I have been bursting to share more details about my new book with you and today is finally the day!
For those who missed my announcement earlier this year, I wrote a book last Spring/Summer about customizing a typical suburban home – whether it’s an apartment, townhouse, or a single-family home, I’m sharing ideas and projects to transform those beige walls and builder-grade finishes to something that is uniquely yours.
I have to step back a minute and thank you, my readers for the idea behind this book. When I moved to Minnesota, I had dreams of finding a quaint 100-year-old Minnesota farmhouse. After an extensive search, I realized that a suburban home that was in a neighborhood and close to the boys’ school and Jeff’s work was going to be the very best thing for this season of life. I remember feeling like my blog audience would be disappointed that I wasn’t going to be taking them on a journey to fix up some cool old house. I would be sharing the very typical journey of adding character and my personal touch to a beige suburban home with a two-story foyer and builder-grade finishes. What I thought would be boring was received with enthusiasm. I can’t tell you how many messages and e-mails I received from readers who were so excited to see my decorating style implemented in a home that looks very similar to theirs.
That response prompted me to put together a book proposal which was picked up by the Worthy Books imprint of the Hachette Book Group last spring. And, after over a year of hard work, the book is finally ready to unveil!
My dear blog readers, I’d love to introduce you to Feels Like Home…
This book is all about making your house, whatever the quirks, challenges, and limitations, feel like your home. I believe a home should fit like a well-tailored suit, but feel like a comfy pair of jammies and this book is all about that transformation process. In over 300 pages of content and hundreds of photos of inspiring, yet very typical family homes, I share tips, exercises, examples, before & afters, and step-by-step projects. It is packed full of encouragement and ideas no matter what your decorating aesthetic or budget is. This book is not about emulating my style but embracing and implementing your own.
And, I have to say, I feel like this book is some of the best work I’ve ever done. The words flowed out of me and never at any time did this project feel like a drain or something I had to push through to get to the finish line. The entire creative process was filled with joy and I really hope that is evident and contagious to those who read it.
here are kind words from a few talented folks about feels like home…
“Whether it’s her interiors or her art, Marian’s work epitomizes timeless style rooted in authenticity, great taste, and casual elegance. Everything is inviting and comfy, while elevated and approachable at the same time.”
—Brian Patrick Flynn, interior designer HGTV Dream Home
“With Feels Like Home, Marian has gifted us the ultimate design handbook with sound advice, simplified tutorials, and yes, her trademark gorgeous photography.”
—Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Fixer Upper; Hissy Fit; Hello, Summer; and The Newcomer
“Regardless of what feels like home to you, this is a resource, a handbook, and an inspirational guide to help you create exactly what feels like your home for you and those that will share it with you.”
—Jo Packham, creator and editor in chief of Women Create magazines
I pretty much melted into a little puddle every time I read an endorsement someone graciously took the time to write.
The official release of Feels Like Home is September 7, 2021, but it is available for preorder now. Here are places where you can order it now…
Where to Buy
If you own a small shop and are interested in carrying the book, please send me an e-mail at marian@missmustardseed.com and I can give you the information for ordering the book wholesale.
And, we will be offering some amazing freebies, bonus content, and giveaways for those who preorder the book! All of that fun stuff will be launching this summer, so hold onto your order confirmation info and you will still qualify to receive the goodies and enter to win the prize packages.
thank you giveaway
As a thank you for providing the inspiration for writing this book, I wanted to offer a giveaway with this announcement. I will be giving away one $250 Etsy Gift card to help one of my readers make their house feel a little more like home. Etsy is one of my favorite places to buy unique antiques and handmade items from creatives, artists, and makers.
To enter, just leave a comment on this blog post letting me know what feels like home to you. (For an additional entry, you can leave a comment on today’s Instagram post HERE.)
Is it a style, a color palette, things that evoke memories or remind you of a place, is it an ideal you are aspiring to, a comfy chair, a well-used dining table, a view of a lake? I am so excited to hear what feels like home to you…
The giveaway is open to readers worldwide and will close Monday, April 19, 2021, at midnight PST.
I’ll be sharing more details on the process of writing and photographing this book over the coming weeks including nailing down the cover, shooting in local homes, and I’ll share some photos and content that didn’t make it past the editing process. Until then, here’s a little preview of some of the homes featured…
Creating a welcoming home for our family includes lots of natural light coming through windows, white cabinets, green plants, and comfy furniture. Oh, yes, a few chippy white pieces of furniture are a must !
Just pre-ordered the book!
Home, to me, is a place where I can relax knowing that other people are free to relax with me.
Incorporating family, both past and present makes my address “home”. I have pictures of my children cookies with their grandmother displayed in the kitchen, recipes decorating the surface of my custom island top, dirt and a brick from the family farm 3 generations back. It is comforting to mix this stuff with things throughout my home.
Should say children cooking, not cookies…
Home is the story of your life and attitude. You have material possessions that remind you of the people and events important to you. It’s should comfort you.
What wonderful news! And congratulations!
I have been enjoying your blog and podcast for the past months only and I have found so much inspiration to make my art mine and my home mine without copying anybody else’s.
I’ve always thought of a my home to be unique, not in the sense that is beautiful or anything like that, but that’s fit for me, to my taste and needs but at the same time comfortable, I could have not put it in better words “I believe a home should fit like a well-tailored suit, but feel like a comfy pair of jammies “, all of that was so important this past year when we were forced to spend so much time at home, I was actually very happy to be spending time in a place I’ve made comfortable, functional and beautiful for myself.
Can’t wait to sit and read this beautiful book.
Congratulations! Can’t wait to read it! Home is where my family is. Home is love. I’m always trying to me our house welcoming and a place they want to be and they can feel safe.
Home is comfy furniture, natural light, plants, vintage finds curated through the years, and my people.
Can’t wait to read this book!
A house feels like home when if is filled with things that speak to those living in it. That’s what gives a place a soul.
This cover is just delightful, and I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on your new book! I will be pre-ordering for sure <3.
Cannot wait to read the book! I’ve been a follower of your blog forever. Home for me is creating an environment that is peaceful, calming, and resonates the personality of the family living there!♥️
Congratulations on your new book! We share similar tastes and a love of blue and white….I know your book will be right up my alley!
What feels like home to me; pillows you can switch out season to season, a comfy bedding, and my Father’s Paintings.
Congratulations on your new book! Can’t wait to read it!
So much excitement! An awesome new look to your website followed by the official announcement of the book! You are always growing and moving forward! I’ve followed you for many years and your design style is always innovative and inspiring! Home to me has evolved with the different times an phases of my life. There hasn’t ever been a “style” because of various constraints but I’ve always strived to create an environment that is warm and inviting and lived in. When folks come in, they always feel at home, even if I feel like my home is in constant flux somehow! Home is where the heart feels comfortable!
Color and texture define what I think makes my home. The book looks fabulous.
Your new book looks beautiful!
I am a Minnesota girl and my heart is there no matter where I live.
Keeping that in mind I display my favorite Minnesota memories with family photos and gifts I have been given from friends in Minnesota.
Can’t wait for the book!! I know its going to be just right!
For my house to feel like home- quilts, natural elements, ( my art supplies!) vintage pottery –
What feels like home to me is a style I’ve developed from places I’ve lived and loved in the past, and new styles I discover that wake up my senses today. How do I know what I like best? Things that I believe to be beautiful, useful, and softly land me into a sense of peace, tranquility, and serenity.
Can’t wait to get this beautiful book!
Home for me is my two boys and hubby, my sweet family is everything. Where ever we land, as long as we’re together, it’s home. When it comes to making my home feel “homey”, I choose neutrals that can be cleaned easily (5 and 10-year-old kiddos -teehee), but I’m crazy about swapping out my accessories and artwork. My boys are always excited to see how I’ll decorate for the holidays, as we undergo a full change-out with Valentine’s, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It’s such fun, and I hope as my boys become men and create homes of their own, that they’ll remember their goofy Mom’s holiday decor changes. For the rest of the year, I display a combination of new and vintage decor. I’m a huge fan of a good yard sale, frequent my local antique store (know them by name of course), and love a good DIY project.
What a wonderful giveaway. Beautiful book
Something that reminds me of my childhood always makes me feel warm and fuzzy. The other thing is anything blue and white. Combine the two, my Mom was an avid pitcher collector, and it’s a win win.
Cannot wait to receive the book!! Home to me is old, worn things. Weather furniture, pictures, knick knacks or floors. I’m comfortable when things aren’t too nice!
Having my kids home for a visit. Especially on a holiday!
Congratulations Marian! I am looking forward to holding this one in my hands and enjoying it while sitting in my newly upholstered Berger chair that you inspired me to recover. Never did I ever think I would/could do that.
Home to me is walls filled with family photos!
We’ve lived in 6 different states (lots of moving), so creating a homelike feeling has been very important. We had no family or friends many of the places we moved to. I have a transferware bowl and pitcher that was my great grandmother’s that always makes me feel more comfortable in our new place.
Home feels safe, comfortable and just right! ❤️ Congratulations on your new book! Off to preorder it now.
Home is being surrounded by my loved ones, pets, and creating a safe, comfortable, and welcoming environment. Congrats on the book!
I actually started actively following you when you moved to this home! You were doing things I could relate to…in a place I could relate to…which a color pallet I could relate to! Looking forward to the book.
So excited for your book! I’m a Minnesota girl so what feels like home to me is a lake view with the windows open in the summer and the smell and sounds of the lake throughout the house/cabin. I also love old things and some primitive decor pieces that remind me of my childhood home.
Home is where my family is❤️❤️❤️?
I have a cross stitch sampler that reads “Home Sweet Home,” crafted by my mom years ago and it hung in the kitchen of my childhood home for as long as I can remember. Every move I’ve made, it has come with me. It’s always displayed where I can see it to remind myself that home is wherever you make it.
This is so exciting! To me, certain people always really make home feel like home. My husband and my parents always give me this sense of home ?
When I’ve been away and I walk into my home and I can breathe again. Home ?
I just preordered your new book on Amazon. I can’t wait to read it! The cover is absolutely beautiful!
Oops I forgot to say what feels like home to me…. Home is where all the things, people, and pets I love are
Home is sunlight streaming through the windows onto my old oak floors; with a dog or two curled up on the sofa.
Congratulations on your book! Wowza on your “professional” book reviews!
Can’t wait to read the book! What feels like home to me is lots of windows, oak flooring, a blue, white, yellow and green color palette and family photos scattered around! Thanks for your inspiration!
How exciting! I can’t wait to get a copy!
To me what feels like home is light and airy–I love lots of sunshine and a warm breeze! And what would sunshine be without a cat basking in the sun! lol, so the cats are probably included in that 🙂
You will have your own show. Home is curated comforts of the past and present, welcoming me to start the day/evening in a comfortable, clean palette. Thank you for this new treasure.
As an empty nester, what makes my house feel like home are the reminders of my children’s youths…their favorite toys packed away in the attic, worn scooters stored in the garage, framed baby pictures in every niche.
A fresh breeze, green pasture and soft blanket feel like home to me.
Home for me is my husband. I grew up moving a lot as the child of a minister. I then married a man in the military, so moving has always been a part of my life. I don’t have a “hometown”. I don’t have that sense of “going home”. What I do have is my husband, who has been my constant since 2012. Wherever we are, that is where I find home.
Also, a nice, fluffy comforter. : )
I put my pre-order in. Can’t wait to get it! To me home is a comfortable place that’s tidy, but not sterile… adorned with interesting collections, but not cluttered… always welcoming to loved ones, but also my safe haven when I want some time alone. Also, in my home dogs are always welcome!
Congratulations on your new book. It sounds inspiring, as each person’s home makes an individual statement and is unique as the person who lives there. Can’t wait to read it and find some inspiration!
Home is family and friends gathered to play games and eat and laugh. It is memories.
Can’t wait to flip thru the pages of your book! Home to me is a mix of things that have meaning to us along with pieces we collect that are worn or repainted & tell their own story
What makes me/us happy and peaceful and comfortable; not the dictates of designers. I love found treasures, travel mementos, inherited gems It’s eclectic for sure!
Yay!!!! So excited for you. I am certain your book will be both beautiful AND practical. You are an inspiration!
Home to me is where my family is. And maybe a touch of yellow. 🙂
I can’t wait to read your new book. Decorating with things that have meaning to me, either from my past or things my children have made, helps make me feel at home. Being comfortable where I live is definitely important!
