters specific to living rooms, kitchens,  dining areas, bedrooms, home offices and work rooms, bathrooms, hallways, laundry rooms and mudrooms. They are a whole lot of gorgeous pictures in this book to inspire you. But the thing I like best about this book is that Parsons truly encourages you to make your home your own. She invites you to find your own style, not just copy hers. At about 300 pages, there is just so many practical home tips in this book, that I believe Feels Like Home would be a great addition t...

  Are you a newlywed struggling with decorating your home? Or maybe you need to de-clutter and re-arrange after years in the same house? Home Made Lovely by Shannon Acheson offers a lot of practical advice and tips on styling and organizing your home, no matter what stage you are in. Home Made Lovely is divided in to four parts:  Part 1: Who are you doing it all for?  This part is all about being grateful for both the house and the people that God has given you. She also shares how she makes her house a home spiritually in this section. Part 2: Getting Ready Decluttering, Organizing, Trends, and Budget decorating ideas are all a big part of this section. Part 3: The Three-Step Decorating Process This is the part of the book where you figure out your decorating style and create a plan for your house based on both your tastes and the style of house that you have. Part 4: Welcome Home Acheson shares how she believes we should use our houses for hospitality with others. She a...