You have so many hobbies and have mastered the use of time. Looking forward to your beautiful book. For me, home is a place of peace and comfort.
Home is a safe place where you’re surrounded by those people and things you love and who love you. xo
P.S. Loved meeting you in Toronto a few years ago. Still follow your blog and have all your books! 🙂
Home for me is somewhere to recoup. Somewhere quiet with lots of light. It’s pillows and blankets to cozy up in. A little bit of outdoor space with trees, flowers, and a clothesline for fresh smelling laundry .
Looking forward to the book!! You are moving up! Love how talented you are! Congratulations!
Calm neutral colors, collected vintage and antique items, a sunbeam shining through a window, and the fuzzy warmth of my kitties and dog curled up next to me on the couch. That spells home to me…
my home is my first, I purchased it on my own after divorcing…13 years later I’m still so in love with it! If a stranger walked in, they could get to know me by looking at my wall gallery arrangement and my living room…full of colors, plants, antiques, floral oil paintings, a guitar & tambourine, designing books and handmade art! Just me and my 2 cats make my home a dream come true!
Home is a comfy chair and ottoman next to a large window with a table for my coffee and book; my boyfriend next to me with the same 🙂
Home for me has lots of windows, comfy places to sit or lay or work everywhere and lots of storage for essentials. Piles of books and throw blankets on every chair and couch where the dogs are free to lounge around with me.
What feels like home to me is our dining table – perfectly weathered; it’s been passed down through five generations. It was the place we gathered for family dinner each night growing up, where we rolled out cookie dough at Christmas, where we worked on school projects and played with playdoh. Now it’s where my own little family gathers to eat and make memories.
Congratulations on your new book! Home to me is family! A place where we can feel comfortable and enjoy a home filled with beautiful memories.
Home for me is hearing my kids laugh and have fun in whatever space we are in.
So pretty!! What feels like home to me is having my kids art (and mine) around us on our walls. It’s a tiny 1940s farmhouse, but it is a safe and cozy space.
What feels like home to me right now are early spring breezes with scents of flowers emerging. I sit and drink my morning coffee every morning as the birds sing their songs. Each season brings a different feeling of home for me, roaring fires in winter, bringing out the blankets and candles for fall nesting, And cleaning it all out for summer ease and airiness.
How exciting! I know the new book will resonate with lots of people!
What feels like home to me is when you go in a home and can tell who lives there without ever seeing a picture of them. Their belongings and style tell you everything you need to know! I hope my home is like that (or on its way, at least!).
I grew up in a sunny tri-level in a new suburb (no trees yet) where my mother slowly created comfort, beauty, warmth. Afternoon sunshine pouring through a window, gleaming on hardwood floors, still means home to me. Looking forward to reading your book.
Congrats on your new book, I can’t wait to get it. I, like you, still cherish the real written word. I still mail cards to people. Nothing like a personal touch. What feels like home to me is a place of peace and love. Where my family can gather to nurture each other. Comfortably and beautifully decorated with old things, family heirlooms and gifts that I treasure. Keep doing what you do Marion, you are an inspiration to so many.
Home is clean and cozy with lots of light and love…..can’t wait for your book.
What a beautiful book! So exciting! What feels like home to me is my whole family seated at my kitchen table. When we brought my adopted son home at the age of 7, it was so important to share that first family meal at the table. As we all held hands to pray, he looked around and said, “This is what I’ve been waiting for.” Now, he could have been referring to the fried chicken, but we’re pretty sure he meant the family. And I feel just the same.
Home is the soft place to land at the end of the day. Books in every room, my favorite quilt, pictures of my babies and their babies. Home is everything I love and a cup of hot tea.
Home is old memories and the anticipation of new memories to be made. It is a worn dry sink and a comfy, comfy black spindle bed, an old kitchen table with a bunch of mismatched plank bottom chairs, red ware in cabinets and plates on the wall that each have a story. It is a safe place 🙂 to show love.
What feels like home to me is a home filled with vintage and antique items.
Home has lovely light in the mornings especially, a cozy room for evenings, layers of art and accessories that are full of memories, usually vintage. Add in a throw for crisp fall and winter, a ceiling fan for summer, a good book, and that is home.
It feels like home when I walk through the door feeling safe and smelling the scents of home.
It feels like home when i I know in my heart that my home is a blessing from God.
It feels like home when my eyes feast on the colors I chose to envelope those whom I love
It feels like home when I climb into cool, crisp white sheets at the end of the day knowing I can rest comfortably and peacefully in the blessings that the day brought.
Windows open lots of farmhouse pieces that I have milk painted! Chenille bedspreads. Love it all!
With Covid last year’s holiday celebrations without my family was so very HARD. Yes, I had the Christmas tree and the china but without my family to share that wonderful holiday with it didn’t feel like Christmas or home. Home is where my family can all be together.
I wish you so much success with your book!
Congratulations on your book! My home will always have lots of natural light, familiar things that remind me of family, baskets, and BLUE!
My home has touched of sentimental pieces that have been handed down to me by family. Those pieces help my home feel welcome and remind me of my home growing up. I try to keep it feeling cozy and welcoming for my family and friends.
I have never been able to understand my friends who hired decorators to do their homes, because I feel my home is such a personal expression of me and my family and our history. In looking at your blog, I feel that you have shared yourself with all of us. Thank you Marion.
What makes a home feel cozy is a fire in the wood stove things that I can enjoy- grain sack pillows ,
antique furniture, braided rugs, warm beverages and people surrounding me who enjoy being in my home!.
Home to me is being with my family…four legged ones included! It is an accumulation of furnishings built up from years of travel and hand me downs from family. I believe if you love it…it works together and go for it! Congrats on your book…can’t wait to read it.
Looking forward to reading your book. Last year we left our home of 37 years to live close to family that needed help. I’ve been trying to make our new place home with colors, blues & greens, our old furnishings & ways to entertain our family.
Congratulations! Love all you do and you do a lot!
Books, plants, Oriental rugs and a few Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
A conversation nook – couple of comfy chairs, throws, side table, lamp and great view!
I’m a retired Air Force Wife (24 homes, 45 years). So what feels like home to me is schlepping all the stuff: accumulated furniture and artwork and textiles and memories from place-to-place, then using them in fresh, new ways; thinking outside the box. In England, we lived in a 400 year-old cottage. Now, I live in a mid-century modern ranch house. But I have stripped pine pieces in the semi-unfitted kitchen, which we gutted and re-did seven years ago and fresh new watercolours I bought in a street fair. Home is where your family is. Home is where you hang your hat. Home is where you_______!
Home to me is where everywhere you look you see a story. Whether it’s a treasured family antique, a souvenir brought back from foreign travels, or a piece that you made or updated yourself, everything is unique and special, and paints a picture of your life.
Congrats! What feels like home to me is my old New England farmhouse — wide floorboards, the faint smell of leather and horses, my pups underfoot and my super comfy bed.
What feels like home to me is a mix of traditional and modern farmhouse style. My primary color choices are, well, much like your own – grays, blues, greens, and whites. I love family photos, both old and new, and have a long hallway in my ranch style home that is covered with them. I also like my furnishings comfy but hardworking. I have a mix of antique and new furnishings and love trying to find pleasing ways to combine it all.
I can tell you a story about where each thing in our house came from and those stories help make our house ours and different and special from anyone else’s.
What feels like home is walking in and looking around and releasing a sign and saying, “Thank you God, I’m home!” Your book looks beautiful and I’m always inspired by your amazing creativity.
The book sounds great!
The homes I’ve loved the best have had an easy connection between indoors and outside. And when we can’t be outdoors, it feels good to bring nature in.
Gorgeous book and I feel that personal touches we add that make our hearts happy is what truly makes a home for ourselves and those we welcome inside. Beautifully done Marian and congratulations!
Home is where my boys flop down with a much loved blanket and watch a movie, or eat breakfast from the bowls we got for our wedding 20 years ago. Familiarity is what makes our house our home.
Congratulations on your book!
Congrats on your new book! Can’t wait to get a copy!
What feels like home for me – a cozy home, where my family can gather, which is pretty but still comfortable. Where we can all be together in one room – because we are a large family – and share stories and watch babies grow. A place where happy smells come from the kitchen and laughter echoes down the hall. Where grandchildren want to stay and play and parents are happy to leave them. 🙂
I grew up in a 100-year-old farmhouse but over my married life, home has been a 1930 Craftsman, a builder-grade tract home in suburbia, and the 1970’s fixer-upper we’re in now. What makes it our home is antique pieces from our grandparents, lots of books, family photos, my kid’s artwork, and my mother’s crewelwork. And there’s always an element of my classic blue and white.
Sunlight, fresh air family, and friends. Looking forward to the new book!
It feels like home to me when I round the corner and see my 100+ year old house waiting to welcome us. If it’s winter, the old girl is smothered in snow and sports an icicle or two. Fall fills her sidewalk and yard with leaves that fall from trees we planted 50 years ago. In the spring , our home is encircled with sweet smelling lilacs contrasting nicely with the white siding and cadet blue trim, but it’s summer when my home really shines. Summer brings out an explosion of color from the gardens I plant and tend. Flowers enhance her, and turn her modest two story exterior into a charming ,quirky haven that I’m blessed to call home.
Oh Marian, the book cover made me smile!!! I’m so excited for you! And excited to open it up and explore myself!
What feels like home…a giant mountain out my windows, and beautiful interior, a little French and antique inspired interior with a blue abs white palette to spring from. (I was the same even before I discovered your blog). Kindred spirit you are to me. ?
Walking in the door and exhaling, being surrounded by people and pets that I love, things I have created and collected- this feels like home to me.
Congratulations on your new book!
Home is where there is plenty of comfortable down-filled seating covered in a mish mash of vintage fabrics. It’s where my children and their friends always chose to come hang out when they were teens. It’s where we cook & enjoy wholesome food and relax together. Our home is filled with unique antiques. And it wouldn’t be home without our kitty and lots of plants.
Congratulations Marian! I’m so happy for you and all who will be enjoying your book. A place feels like home to me when I look around and see my favorite accessories in earth tones and a warm style I feel comfortable with. My view of the lake makes my home the perfect place to live.
What a wonderful publication and I look forward to reading and savoring the photos. I’ve enjoyed your blog for years and know the book will be the same high quality.
Congratulations!
Here’s what has felt like home for all three of my kids in their first apartments (and yes, I gifted these items): Lands End 6 oz. flannel sheets and duvet cover, a nice down comforter, and an expensive pot: le creuset or staub. So that covers sleeping and cooking.
Congratulations! What an amazing accomplishment! 🙂
What feels like home to me – treasures passed down through my family, that I can put on my walls and shelves and enjoy and remember my loved ones
Home feels like all the quirky things from life. Grandpa’s typewriter or mom’s lemonade pitcher. The special one of a kind real objects from your one real life
Home to me is a safe haven like a birds nest where my family and I can rest and relax and enjoy each day!
Congratulations! Home is where there is love flowing, a fire glowing, and my husband, dog Bear, and children and grandchildren visiting. The last time I had to move and all I could pack was a truck full of my family’s antiques, I knew that was all I needed to build the foundation of our next nest.
For me, it’s definitely more of a feeling… in the winter, cozy, cuddly, warm, and in the spring and summer, airy, fresh, bright and open!
Congratulations on the book! I can’t wait to get it and dive in!
Home is a feeling of being able to relax and be comfy with a decorating style of not being too fussy. We as a family have to be comfortable and share our home with our beloved dog. We have many old treasured mementos and antiques but don’t want to feel like we live in a museum. Care and respect of course, but never a “do not touch” mentality.
Congrats on your book….I know it will be fabulous.
I can’t wait to get a copy! Your first book is my absolute favorite home design book (and I have a LOT of them). Home to me has pieces with history. Furniture and accents that aren’t new but have been loved.
Home to me is a pile of shoes at the door, smiles, and music~ a soft wrap and the hum of little voices. Photo’s, past treasures, and a warm hug~
Congrats on your book Marian~
Cynthia
Congrats! A lot of competition here I see. Count me in and thanks.
Congratulations on a beautiful book!! Can’t wait to read this book! As a transplanted Texan from Minnesota, this book really warms my heart to see you make many references of your newly renovated home in Minnesota (ie. snow, snow and the lakes).
Home to me is in the small, familiar touches- a much-loved quilt on the couch, favorite towels in the bathroom, family heirlooms here and there. They quickly take a house from sterile to lively and loved.
Love coming down the stairs each morning and seeing all the colors and touch points I’ve been working on! So satisfying!
Love walking into my home every time I come thru the door. It is comfortable and has everything I love in it! Can’t wait to get your book.
I know that my house is a home when my guests say…you’re home is so comfy! I love walking into my house and seeing all the touches that is my design style and the colors that I have learned to use over the years. It’s fun to rearrange from time to time by pulling out home decor that hasn’t been used for awhile. And best of all, it doesn’t cost anything! I do like decorating books to get a new idea or two…like to see how others handle a design or architectural detail. I know that it will happen like that with your new book, Marian, because you need let us down!
There’s the old saying “you can’t go back home”. Things will have changed, never to be the same. As empty nesters, my husband and I felt it was time to downsize in this season of our lives. With that decision, we decided to move back to my childhood home. Still hearing the sounds and remembering smells of my childhood, bring such comfort. Displaying some of the same items my mother had displayed bring back wonderful memories. Downsizing to a small house creates challenges when trying to decorate. I search Etsy regularly for vintage bird paintings similar to the one you have. I can’t wait to get your book for ideas and inspiration. Congrats are in order from a longtime, faithful follower.
Congratulations what an exciting opportunity. Home to me is a welcoming space to share with family and friends. Nothing is better to me than having people over for a good meal, and good conversation in an inviting environment that will make them and us feel blessed.
It feels like home to me when the pictures are hung, and the books are out – everywhere! Congratulations on your new book! I can’t wait to add it to my stash.
When friends would walk around my house I would show them my treasures: this was my mother’s; this was my mother in law’s; this was my grandmother’s. These are things of my past and it’s what makes it “feel like home”
Congrats on your book. Can’t wait to get it!
Can’t wait to get your book! Home to me is displaying items we have collected over the years and layering them family heirlooms, photos and our family’s artwork.
The place (and sometimes places) that I collect all my favorites…my favorite people, my favorite foods, my favorite books, my favorite scents, my favorite memories, my favorite comforts…that is what feels like home.
Congratulations on your new book! Home to me are the family photos, antiques and quilts from our grandparents, along with lots of family and friends. Oh and I can’t leave out furry family. ♥️
Congratulations on your book!
Home is…comfort, safety, family, light, relaxing.
Home feels like all the things I’ve collected over the years. I’ve tried to collect timeless items. Nothing is expensive. Almost everything I have was picked up at yardsales or thrift stores. The way too many times I have had to move was made less painful once I started putting my things in it. Its a comfort to me that at least I had those things ?
My home has elements of Traditional/Vintage/Antique pieces. I use neutral colors and add my pops of colors and change them out with the seasons…pillows, blankets, wreaths and decor. I just moved into my first owned home, so I am excited to be able to make it my own. Your book will help me make it just right!
Congratulations Marian!
Having all of the things I’ve collected over the years around me in my home, makes my home feel like home to me. And nothing is too precious to use.
I think it’s the curated finds collected over several years. I look at many of my items and remember the story behind them. It’s also the layers of living in the home-the nick on the table, the quilt I made with my mother in law that is threadbare but well loved. And the willingness to let the home continue to evolve and speak to me as we continue to live in it.
Home to me includes family photos, books and a view of beautiful trees. Especially here in our newly adopted state of SC , in the Lowcountry, the old live oaks with their moss-draped branches, add such peacefulness to our cozy place.
Home is my grandmother’s big spoon, her sheet cake pans, her green depression glass. My mother’s Desert Rose dishes, her knick knacks gifted to me over the years. My elderly friend’s Spode. My grandmother’s picture of her in her old fashioned swim dress. These things snd the hands that used them make me feel connected through the generations.
What feels like home to me is a calm, uncluttered place. Clutter makes me crazy. Where I can I unwind and relax. I love a combination of old and new in my home. Greys are my favorite colors for my home with brighter colors only as accents. But the biggest thing I need in my home is lots and lots of books.
What a fun post! Can’t wait to see your book!
What makes me feel at home most (after 21 moves in 32 years of marriage), is little things. I always feel it’s home when I put all the pot holders my kids loomed for me through the years in the drawer next to the stove. So many different reasons and circumstances for the moves including moving to the beach in NC and then putting everything in storage and to Texas to finish our daughters apartment lease when she got married and back to Colorado to a 2 bedroom apartment when the real estate market started booming again, then to a 3 bedroom when one of our adult kids “joined” us for awhile, and back to a 2 bedroom when he left! You’re still moving even if you put everything into storage, move it, or sell it! We even lost our house, business and car during the market crash and sold almost everything! (Husband is a real estate appraiser, so hit hard.)
Things are replaceable, but bringing along a few favorite pictures, and mementos, linens, instantly personalizes any space!
Congratulations on the new book, Marian! What feel like home to me is collections of treasures passed down from family beside pieces I’ve created or recreated with my own hands.
Oh Marian, I am so happy for you! Right now my husband and I are decluttering and painting and packing to show and sell our home of 35 years so that we can move several states away to live next door to our daughter and son-in-law and our three granddaughters. We got to build a house from scratch. Yesterday I took the vintage hotel room numbers off of the bedroom doors so we can take them with us and it really hit me that we are moving. The numbers will go up on the new bedroom doors and it will help the new house feel like home. I can’t wait to order the book. My husband refused to part with any of his books (45 boxes!) and so I can add one to my one box.
Because my parents and siblings have died, all I have left of family are the antiques and items I grew up with. It feels like home when those well-loved and well-used items are in place, surrounding me and embracing me in the memories of love and family.
Marian I am so excited for you, and for all of us that will just have to open your book for inspiration. I look forward to your post each time I find them in my box. I started painting again much due to the inspiration of your recorded classes. I started with oils last summer and moved to watercolor to do all of my Christmas cards last year. Thank you for sharing yourself so freely. Your talent has definetely been a gift to me.
Thank you!
I look forward to your blog in my in box every day, your inspiration has helped me have a home that is uniquely mine, a very special place to come home too. So looking forward to your new book, congratulations.
I can’t wait to see this book! What feels like home to me is hanging with my hubby and enjoying our creature comforts: newly remodeled kitchen, comfy sofa & chairs, the colors we’ve chosen (green, white, black, and natural wood), and pieces from each of our mothers & grandmothers, along with the memories they invoke.
Home to me is my mother’s painting that hang in every room, my mother in laws handmade quilts on the beds or the special treasures in my china cabinets. Pictures of past and present on my foyer walls and something cooking in the kitchen.
My home is hardly picturesque but these things are beautiful to me.
Congratulations on the book! I can’t wait to read it. For me home is comfort – pictures of my family, lots of books that I’ve read and love, pillows on the couch I actually use, a room full of craft supplies to get lost in and family treasures that have been passed down for decades.
Calmness feels like home to me. We’ve lived in our house for much longer than we anticipated and that’s okay. When we first moved in we were youngish first time home buyers who didn’t intend to stay here this long. First paint colors were selected, wall paper, etc. it was more “trendy” for the times. Second choices were also somewhat “trend” choices. As we’ve lived here and the trends now look dated, I’m (and at times “we” when I get my hubby to join in) have learned to change colors to what feels timeless to me. As I move to those calm (translate: my timeless) colors and more thoughtful additions or collections it feels right at home to me.
Congratulations on your second book!
Congrats! Squeal! I’m going to preorder as soon as I finish making my comment. Home is where my sweetie is and all my stuff! It’s the place for memory making and celebrations, and I always try to make anyone who comes feel special and appreciated.
Home is where my family is, surrounded with everything we love.
You have been an inspiration for years and you never cease to amaze me with your never ending list of talents.
Congratulations on your new book. Can’t wait to get to get a copy
Home to me is to be surrounded by things I love, particularly those things that belonged to my parents or grandparents. I can just feel their love. Congratulations on your new book and on being able to create a home filled with warmth wherever you are.
Home is the !76+ yr old home in which I raised my three wonderful children and which my 6 grandchildren visit. It’s antiques (some from my parent’s and grandparent’s homes) and others I brought in over the years because I fallen in love. It’s white ironstone, old crocks, quilts I’ve made, walls I stenciled, curtains I’ve embroidered and drapes made. It’s chips in woodwork and dings in floors from living life. It’s the sound of music we all love, children laughing and the floor creaking under an old rocker. It’s the memories that float back as I walk into any room and the comfort and happiness I feel each time I enter this home.
Congratulations – Home to me is flowers and displays of all of the treasures collected over time. Especially the ones from my family and friends that came as gifts of love.
I’m getting ready to move after living in the same house for 30 years- the house we bought the year after we got married! Hand me down pieces from my mom and dad and my in laws feel like home to me. They add history and so much love to a house and now that they’ve all passed away they bring joy in remembering. Can’t wait to read your new book Marian. Congrats!
Marian, this is so exciting! I am so looking forward to this book & have it already on my “List” on Amazon. Every time I view your home, I get inspired to change or rearrange something in my home. Your home is a delight to see & I visualize a different homey feeling. I was just hoping to win this book!! LOL
I am so looking forward to this book, it is just what I need ! I have been following you for a long time and admire your style and your DIY attitude. Two years ago we moved from a two story home that was built in 1910 to a one story house that was built in 2000. While our new location is lovely and we now live in the woods instead of the city I am having a very hard time feeling at home here.
What does make it feel like home is having friends and family spend time with us in our new space, which has been a bit of a challenge with Covid. So glad that is getting better thanks to more access to the vaccine!
We have started to paint the various types of wood used in the house white, it makes it feel more ours and unites the look as there were 3 types of wood/finishes before.
We are starting to replace some very shining brassy hardware and replace brassy ceiling fans with nicer choices.
We are using as many of our rustic and farmhouse antiques as we can. This home has a great many built-ins making it hard to use some of the antique furniture.
We have used as much of our collection of ironstone as possible throughout the house and have many handmade quilts in use .
We worked hard on our gardens last year and can’t wait to see everything popping up again. The daffodils are out and there are greens poking up all over the yard.
Congratulations!! Can’t wait to hold your book and dreamily view each page.
Home to me is making and sharing memories with family and friends. It also is enjoying the cozy areas and seeing the many treasures and finds collected over the years.
Home is where a family gathers to love and care for one another. That’s important work, so make it as nice as you can.
Home is where your family is.
My mother’s lasagna dish, her angel food cake pan, her rolling pin…..my husband’s father’s postcards from Japan and his mom’s iron skillet…toys I’ve saved from my children’s youth. Items like these and many more are the things that make our home the comfortable, well-loved place in which we find happiness. I’m no decorator, but the things we treasure from our life and those who preceded us surround us with joy.
Home is that wagging tail when I walk in the door from my cocker spaniel pup, Winny.
Congratulations on an amazing achievement! You have been so inspiring during this especially drab time of life – you have no idea! I think home is the place where you take off the shell of the outside world – clothes you need to wear, attitudes you need to display, thoughts you need to have – and put on comfort and family and peace.
Home is where I can walk in the door and heave a big sigh of relief and contentment. I’m back to my favorite place in the world . . . home.
As a military family (now retired) we moved often and we continue to do so various reasons. “Feels like home” to me is when I have my fiber craft stash unpacked, accessible and in use.
What an incredible question! There are so many perfect answers. In my life making my Victorian house feel like home (and not a museum) is viewing it as my daily pallet. I’ve shifted my colors and furnishings over the 25 years I’ve lived here to reflect what feels comfortable for me , my family and friends. Nothing is ever permanent and I love the process of changing things around. Without the opportunity to make changes I’d feel miserable!
I love the inspiration you’ve provided over the years to your readers. And I love your fearlessness to make changes!
Home to me is a comfortable feeling and place. Not fussy, or overdone. Neither cluttered or bare. It is – in between-, surrounded by good memories of our childhood, parents and history. It includes dear friends who have been welcomed into our family. Dogs, of course;for what is a home without a dog?
It’s a farmer’s lifestyle, and peace , both inside the house and in the garden ?.
But above all things, it is Love for all things we have been blessed with and sharing it with others.
Home is where my family is. It’s warm and cozy, with wood and a lot of light. My style seems to be changing but I love blue. I can’t wait to get your book and see all the beauty you have created. I love your home.
So excited for this book. What feels like home to me are the smells, laughter and all the memories made in our home with those we love.
Home is: comfortable places to sit and gather; collected and cherished pieces to enjoy; cozy landings where we can enjoy the beautiful things that nature shares with us outdoors.
Home to me is having whatever is making my heart sing in the current season of my life!
Home to me is a safe, comforting place with family and friends. A cozy chair, warm tea, nourishing meal and soft music. A well loved book and a faithful pet on my lap. Some many things make up home! Congrats on your new book.
I too am excited for your book. Home to me is a place of retreat and hospitality. I love it when its filled to the brim with family and friends and I also love it when it’s quiet and still.
I love to decorate with collected pieces. Decorating with pieces that tell a story or remind me of a certain time brings me joy. My husband and I both enjoy thrifting, estate sales and antiquing searching for treasures to add to our nest?. I can’t wait for the release of your book, I love your style.
Congratulations, Marian! I cannot wait for your book! So excited for you! Home to me is that comfy place filled with sweet memories, soft colors and familiar scents.
Congrats on the new book!❤
Being a former military family(hubbie just retired after 31 years!), home is (excuse the expression), but “wherever we hang our hats!”
Greetings from Salem, Virginia! As one of your regular readers, I have to say that I feel so proud of you! You certainly deserve a wider audience and your book will bring you one. Anyone that reads your blog for very long knows that a house must be *clean* before getting decorated! And that is a huge part of what makes a place feel like home — it’s first a nice, clean environment to live in. When it’s furnished with pieces handed down, it seems to connect the generations in a special way. Our home helps define our family identity and feels uniquely ‘us’. Thanks for all your hard work and loads of inspiration. God bless you and yours!
What feels like home to me?
Warm colors and mixed woods, soft and casual furniture. PLANTS! and candles.
Congratulations Marian!
Home is my “ insides out”, where I can really be me. Looking forward to your book baby!
Home to me is being where I feel calm and happy. The colors, the simple designs and the smells all play a part in it. For me it has to be orderly as well, as that’s what lets me pause and reflect.
Home to me is all the family mementos I have saved over the years… it is the home my adult children and their families come home to… my husband’s photography on the walls … and my daddy’s baby shoes under a glass dome on our coffee table. Loved your first book.- will love the next one too!
Home is walking through the door and being greeted by my cat. Congratulations on your new book Marian!
I look forward to your blog posts to see what you’re decorating next. I have learned so much not just about decorating and design, but also history and insights on places you’ve been and items you have purchased or been gifted. I look forward to your book and can’t wait to get a copy in my hands. Continued success and God Bless.
Home to me is so many similar things that everyone here has mentioned!
But something that really triggers my memories and I want to convey in our home is hospitality, beginning with our YARD or curb appeal. Although I love to decorate indoors with all the treasured pieces either inherited, gifted to us or “found” that have sentimental memories connected to them, certain plants and wildflowers bring me “home”, as well. So I am always on the “hunt” for plants and old garden tools,fencing, etc. even after all these years, to replicate my home place where I grew up.
One spring, after my yearning for years, the Good Lord provided a gift to me; wild purple wood violets just appeared in our yard!! You thought someone had given me a million dollars! I have so many growing now in my yard ( we do NOT use weed killer) that I pick bouquets of them, to bring indoors, just like when I was a little girl and did so with my older sister. I still go blackberry picking, despite my fear of ticks and copperhead snakes in our area! Then I make our house smell like “home” by baking blackberry cobbler!
Since I am such an outdoors person, I definitely have been helped with decorating and organizing skills from you, Marian! Thank you for all sharing all of your trials and errors in making a house a home all these years to help so many of us!!!
As my husband and I are making plans to move from the house we’ve lived in for 25 years, to another state, I am excited to take some of our precious possessions to our new home, and let go of things that aren’t so meaningful. Home is about comfort and memories and meaning, all things you bring with you and establish wherever you end up. I just noticed I’ll have to change my internet name., 😀
I am so excited to have a book which will help people who own “regular” houses create a cozy, special home! I’ve followed you as a blogger & found you on Instagram, but to have a resource like this book will be so helpful.
Something that feels cozy and welcoming as soon as you walk through the door.
Home is a welcoming space where you can share a meal and conversation with family and friends.
Just the little things that make a house a home, things that used to be my mothers that no one else would notice but I linger look at those things and think about how she used to like them!!
I’m not sure what is about this post of yours Marian, but it brought tears to my eyes. I’m so happy for you. I was one of your followers that was disappointed when you bought your current home. I was so in love with your previous home and all you did to it. My husband and I live in a very small house (480 SF) and I thought my days of Miss Mustard Seed inspiration were over. LOL I am happy to say I was so wrong. You have managed to bring your style into this house so beautifully and I’ve been inspired by every step. I love lots of fabrics, softness, old furniture pieces with character that have been painted to give them new life, light and bright with pops of soft pretty colors, a place that brings a smile. You have been my main inspiration since I discovered you many, many years ago.
When our pups welcome us home at the end of the day, I know I’m home. Congratulations on your newest book. I will read it and enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed your “Inspired You” book.
Home to me sounds of love and laughter, comfy couches for snuggling, and bookcases in every room. I can’t wait to add your book to my collection!
Home is a place of comfort surrounded by the people you love and the things that make you feel happy.?
Good books and iced tea feel like home to me! And my husband, of course.
Your book looks yummy! Home is my comfort place! I always love coming home!
Home to me is my home, which is decorated with soothing colors and things I love. Not whatever is the in thing, but things that are special to me.
Hello Marion,
I can so relate to your entry in todays blog about not having a 100 year old farm house to decorate when you moved to Minnesota. I had a little cottage home I had all fixed up (circa 1932). A lot happened in life and my prayers were answered as I got my little farm in Montana. The only problem was that the home was a cabin. I wanted vintage and old. Cabin isn’t my style. But, as you said everything else worked. So there went my all white, cottage, vintage decorating dreams. How on earth could I, would I decorate this place??? So I got busy and have been adding my touch a little at a time and making it my style. I took some tips from Ralph Lauren. You know how he mixes rustic with the feminine? I’m doing it. I still long for the vintage cottage, but I am SO grateful to have my little piece of heaven, with my lavender farm and amazing mountain views. God is so good! And yes…Etsy is a great place to find goodies.
Having my Gramma’s things displayed means the most to me. Linens, milk glass, chests, along with Grampa’s books and Bibles are among my very favorite things.
WOW! Your new book is Beautiful! The cover is so inviting and comfortable; congratulations.
Home is my farm…house, barns, studio, acreage. It’s where I find love, solace and contentment and where I bring others to find same.
I’ve been waiting and am excited for your new book to come out! Home to me, is a place filled with creations made by me. Whether it’s my own paintings, decorating with my antiques that are tucked among favorite comfortable pieces, or collections of family treasures; these all give me comfort. I want my home to enclose me in a feeling of warmth & safe-being and never feel like just a house. There’s always projects to do and I love being able to create to make my home mine.
I feel most at home in my art studio and yours is a shining example.
Home is where my husband and son are. You have showed how to have a beautiful home with boys and a husband. I love that!?
Congratulations! I’m so excited for you! ( And us! 😉 ) Home is a peaceful, well loved place filled with antiques and vintage pieces. And maybe just a bit of quirky and the unexpected!
Home is a hot cup of coffee in my big cozy chair, but really it’s wherever my husband and dog are!
The smell of a lilac is the thing that makes me feel I am home. I grew up in a house with no air conditioning so we spent many hours out on the screened in porch hoping to catch a breeze. There were two lilac bushes planted on either side of that porch. That smell takes me right back there swinging on the porch swing.
My parents lived in that home for 50+ years until this year when their health declined. As my sister and I were cleaning out their house my sister asked if I could take any two things with me what would they be? My answer was my Dad’s work bench and the lilacs.
My husband and I have lived in 11 places in 23 years of marriage. I try to plant a lilac bush at every house if I can. We built a new house this February and sitting outside right now are 2 new bushes just waiting to go in the ground. ?
First and foremost, home is where my family gathers. What makes it special is sharing a meal served on vintage dining wear and enjoying family recipes.
My home is not an ideal floor plan or big enough. It is a split foyer with awkward rooms.. too big where we don’t need it, too small where we need space… that said, I LOVE my home because it is me. I painted oak cabinets white, walls are hung with architectural finding, colors are soothing, blue and white and variations of that theme… lots of flea market and antique shop objects which make our home very unique. I love it when I hear a first time visitor exclaim , “This is so beautiful.”
How wonderful you have been able to inspire so many with your home and decorating ideas. For me, home is sitting in a comfy chair at the end of the day and feeling content, not surrounded by designer trend choices, but the lovely things you’ve collected over the years, whether it’s a piece of your child’s artwork taped to the fridge, that straw hat you bought on holidays that reminds you of adventures taken, or the dainty dish someone gifted you because they knew you loved old china. Objects that evoke happy memories!
This is so cool! Congratulations!! My home is where I can take my bra off, shoes off, pour some milk and breath deep.
Its where the kids come to be grounded, and recharge.
‘Home’ to me is anywhere my family and friends feel welcome enough to come in, open the fridge and get a snack or a drink and plop down somewhere and feel immediately at ease!
Fresh bread baking, my dog greeting me at the door, the view of the lake outside my window, my garden And my wonderful husband across the table from me.
Home is my great grandmother’s Singer treadle sewing machine, her parents bedroom suite, the quilt my grandmother made us when we got married 40 years ago, and the list goes on. So, I guess home is the sweet memories.
CONGRATULATIONS Marion!!! The inspiration you share has never skipped a beat! The palate may have changed but your fortitude for beautiful spaces continues to inspire me. Our home for me is where I express my creativity. Whether inside our home or in our gardens I find myself immersed in color texture and context. You being the very first blogger I’ve followed and experimented with new paint and textiles continues to be the foundation of my journey. Thank You for all of it♥️
Congratulations on your new book, Marian! I have read all the comments that have been posted before me, and I see a recurring theme: mementos and treasures from loved ones who are no longer with us. I, too, have many antiques and other items that were my mother’s and grandmother’s. I love and treasure them; being surrounded by them makes home feel like home. Home is also where the dogs are! My Girlies are much-adored (by me…not so much by my husband). I love color in my home; I just can’t embrace the grey/neutral theme seen in so many homes today. We are in the process of looking for a new home, after 20 years in our current one. So far, nothing has moved me; I think we know “the one” as soon as we walk in. I LOVE that you have taken a nondescript suburban home and made it your own! I hope that your new book will help me do the same. Much continued success!
Home is my sanctuary, filled with the people I love and loving memories that fill each room. Over the years “home” has been everything from a tiny cabin by a lake , cinder block homes in the Middle East , houses in assorted suburbs, and finally a 40 yr old renovated home next to my grown children. All of them just houses waiting for new owners to move in and make them a “home”
To me home is family pictures, blue and white dishes and cozy blankets. Can’t wait to read your new book for more inspiration!
The biggest thing that makes my house feel like home is just my every day farm stuff. My egg apron hanging by the door. A basket of fresh eggs one the table, a turkey and peacock feather bouquet, a honey comb, a few bottles of mead on the shelf, and a collection of boots lining by the front door. It may be clutter to some, but it reminds me every day of the love I have for this place, and the lives that depend on me.
For those curious, we have sheep, cows, chickens, peacocks, turkeys, guineas, cats, dogs, and a sprinkling of fish. The life of a vet tech living on a farm!
For me it’s about the color scheme. We’ve moved a few times and have rented the past few years…but being surrounded by greys, whites, blues and greens always make me feel comfy in whatever home we’ve been in.
I am SO excited for you (that I actually feel teary) and, so excited to get your book. Already know I’m going to love it! Congratulations on seeing this to fruition- all the effort and love you put into it (with some last minute family help).
I love books, especially decorating books with creative ideas and lavish photographs. Your new book sounds amazing. Our home is eclectic with many collections, earth tones, rich warm woods, inherited pieces, and comfy furnishings. I’ll change it up a bit if I find an idea that appeals to me or helps define a space better. I know it feels like home when family or friends visit and tell me so. The feeling of home is comfortable, like a warm hug or an old friend.
Living in the 100 year old farmhouse that my parents restored , filed with all of the pieces that remind me of who I am and from where I’ve come feels like home to me.
Home to me, means being completely comfortable and relaxed. That can be my home or a friend’s home! Relaxed and comfortable are the key points. I also like to look at something pretty, so I make vignettes of my favorite things so I can enjoy them.
Home to me is my place yo feel safe and express my love of domestic bliss. Romancing the ordinary to just please myself and hopefully others-a personal sanctuary.
Home to me is wherever my husband is. No matter the size, style or location, I’m content as long as he is with me. We’ve had a total of 5 homes over 50 years and each was unique in its own way. Together we painted, wallpapered and fixed up hand me downs. My best treasures are the things from our parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles that carry a wealth of memories. Sitting in my father’s rocking chair, all turned mahogany that his mother bought at an antique store for $2.00 is what home is all about to me.
I collect antique linens and use them all the time. There is always a table cloth on my kitchen table. I actually enjoy ironing my cloths and napkins and enjoy the workmanship that had gone into making them.
We live in the same home we raised our children in and, honestly, I never want to leave it. I’m a homebody anyway so the pandemic and YOU have only encouraged me to learn how to oil paint. I’ve painted my kitchen in half tint stonington gray, thanks to you and your classic style, refurbished two bathrooms and a pantry AND painted my laundry room cabinets in MMS boxwood, thanks to my handy dandy hubby. And I’ve hung ironstone platters on the wall. Haha. So, after a long day at work in a family business, it’s wonderful to come home to my home that started out with wallpaper, red walls and olive green walls. Now their white, stonington gray and Benjamin Moore’s sheep’s wool. I love my less loud home. And when our 3 grown boys are here, that’s when it’s overflowing with love. #Feels like home. Thank you, Marian, for all you do to inspire us. Book ? reordered. I cannot wait!!
Having family photos and items we’ve gathered from our life together is what makes our home a home to me. The memories are priceless whether the furnishings are of great value or not.
Thanks for all your inspiration over the years! Congratulations on your book!
Home to me is a room filled with precious photos, art and the much loved piece that represent you – the blankets, antique furniture, candles. I can’t wait to read your book.
So happy for you! My 87 year old dad is an artist so I have always loved paintings, and now that is have a little more fun money, original art is what makes me feel at home! Still hoping to buy one of your beautiful paintings!
First and foremost—the color blue❣️ I also inherited a love of birds from my grandma, who lived with us and helped raise me amid my siblings. Birds…prints, artwork, plates, wall coverings, birdcages, fabrics…anything that has small birds always appeals to me and makes me feel at home. ?
Home to me is familiar things and a comfy place to relax and entertain. And it wouldn’t be my home without dog hair!
I have to say it was fun reading most of these comments. Home is made of family memories, where milk was spilled and tears shed and hugs helped us grow. My husband’s antiques and my vintage pottery and our estate sale finds make us feel at home. Congrats on your book, lots of work and growth to admire.
Congratulations!! Your blog is and has been a must read for me for years…so enjoy following your projects and your journey. You are so talented and inspiring!
My husband is an artist and we have been married for almost three years- half of that separated by the pandemic and immigration delays. Home is when we are together expressing our love language of creativity together in our home, cooking or finding vintage furniture, hanging his paintings and sewing with my vintage fabrics.
Home is where my family is. ❤️
Home is sitting around the table, sharing food and stories and laughter with family and friends.
Home is a cozy and comfortable place where memories are made and heirlooms are cherished. Where everyone who visits feels welcome and free to relax and just be. It’s where we love, give grace freely, and hug often.
So excited to have your book in my hands!!
Home is best when your favorite people are there.
Home is where something is in bloom all the time. Whether that would be flowers, fabric or people.
I’ve always loved anything with a story, and so my decorating lends to that as well. I love family pieces and items with a true worn appearance.
Just preordered your book…can’t wait!
Your style is all over that book. I love the cover. I can’t wait to pre-order mine. Family and playing games with family, swimming, everything family.
I always think of home as the people that live there, the memories they make, and the comfort within. While my home isn’t design star worthy, it’s mine and I’m happy to be there.
My Forever Home is in Heaven, but in the meantime, my home here is where I want my family and friends to feel welcome, safe and loved.
I’ve moved so many times that I’ve learned home is more about the love and making memories than the things, but the things are warmth and coziness.
Love ❤️ Home… such a small word that can mean so much! Home means to me joy, memories, change and tradition. Remembering the old and embracing the new with grace.
Home is where my family is. Memories are what I build my home decor around. Your book looks fantastic. I can’t wait to get it.
Home is made of many memories. Cold winters playing in the snow and then coming in to curl up by the fireplace covered in grandmas hand made quilt. Summers swimming in the pond, roasting marshmallows in the evening and catching fireflies.
The family gathering for birthdays and holidays around the old oak table set with mom’s Christmas dishes or grandma’s special dishes. Lots of homemade goodies and decorating Christmas cookies.
I think it’s all about celebrating and tradition that bring everyone together to make a house a home. And the love that’s shared by all.
My home is a safe happy place filled with color and things I like
What makes my house feel like home are the special antique and homemade pieces that I treasure. Whether it’s my Great Grandparents chest, vanity/stool that I refinished before we we married or the bookcases and two trunks made by my brother who passed away 33 years ago, when they’re placed in their spots throughout the house it becomes home for me. I love to hang photos of both sides of our family in the stairwell so that the ones we love are ever present in our eyes and hearts. I have loved each home we’ve ever loved in.
Home for me is coming in the front door and being greeted by my dog; sitting having tea and toast on a Sunday morning, hosting family and friends for dinner in the garden, enjoying a simple dinner with my husband and son.
So excited to see your book! What makes my house a home are my family’s memories we made in this house. The table that got dinged while making cookies, wallpaper scuffs where I hung my children’s artwork. And the new memories from our grandchild that we are making.
Home is where life happens, the good, the bad and the ugly. It wraps you like a cozy rug while you plow through life. It is the place where you put roots down and make memories that last forever. It is your treasure box.
No matter what size of home I have lived in whether I have rented or owned it I am all about how it feels to all five senses what does it look like ? do I love the colors the style the furnishings ? how does it smell ? I love coffee and baked goods scented candles .what does it feel like ? does it have soft cozy comfortable blankets and throws or chairs ? and how does it sound? is there laughter or music playing? no matter where I’ve lived -by decorating to the five senses- it makes it feel like home to me
What feels like home is bringing in a family atmosphere by displaying treasured mementos, photos, and art – all things with a happy, comforting feel.
Home to me is found objects or gifts from loved ones. Although I love hobby lobby and other great stores, my favorite finds come yard sales and thrift stores. Someone else’s trash is my treasure. My color palette has changed over the years but the above is still true. It needn’t cost a lot to be precious and attractive
Home is where I can make my friends and family feel comfortable and “at home” !
Home to me is all the curated antiques and lovelies I’ve accumulated for decades from estate sales, flea markets, garage sales and antique mall/stores. It can be a hassle for upkeep and moving sometimes but it just wouldn’t be home without it.
Preordered my copy today. Congratulations, Marian! I am at home when sitting on our deck with a glass of wine watching the deer come into the yard and bed down at dusk.
I love opening our home for large gatherings of friends or family. We have 5 bedrooms and live in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
This sounds like the perfect book for my season. Thank you! I cannot wait fir it’s arrival.
For me, home is where my family is gathered. We always had a little sign that read “home is where the Army sends us,” and it is so true. Without my peeps, it is just another house! Congratulations on your book…I can’t wait to read it!
Home is where memories are made with my husband, family and friends are made. A husband who when asked what do you think of doing this (insert decorating idea) states “go for it!”
home is sounds and smells and seeing familiar things and faces and loved ones.
it is filled with people i love. and mine is currently moving 10 blocks away!
Home is where we have lived for 30+ years. We built our home. I have antiques that have been handed down in both my and my husbands families for over 150 years. I wish I had your knack for displaying them. At 71, I am trying to pair down on lots of things so my sons will have less to go through. I’m donating everything to our local Salvation Army….not the antiques, those I am keeping. Sadly my sons and their wives don’t want most of them so someday I will part with them to an antique dealer, but I’m not ready yet.
Home is comfort and safety. Welcoming friends and family into my home is my pleasure and delight. Good food and drink also comes into play as well as candle light and visual warmth from the fireplace.
Your book looks so inviting! Congratulations to you on all your hard work.
Home is the feeling I get when I drive up the lane to my family home for the past 5 decades. It’s the sights and sound of nature that surrounds it. It’s the memories and traditions that linger in every room. Home is all the people, family and friends who have walked through the door. It’s all the pets over the years who have shared this lovely space. It’s good to be home.
As a military brat and then a military spouse, home for me is less about a structure and more about the togetherness of the precious family and friends that frequent it.
‘Feels like home to me” is the view out my windows. My husband of nearly 52 years and I live on property that has been in my family for 65 years. We do our best to be good stewards of this land we love and nothing seems more “like home” to me!
Home for me is our new/old retirement home, a rural and wooded 1775 antique house in the Lakes Region of NH, where the season changes are always welcome. The wildlife here is abundant with bear, deer, owls (and peppers right now) and where we like nothing more than to have our children and friends join us for winter suppers, summertime bbqs, and nighttime fires. Home is a place to fully disengage and relax and enjoy the quiet, country setting.
Home is where my family is and I’m surrounded by warm wood tones, handmade treasures and pieces from the past.
Home is warmth and people you love. My current house is a 1990’s suburban brick walk out ranch. I have used lots of neutrals as a canvas for changing accent colors – currently lots of navy and gold. The greens and bronze are headed out.
Home is neutral colors, with a little glam, and lots of good food and wine 😉
And great job, Marian!
Home feels like my dining table and my family around it enjoying a meal and each other.
How well I relate to Pat that our home is on the family land/farm. While it is no longer a working farm, it’s still a lot of work being good caregivers to the land and our home. In our retirement years we are blessed with a peaceful life where we enjoy God’s gifts of nature.
Home is being surrounded by your loved ones and a place that holds all of those loving reminders when your loved ones aren’t close.
Home is my happy place.
Something I work hard to achieve in our home is adding character (much the same as you – urban suburb in a box), warmth and a lived-in feel while keeping things cohesive and thoughtful. While the house feels ‘designed and coordinated, many of the decor items have significance to our family… our last name starts with M, so we have many different Ms throughout the place. There are 5 of us, so I also collect those. Incorporating my kids’ art as part of the decor (especially seasonally), and many family photos – of our grandparents history. If you walk into our home, you can feel the ‘theme’ (cottage/antique) but you may not realize right away that you are still surrounded by family momentos and collections. I like that it all has meaning to us, but it’s ‘quiet’, if that makes sense.
Congratulations on what promises to be a beautiful and very inspiring book!
Smells and family tchotchkes make me feel right at home!
Home is a place where my family and other favorite people are (including the four-footed kind)…a place that glows with the light of candles and a cheerful fire in the fireplace…a place with good food, conversation and that rings with music and stories and laughter…a place that is filled with treasured pieces passed down from those who have gone before us.
Congratulations on your book–if it is even a tiny bit as wonderful as your blog, it will be sensational! Already pre-ordered my copy and looking forward to leafing through it.
Four years ago, we downsized from the home where we lived for 25 years raising our sons. Our modern condo couldn’t be more different from our former historic home! I’ve made it home by growing herbs in hanging baskets, placing comfy rocking chairs in several rooms, and adding textures.
Thank you for sharing your kindness and talent. I look forward to your posts and book!
To me home is not a place but it is the people. Home is where one can be accepted, loved, and cared for no matter the circumstances. No matter the hardships, your home will come through. Home is full of people one can depend on, and one’s home is their rock. Home is where the heart is.
Home is exemplified by my couch, custom built in 1937, purchased by me at a garage sale in 1969, reupholstered, slip covered, moved to three different homes, well loved, well used, and a symbol of my style.
So excited to hear about your new book!
When I think of what home means to me, it’s the warm feelings and memories my husband and I have made over the years acquiring antiques at estate sales and auctions, our first attempt at staining a piece of furniture when we were first married (a bookcase that we still have 35 years later), adding special items that we have found while on vacations and get-aways, and transforming our yard and landscape to make it our own over the 21 years we have lived in our current home.
For many, many, years I changed my decor and color scheme in my house according to seasons. This past year I asked myself why. It once use to be fun and the change made my house feel fresh. That is, until I felt burdened by it each season.This past year I stripped the closets bare of all decor and slowly weeded out everything that did not bring me joy. Through this process, I discovered my keeps were mostly blue and white. This became my neutral for every season. My house is now calm and I no longer feel the need to change but instead enjoy the season itself. I’m truly at home now. Wishing you much success with your new book. Look forward to the release.
Home to me feels like a combination of handed down family pieces, found items, and things we have altered and fixed up to suit our needs. Nothing is matchy-matchy but looks acquired over time. And nothing is too precious to put your feet on or set a drink on. Just comfortable.
Congratulations! What a wonderful accomplishment! I have been following you since 2007 and have enjoyed watching your incredible journey! I had even reached out to you back then and you were so kind to even speak over the phone to give advice and guidance about a potential business venture I was thinking of at the time. I appreciate and admire your authentic demeanor. I not only resonate with your creative talent but I’m also a T1D mom so I also appreciate your candidness, the work involved with and determination to care for your guy too. Thanks so much for what you do!
Our dwelling space is most importantly where my family is. A place that they are always welcome to and where I try to make them feel comfortable, safe and always well fed. I love surrounding my grown children with antiques from my Parents and Grandparents in a current, modern way, to help them appreciate and recall a place and time that occurred before them. Our home is in Heaven and our dwelling space is our temporary, yet very important corner of place and time where we can enjoy each other now. I have always felt that we must cultivate our space well and share it with others abundantly. Best wishes on your Book Launch!!
First and fore most family feels like home. However, from the decorating side I have tried to go with whatever was the current design esthetic only to realize that I just had to follow my heart regardless if it is “in style or not.” Thanks for being true to yourself, you have inspired me.
Home is driving into my parents driveway, being enveloped by pine and hemlock, greeted by the dogs, and walking into my mom’s and dad’s hugs.
I know that I am home when the familiar scents of family greet me at the door. My eyes are welcomed by familiar sights of cherished items and people I love. I can find comfort in the textures and structure of the items I touch. Hearing friendly sounds of relaxed conversation or the silence of a peaceful breeze coming through the windows also signals where I am. If I can taste some of the shared food prepared by myself or family is another sign that I am in a space that I have created. To have all of this make me well with the world and comfortable in my surroundings.
Home is a huge sigh of relief when I walk through the door. That sigh can show up after a day in the world or a return from a long trip. My people, my food, my stuff, my smells, my light and shadow, my comfort, my sanctuary. I am home.
Please Note: I’m NOT wanting to be entered into the competition to win what I’m sure will be a fabulous book Marian – I can buy a copy when it’s launched, but maybe some others aren’t as lucky as me, I hope someone struggling wins it.
Home – a place where I can be 100% authentically me, a safe haven surrounded by those I love & the time worn things I treasure, echoes of times past when life was simpler & when the world outside stopped at the front door. 🙂
How exciting, and it looks absolutely awesome, can’t wait to get it! My idea of interiors is ever evolving; but always at the heart of it is comfort in a place that just wraps itself around me and my family. Thanks for the giveaway, and am so looking forward to the book!
Home is where I can enjoy and appreciate the antiques and artwork that bring happy memories of my great grandparents. I try to add something special to each room so I feel connected to the important people and places in my life.
Home is where you can relax, which is helped by soothing colors, cozy textures, and a mix of vintage soul.
Whitewashed oak painted walls and using rust, browns and teals as accents. Stone fireplace and My little studio to my right. throw pillows and copper fixtures. Lemon colored curtains and herbs by the window. A menu board with todays selection and a round cozy dining table.
What feels like home is the morning light striking my grandmothers old dresser that now holds things dear to me.
Home is the sound of my son’s laughter and the warm smile in my heart as we sip on homemade tea and reminisce about the old books we’ve read and the old tea service that’s been in our family for generations.
Home is the sound of the summer storms rattling the window panes of this cozy old house.
Home is the best place in the world.
Gray paint is a must for me. I find it soothing. Also the antiques we inherited from my husband’s family with their beautiful carvings are home to me.
Congratulations, Marian! This will be the fourth of your books I have purchased. Every one has inspired me to go beyond my comfort zone while teaching me new skills and concepts in an approachable, down-to-earth way. I have followed your progress since purchasing my first home and will doubtless continue for many, many years. Thank you!
Marian, congratulations on your new book! I am thoroughly looking forward to it. I love older homes too but when we were looking for a home when we were about to retire there wasn’t anything on the market at the time that checked all of the boxes. We found a home that was thirteen years old. The newest home that I have ever lived in. It has beautiful woodwork and the builder only made one house a year because he was a perfectionist. We have made it cozy with our collection of antiques and comfortable furniture. Like many have mentioned adding touches with treasured keepsakes means so much. I felt that our home was comfortable and cozy but when I came across your blog when I had pneumonia over a year ago you inspired me that I could do more and be creative with this newer home. I had a few pieces of ironstone that I put out and I have collected more (Etsy..per your suggestion) after seeing how you used and displayed your ironstone. You have shown me the possibilities of changes that can be made with a tweak here and there with items that I had along with a few new purchases. My husband loves the updates and feels that our home has become cozy, bright, and welcoming. I am continuing to make changes so I really need your book ! Thank you Marian.
Home is where my family is, our memories of special years gone by, and surrounded by treasures from my parents and grandparents or given to me by my husband or sons over the years. It’s a cozy place filled with love
Congratulations ? on this book! What feels like home to me is being home, saving your blogs to read so I can enjoy your home. Seeing you do things rearrange freshen or let go motivates me to do the same. And when you do that home becomes even more. Plus you appreciate what you have, and know someone else will use what you let go of. Many many yard sales 45 plus years of them, flea markets, antique shops, auctions, have given me wonderful things. Truly it shows and flows home is where the ❤️ is. Don’t ever stop changing.
Home is where I can always find a new project.
Comfort and relaxing feels like home to me. Can’t wait to see your new book!
Home is that place where I can relax and unwind. Much like me, it’s never quite finished but that is also part of its beauty!
My husband makes my home feel like home. Big pillows and blankets help too. I love your blog. It makes me feel like home.
We have been living in bland apartments and going to be buying our first condo (also probably bland). It’s been inspiring so see how you can make a traditional bland home into yours!! I can’t wait to paint my walls and find all my plants windows and walls for my art in our home. Can’t wait for the book!
What makes a home feel “like HOME” — For me it is simple….it is surrounding yourself with memories. Is it the butcher block in the kitchen and its history? How about the sewing rocker in the guest bedroom along with the old sewing machine, both belonging to my grandmother? There are pottery pieces, trays, vases, and other beautiful accents all which belonged to my mother who had great taste. Even walking into a room with rugs that belonged to my mother brings memories and stories to mind! Each room brings forth both stories and sweet memories about all the people in my life that mean love….
I love the stories that go with many of the things–furniture, pictures, rugs and quilts I have made–that are found throughout our house. These items give me smiles and warm feelings when I see them; they also provide opportunities to share some of our past experiences with our grandchildren. My family and special memories help to make our house a home. Thanks for your new book and inspiring blog!
Home, to me, is the place where I can kick off my shoes, curl up in a comfy chair, and truly be myself, knowing that those around me will love me no matter what. Just pre-ordered your book and can’t wait for September!
Congratulations on your new book. I look forward to reading it. I think that all my decorative items bought from antique stores and thrift stores say “home” to me. I love things in my home that aren’t mass produced, but chosen especially by me. Of course, all my pillows, curtains, and rugs in blue and white make me love my home, too.
Home is memories – souvenirs and collections on display. Pressed pennies glued to a wall, art from our travels, and comfy spots to snuggle.
Your new book looks wonderful. My home is where I can be me, where I can be with my family and where we are most comfortable. My home is a warm, bright relaxed atmosphere. Home is where my ironstone lives. ?
Love the name!
Home feels like the smell of clean cotton, cool colors but warm tones. How me feels like comfort of fuzzy blankets and snuggles. Home feels like beautiful artwork and peace.
Home is being surrounded by the people and things I love, objects that hold special memories, favorite colors, music and crafts.
Oh my goodness, so EXCITING! I cannot wait to read it. Home-definitely a feeling with family all around. My husband has been very ill for the last 2 years, and my heart bursts when I see my children step up to help him, to love him, to support him! May God bless you with continued success!
A comfortable armchair, a cozy couch and a nice warm, long throw for reading books or watching tv….it’s more about the feel than the look in some ways.
Can’t wait for the book!
Home for me is family, memories, antiques, flowers, stories and so much more.
I really enjoy your blog.
Home is vintage , sentimental and comfy . Vintage oil paintings, slip covers on worn furniture, dishes from my dear grandmother and mother . Home is lots of entertaining with friends and family !
As a military wife-preparing to move for our final time (he’s retiring after 20 years of service) each place has felt like home because of the art, furniture and objects handed down or collected from our various duty stations
Congratulations on the new book. Your style is appealing to me because it is so honest and in touch with who you are. And when you “freshen up” your home, it isn’t about introducing the latest fad, but finding another layer, another angle of who you are. No matter what you do, your home looks like you, or who I perceive you to be after following your blog for so.many.years.
As for me, home will always be wherever I can be with my husband, the love of my life. Ideally, we are surrounded by good books, beautiful music, and a general sense of calm, a place where we can just be.
I recently rerired and moved to a new state. I am in the process of making my new house a home. Pieces that speak to me, texture and older pieces that hold memories are helping to make this new house a home. I am excited to buy your book because I want a uniqueness to my home. I already have plans for your milk paint to transform some of the furniture I have!
Can’t wait for my copy to arrive!
My idea of home is windows that bring the outside in, relaxed order, comfy but sturdy furniture with well thought out placement, pleasant mix of textures, books, plants and art.
Congratulations on your book!! I enjoy your style so much, but mostly appreciate the way you are encouraging to all of us to seek our own style.
It feels like home when all the family is gathered around the dining room table. It gives me a sense of calm and serenity. I love setting a beautiful table. Congratulations on the book.
So excited for this book! Home is where the kids never knock, the neighbors are comfortable asking favors and family photos and rock collections are in every room. Oh, and no one minds the stray dog or cat hair.
Home is where the memories are … the memories that are stored in our hearts. No matter where we call home, the memories will be with us.
Home is where my family is.
Congratulations on your new book! There are so many things that make our house feel like home-maybe the best is that the objects we’ve collected hold the stories of places we’ve been and people we’ve known.
I am SO looking forward to seeing and reading your book! Home for me is my sanctuary. It’s a place where I surround myself with the people I love most and a lot of my favorite things. Some of my things tell a story of some sort…they are the best! Home is the place where I can be my authentic self, warts and all, and still receive love.
Congratulations on your inspiring book, which I have ordered. I have enjoyed your blog for years and had no problem with the new format.
Home to me is sharing dinners and events with friends and my husband of 63 years. We enjoy our family, found antiques, decorating in interesting DIY ways, quilting and personal pursuits but that is all things we could do without if we had to. The sharing is the most important part.
Congratulations on your new book! How exciting and thrilling for you and us all! I love the acquired look and feel of your home, it makes it so special. Over time I have found things from rummage sales, antique stores and new items. I love the ever evolving look, that makes it a home.
Your book looks Amaaaaaazing…cant wait to get it….
Home is all the cozinnes and love of memories with a collection of dear things all over ❤.
Our sacred place we create to unwind and feel like ?
I have followed you from the VERY start of your amazing journey. You were the first person I had ever made a comment to on a blog. It was when blogs just started and I was just learning about them. It has been a fun journey to follow with you , I have your book, your paint and supplies, and knowledge ? congratulations, and thanks you for the giveaway, I put in my preorder..
A space that reflects the past, provides serenity for today, and space to grow in the future.
So happy that you go to meet my friend Kelly Noser and are featuring her home in your new book! Kelly and I share a love for all things estate sale, antique, and auctions! We’ve had many fun times together not only finding diamonds in the rough but using them to create a narrative for our homes. Thank you for using your talents to keep inspiring us to make our houses more than walls and floors…they tell our stories, narrate our journeys; this is home!
Home. It’s where ever I’m with those I love and who love me. I’ve lived a lot of places, and I’ve called a lot of them home, but to me home is a place inside of me.
Love your blog and your decorating style and tips. You’ve inspired my home renovation!
Home is where my family and I can relax, share a meal together, and play hide and seek with the grandkids…our sanctuary from the hustle and bustle. So looking forward to your book, Marian. Well done.
Lots of books and plants, big sunny windows, antique Persian rugs….and a cup of tea. Pretty much all I need to feel right at home!
Can’t wait to add your new book to my collection! Thank you Marian!
Home to me is a place that sums up the accumulation of wonderful lifetime memories and the items that bring you to those memories, whether it’s “family heirlooms” or items brought home from travels that bring you back to that wonderful time when you visited there. It is also the place that I return to and say “Aahhh” when I walk through the door after being away. Looking forward to your book in September.
Home for me is where everyone comes for comfort. When we knew we had to move to another state, I prayed that we would find a house that would meet the needs of our family and would be a place everyone would want to be and that prayer was answered. This house has had to constantly adapt to ever changing “needs” for almost 20 years and counting. Currently it is home for 6 adults and 5 grandchildren and sometimes a few more are added to the mix. I long for a more decorated look but I tend to put comfort first. Sea colors also give me a feeling of comfort as well as some peachy pink here and there with a little yellow thrown in. I used to be a traditional gal but my heart sings for a more comforting cottage feel now. f
Home is where we can just be ourselves. Its where we can express ourselves authentically. I love design elements that foster comfort, enjoyment and connection.
Home to me is filled with nature and handmade. From Landscape painting gallery walls to pottery dishes or baskets filled with pinecones and acorns or birds nest with feathers picked up on hikes. Handcrafted items found at thrift stores, made by me or friends, down to the tissue box covers made by my boys 20 years ago when they were just 4 or 5. Home is green and blue filled with light and quiet spots.
Home is walking into my home, feeling as if I’m receiving a giant hug as I walk through my rooms, enjoying the memories of collecting “treasures “ over the years, planning, dreaming, and then the memories of putting all those thoughts together to make a cozy, gracious and comfortable home. My home is such a joy to me. I am so blessed.
Home is family. It includes a couch purchased second-hand by my grandparents in the 1930s, the first bedstead my parents purchased as a married couple in the 1940s, books of family history and cherished photos of family gatherings.
Plaid (pillows, blankets, decor) and my vintage cowboy things feel like home. ? And my jade dishes, that I wish I had more of. ?
Home are those who surround me; home is a welcoming respite where we can be and do; home is old and new, chipped and fresh; home is around the kitchen table, eating, playing, working.
Home to me must include beautiful art, antiques, and heirloom pieces. From even when I was in college or my first apartment, this held true. An end table given to me by my mother, a desk from a neighbor, beautiful art from a friend or art show, a lamp picked up from an estate sale with my dad as a kid, these are the pieces that give a home some soul & personality and make me feel at ease. They also evoke memories and love from those who gave them. Obviously home is most importantly memories and people, who go with you no matter where you move.
Home is where I am most creative whether with painting furniture, crocheting, cooking or gardening all is done for my family with great joy and contentment. Home really is where my heart resides! And I love the cover of your new book. Great job!
A BIG CONGRATS to you on this book. I think it will resonate strongly with your audience, Marian. Love the name – so exciting!
And how gracious of you to celebrate all this fun news with such a generous giveaway. Etsy is a place of dreams. Someone’s dream will be coming true! Thank you for the opportunity to win!!!!!
As for what makes “home” to me…..well I wrote a short novel in my comment to your yesterday’s post – so this time I will just say wherever my hubs is, home to me. ♥
Home is the culmination of a life well lived snd well loved. Cannot wait to receive my book!
Home is surrounding yourself with things you LOVE!!! Not things that are the trend or style. Congrats on the book!!
Home is a cozy couch and warm blankets where I can snuggle with my family.
Home is a space where we feel safe and loved. Where we are surrounded by familiar things and people that make us feel good. It’s were we come together with family and friends to celebrate life; and where we can look back on our past memories with pleasure. Home is that place that is unique and special to us, our safe haven in a world of chaos.
Home is where my family is. My own bed and bathroom. A collection of found objects like bird nests and acorns, rusty industrial treasures that can be repurposed as wall art. Paintings by local artists, something black in every room, velvet whenever possible. These speak home to me.
Home is where the gallery of mismatched frames are filled with family history and my parents look like 1950’s Hollywood movie stars.
Home is where the mess that I share with my kids and family is. ?. It means we are living and enjoying each other’s company.
Home is my source of love and inspiration through family and friends. It is where I find beauty in the souls of people and in the soul of my home developed over time.
My favorite place in my home is my bedroom!
Bright oriental rugs, lots of blue and white ceramics, and a good dose of live plants feel like home to me.
Very excited for you new book – Congratulations. What feels like home is being comfortable, incorporating new furniture with old, family momentos & pictures. I also have many plants! Thanks for your inspiration!
Blue and white, natural linen, and antiques make me feel happy — that’s why I love your blog! I really look forward to getting your book.
Dear Marian
Congratulations on your new book, and thanks for this opportunity to celebrate with you!
When I think of ‘home’, I think of the place where I have arranged everything to serve well as the stage for my children, grandchildren, extended family and friends to gather in good times and bad. It’s also my retreat when I prefer to be alone, p
My grandson put it perfectly one day. “Your house has a certain smell and feel to it. It was at your other house too…it just feels like you.”
I took that as the greatest compliment. I think what he was trying to say was that it felt like home, and home is the place that says “you”.
I know I’m home when I see my bright blue door. I enter and am greeted by my cats, see my gallery wall of family pictures, and sink into my down-cushioned sofa to read another chapter of my current book. I am surrounded by my nature collections, my plants in my Red Wing crocks, and the memories made in my home of the last 43 years! Can’t wait to get more inspiration from your new book. Congratulations, Marian!
Sitting around the kitchen table with the people I love, exploring the flower garden with my daughter, or relaxing on the porch or back deck with a good book is what feels like home to me.
Home is good food, family, a homemade quilt hanging on the wall, meaningful treasures collected over the years, good books, a fire when it’s cold outside, a cat curled in a lap, and peace.
So exciting Marian!!
We have been busy transforming a beige builder basic into our “home”. It is a project, but one that is filled with love and sweat equity. I know your book will be filled with inspiration… I can’t wait to read it!
Wishing you and the book great success!
Well said! I totally agree with you. Spending time together in different spaces provides choices as to how rooms feel by what people do with in them.
Excited for you and your new book! What makes my house a home to me is seeing my family and our furry four legged kids being so comfortable living among all my antiques. Antiques have become our everyday items throughout the home. And yes the dogs water and food bowls are ironstone!
Oh man this hits, well, home! We made the decision to sell our house 5 years ago so my husband could leave his career. I never knew how renting would affect my heart. I’ve learned in the 2 homes we’ve rented that I’m in control of making these 4 walls feel like ours and a home. It’s a journey but I know I’ll be blessed by your book! Can’t wait!
saw your post on IG and it’s very exciting. I wish you great success with this next chapter and I hope others will get as much inspiration as I have from your help.
Boy I needed this book years ago. As a military wife moving all the time and all over the world and never knowing what type of home we would live in, this would have helped so much!
Instead I just always believed that we would have an evolving decor depending on where we live.
I have to have this book!
Home is where my creations are around me and whether that’s my girls, my lifelong love of making quilts and stitching I realise without these things around me it’s just a house. It makes me also realise if I move then these things come too to make my next house my home.
I’m excited about your book! I’ve been following your blog for several years & appreciate you being true to yourself. I think that smelling something cooking on the stove or something baking in the oven makes it feel like home to me. Having pictures of my family in each room makes it feel like home. ?
Home is : my cat sleeping on my lap, enjoying my tea with some homemade brownies, looking at my living and see the beautiful little things I bought in thriftshops and antique markets. Home is where I feel comfortable and content. Being grateful with the things I have and not fussing about the things I don’t have.
After spending almost a year travelling in Europe and staying in numerous Air BnBs, the one thing that made me feel like home and helped me settle in to a new environment (no matter the country) was the process of preparing a meal and sitting around the table together. But I will say that after arriving home in Canada, nothing felt more like home than putting my head down on my own pillow.
A fire in the fireplace, my cat in my lap, and a good book in my hands!
Dog, Polish pottery, books, crap that I collect, a few quirky pieces, quilts quilts and more quilts.
Home is sun on the balcony, a clean and comfortable bed, and a cake in the oven.
Whilst waiting for a home in a mansion of glory above, home is shared experiences here, joys, sorrows, entertaining, caring and cherishing, it is where we can drop the camouflage of respectability and be our unique selves, be brought up by our children, it’s where we can get things wrong sometimes, experiment and grow, it’s where we read, pray, study and prove the Heavenly Father’s loving care day by day
Home is a feeling not a space, it’s the collection of things that gives your family a place to be comfortable and feel loved and protected. Home is like a hug.
To me a home is an embrace love and refuge. A giant hug!!! I love being with family and friends making them feel loved and and cared for.
Military wife here! Home to me is my husband and kids! But I love your work and would love a copy of your new book!
Lots of books and plants by the windows!
Congratulations!! ?
As a Navy wife for 25 years and constantly moving, I found that home is where the people you love are. Military housing isn’t easy but I liked decorating with things that reminded me of our travels and good memories.
Good luck with your book!
Home is the place, scent, feeling when you walk through the door and give a sigh of relief that you are home. Your home. No where else you would rather be. ” Home is the nicest word there is.”
It is really quite simple. Home is the place that I love best.
I can’t wait for your new book!
Happy Pending Book Release! Home is everyone tucked into their cotton and linen bedding after a long day of doing life together.
In my memory home is defined by textures and scents. As we live in a semi-tropical climate it’s difficult to maintain traditionally “cozy” spaces so I have made “cool” spaces.. I do try to be intentional about first impressions when on walks through our front door.
Home to me is the day I found my 100 year old fixer upper. I saw an ad for it, the place was empty but the light coming in through the windows got me. I have been make my little house my own for the last 18 years. People always ask why don’t your sell but how could I it is my happy place. Like the song says ” the house that built me”.
Home is my refuge. It is where I feel safe. It is where I create–my books, my little watercolor/art studio, my garden, my sewing room, and my big beautiful kitchen where I cook comforting meals for the people I love and cherish. Home is my happy.
It feels like home when my family is around. Sure I love a well-put together home that has been curated over the years but nothing feels better than when I am sharing that home with family.
You… and that lovely right-sided part of your brain. Saturday mornings with my coffee and your website, painting tutorials etc. can bring my mind completely home after a hard week at work. Thank you. Thank you. You are a gift. I can’t wait for your book.❤️
Home is a comforting place and safe zone. Where I can spend time with my family to create memories while surrounded by beautiful antiques with a history of their own. Ironstone that is stained or chipped or a black and white photo of my grandma and mom with the corner curled as it hangs from an old shutter tells a story that is unique only to us. Thank you Marian for serving as a true inspiration for home decor.
It feels like home to me when I have a wonderful book beside my chair to pick up and enjoy each time I sit down.
I am so excited to purchase yours. Matter of fact, I will be buying my niece and daughter on as well.
After leaving our dream home of 26 years, I found that my grief was quickly remedied by making our new old fixer-upper an extension of what our family loved the most….large kitchen for cooking and entertaining; cozy living room with a fireplace, and a large upstairs to welcome kids and grandkids home. Life is full of unexpected turns and challenges, but when we focus on the positive, it becomes a beautiful journey. Thanks for this opportunity for me to pen this.
Congratulations, your new book it sounds wonderful and I am excited to purchase it! To me home feels like things that are familiar, items passed down through generations to be cherished and enjoyed. Be it a textiles, furniture, artwork or a recipe, these are home to me.
Home means comfort to me, not a showplace that you are afraid to sit down in but someplace comfortable with the people you love.
Home is my family, all sitting at the antique table my grandmother found and refinished 50 years ago and using the linens given as gifts to my husband’s Scottish ancesters during WW I and brought to the USA in the 1920s. Creating memories with my daughter so she can instill new meaning to these special pieces in her home one day. I anxiously await your new book to help us on that path.
Congratulate you on your success!
Home is a cozy, warm comfortable place made by the collection of furniture, books, knick knacks and other treasures found at estate sales, auctions and from family. Looking forward to your new book!
Home: feather your nest with all things found and collected and sharing them with family.
Home is where in amongst the everyday, I manage to dream, have all sorts of interactions with family members and occasionally even manage to accomplish something creative ?
Sitting on my screened in porch at the end of the day.
Home is…a bright and cozy place filled with family and friends.
Home is where I feel comfortable.
When my parents passes away, I inherited many of their things. My home now incorporates those passed down things and provides many memories for my family. That is what home means to me.
Home is when my children and grandchildren come over for dinner on Sundays. Home is deciding where to place tresured items, Home is where I feel loved.
Home to me is some place that when you walk into your home that you see the things that you have and have placed there. Home is about the scent that your home has and the satisfaction that your home is what it is because you have collected and made it what it is, comfortable like a hug when you get home! Thank you for the chance to win an Etsy gift card, I love Etsy also!
Home is where my family gathers. Grandmas dishes adorn the table, moms glass pitcher and thrift store serving platter. We gather and enjoy the peacefulness of our eclectic home
Home is where my people are! It’s where I feel most comfortable to be myself. It’s where I’m surrounded by some of my favorite things: comfy chairs, cozy blankets, & collected treasures! There’s no place like HOME! ?
Home is where my coffee pot is.
Home is family, a place when you pull up in your driveway your shoulders relax and you sign and say yes, let’s go in and relax. Home is where I cozy up with a good book, cup of tea, candles lite, and the smell of a good meal. Home is where your treasures are!
How very exciting! I have been a collector of ironstone and all things blue and white for over 4 decades and it remains my constant love still. Sitting in my cozy little brick Tudor filled with love and memories attached to the treasures that speak to me, my family, our 2 kitties…how could home not be my favorite place to be?!
Home to me is where all my beautiful treasures are arranged in the way I like best and home is my quiet refuge from the world.
Home is my refuge with sentimental pieces that bring special memories to mind and of course, beautiful, colorful pieces that bring pleasure to my eyes! A place where I can rest my soul!
Sundays after church feels like home, when its a place we gather and enjoy rather than a place we operate from throughout the week.
Wellll…my answer is a bit different. Home for me is wherever my husband and children are. He is my touchstone. We recently moved & he has been so wonderful in the chaos of this season, in being right by my side, in a new place that does not yet feel like home.
Oh my goodness, what a thought-provoking prompt. Home to me feels like peace. A gift from the Lord. It feels tidy in that everything has a spot, yet collected. It’s where I might find myself gazing upon an object that’s pretty or interesting. Home feels safe. The walls within which I can have a hard conversation or “curl up cozy” on the couch. Home is catered to those who live within it but also hospitable and accommodating to any who enter. It marks seasons of life whether it be your forever home or a transitional one. Everyone needs a home. Isn’t a home such a picture of Christ in a way? Thank you, Marian for your business, your passions, and your words! This blog has been such a treat.
Very excited for your new book! Congratulations!
Home to me is a fireplace, cozy chairs .pillows, blankets, and beautiful milk painted furniture and windows looking out to growing gardens of flowers and farmland. You inspired me to paint and that is home to me too. Family close by and a kitchen full of good food and tangerine and lemon essential oils flowing from my diffuser! Ahh! ? home
Home is where I am surrounded by familiar furniture and decor that was once in my beloved parents’ or grandparents’ homes. I am, along with my 3 sisters, the keeper of precious heirlooms, filled with memories. I am reminded of my beloved mother when I look into her antique mirror, fondly remember my dear aunt when I look at her childhood desk, that was also my childhood desk. I appreciate the great-grandmother I never met when I use her antique silverware. Family ties us together with their love, and when they leave us, their treasured objects can keep their memories alive and provide great comfort.
The definition of a home certainly starts with four walls that provide shelter from the elements. But above an beyond those basic shelter requirements is ART. Every room in my home–even the “junk” room–has hand made art in it. Some I made myself, many pieces are made by family members and, of course, some art I have purchased. It is those pieces of art that make me cherish the rooms in my home.
Your book looks lovely Marian! I will be glad to have it handy to look at allll the time! That is one thing I love about Home-having all my decor books I’ve collected including some I’ve purchased on your recommendation. Home to me means where I feel most myself, comfortable and able to enjoy all my favorites-my family and pets at the top of the list.
Home to me is comfort, surrounded by things collected and passed down over 50 years. A welcoming place that suits my husband and me and doesn’t necessarily follow current trends. Also a compliment when a grandest-daughter actually wants something you are willing to give up.
Thank you, Marian, for the ideas you have passed to me and others, and your enthusiasm in all you do.
I love your blog! I’m drawn to blue and white and vintage and you are an inspiration.
Home to me is comfort. To be surrounded by the people you love and who love you in a place that is restful and beautiful.
Thanks for all the encouraging post
Home is reading a good book curled up by a fire and surrounded by the art and handcrafts I have collected in my travels.
Congratulations Marian! Home to me has open spaces for entertaining, but with cozy nooks for reading and conversation. A warm, inviting color palate that helps the soul breathe. I love furnishings that invite one to sit and stay awhile.
It feels like home to have something in every room that connects to a memory or my family’s history. I have furniture, art, accessories and books that all make me feel connected to my family and create a feeling of home.
Home is a place filled with people and reminders of all things loved.
Lamp, blanket, cushions. Lower lighting and somewhere to snuggle is what makes something comfortable and homey for me.
Home: One of the loveliest words I know! To me, Home is anywhere with my husband of almost 44 years. Home for the past 40 of those years has been here on our farm in a very rural area, so living here–on a farm way out in the country–is also Home to me.
I love having my handmade quilts throughout my home. Congrats on your book – I am going to order one!
Having moved from a large house to a small one and from one country to another, I have decided that home is about making the current space as comfortable and peaceful as possible for my family. Handmade art, comfort food, family traditions, loving acceptance and enthusiasm for the new adventures. I love to read your blog because you validate these ideas for me even when my space and belongings are ephemeral. My values and opportunity to express them are not! Thank you and congratulations on your new book!
Someone once visited my house and their comment later was “you just want to curl up with a cup of tea and read a good book in every room”. That is what home is to me – somewhere warm, welcoming, cozy, relaxing – where anyone can feel at home – but most especially my loved ones can feel like they have entered an oasis of security and love.
An acquaintance walked into my home and said ‘your home is full of things you love’. That was the nicest thing anyone has said about my home. Another friend said my house was really like a home. Not a furniture
showroom. Besides people and pets I love my sewing machine makes a place feel like home to me. I am a quilter.
Home is my dad’s chair. It’s old, ratty looking and too big for our living room but it will always have a place in my home. We will begin looking for a new house soon and the chair is most definitely coming with me.
Can’t wait. Family memorabilia of those I miss and those that still with me. Things other people have loved before.
How wonderful this book looks..so like the ‘you’ that I’ve come to know on your blog. I’ve been quietly following you for years. Bravo on all of your successes!
Congratulations Marion on your book! For me, Feels like home is a warm, safe haven where my family and friends gather near. My comfort and peaceful rest where I can refresh my spirit!
What feels like home to me: definitely the people who fill it who you love and who love you back. The saying is ‘a house doesn’t make it a home but the people’. I don’t want to go into a house that contains people I am not comfortable with, no matter how clean or beautiful it is. I grew up in a small run down mobile home on a small farm where in the winter I got ice on my windows, in the inside, and I would see my breath in the morning and no air conditioning in the summer…but…it was home and where my family lived and my brother and I were loved, safe, and taken care of. That is home, the family and loved ones you share your space with.
LOVE this…so true!
Home is on my farm with my cows grazing, my chickens free ranging, my pigs racing each other back and forth in their pen and my good old farm dog nurturing them all and protecting them. And of course all with my husband Farmer Drew <3
Thank you for gifting
Home is walking in the front door and knowing you belong there.
Congratulations on the creation of your new book.
Home is my cozy, safe place filled with my collected treasures making it comfortable for family and all who enter it with things that make me happy.
Our family’s motto is “Home is where the Navy sends you” as a proud Navy wife with lot’s of moves behind me, opening that first box and bringing our lives into a standard base house was still a thrill after 28 years! my blue and white color scheme have been a staple as well as my Mom’s antiques and quilts.
What feels like home to me is filling it up with things that bring back memories!
Home is where my family is gathered. My home is influenced by my momma’s best friend whose lovely Southern home always made me relax and say aaaahhh – in the midst of crystal and breakables and antiques. Little children were welcomed to grab a peppermint out of her Waterford biscuit jar. Gracious and welcoming. THAT is home to me
Congratulations on your new book! I love your style. Home, for me, needs to be filled with things that mean something, or evoke memories or peaceful feelings. It needs to feel inviting and comfy for family and friends.
Just feels like Home….I just adore your first book, it still inspires, I am positive this will be another go-to favorite of mine! Congrats!
Feels like home . . . when I walk in the door after a day at work and my cats are there to greet me and I finish up the day just ‘puttering’ or settling in with a good book or a movie on TV.
Home is the place that holds the memories of my children growing up, family gatherings, dinners with friends, and celebratory events such as birthday parties, grad parties, baby showers, and of course, holidays.
I just got home last night after being gone for 2 weeks and I had to say out loud “Hi home, I missed you!” That was of course after I told my husband I missed him! Home is comfort and love and always ready to welcome others.
It doesn’t make a difference what size house you have, whether it is brand new with all the newest appliances, bangs and whistles or old with imperfections and character (what I prefer). What makes a house a home are the memories and decorating it to your tastes to make you feel warm and safe.
Home is where I enjoy my Ironstone, transferware, Fiestaware, with family and friends. Surrounded by vintage baskets, stools comfy furniture and memento’s. Home is where my Children gather making a great meal together and sit and reminisce and dream. Home is where I am at my best.
Home is familiarity and acceptance. A place where I am nurtured and refreshed.
I just said to my husband the other night, “now our house feels like home again”. We’ve been remodeling since last August and had some time delays with Covid. Being able to have a cute rug at each entrance again, the furniture arranged and styled, cooking in the new kitchen, and enjoying our home and time together.
Had a gathering of neighbors a couple of years ago and one told me that my house feels so cosy and welcoming. I knew then I had achieved what I’d set out to do. Made me so happy.
Home – I love a soft cozy throw snuggled up on the sofa hanging out with my family 🙂
I am so excited for this new book!!!! Home for me is a cozy blanket, snuggled on the couch with the fire glowing, and the ambiance of a candle in the background (and maybe a glass of wine)!
The “hardscape” of home is a comfortable chair or sofa, big enough to curl up in, with a table nearby of the perfect height to easily place a drink, and a lamp just bright enough to read. This setup allows the “landscape” of life to flourish: Reading to a child curled up in a loving lap, exchanging the day’s offerings with a loved one over a glass of wine, catching up with a friend over a phone call, or getting lost in a good book. So many meaningful moments happen at home, heightened by the creature comforts we choose to encourage them.
Home for me is a place with family and fur babies and all the treasures I have collected along with memories. It is a place where I see the amazing artwork created by my talented friends hanging on the walls.
Congrats on the book!
Hi Marian! Home is my sweet family, all of our kids gathered together, usually after a meal, sitting with my husband watching them laugh and talk.
Your book looks wonderful! Can’t wait to read and look at the beautiful pictures!
Congratulations, Marian!
This book look entirely delicious & completely helpful. Your photography is always inspiring as well. I’m looking forward to flipping through each & every page!
What feels like home to me are corner lamps emitting soft light, worn sofas in our favorite colors, cushy pillows, soft throws, and a crackling fire.
Warmly,
Rachel
Hi Marian. So excited for you! Home is where we and our grown children come together and gather for football games, game nights, big laughs, sad cries, or a simple talk on the couch. The kitchen brings forth tempting aromas and tasty treats. We’ve recently downsized, but home is still the most important place. Touches of life keep things simple and cozy. Photos, family heirlooms, plants, throws and books. Our home is here for us. Not to look picture perfect, or to follow trends. But to serve us, both physically and emotionally. It is the most important place in my world.
Home is where friends and family are welcome. It is a place of comfort with good food, great books, and cozy furniture. There is nothing too precious here, so go ahead and put your feet up if you like. The view from home includes perennial gardens, vegetable gardens, hay fields, and a brook. Let’s enjoy a cup of tea in my reading room or a chilled drink on the screened porch.
Blessings on your new book! I love reading your blog!
What makes me feel at home is our blue and white collection (which includes lots of flow blue) that my husband and I have collected together over many years. It not only looks beautiful it reminds me of our adventures together!
Michelle
What feels like home to me? I like mis-matched things. I have never owned matching dishes, furnitures sets, lamps, etc. l love things that are eclectic, yet artistically put together. My cozy home style doesn’t appeal to everyone, and that’s ok with me!
Home is where my family and pets are! I love blues and greens, your style is so pretty and calm.
Congratulations on your book! I can’t wait to read it! ??
What feels like home to me is…coziness; softness, like in fabrics, pillows, and such. Life; plants and fresh flowers. Relaxing earthy scents, like lavender essential oils, pines, patchouli. Neutral colors with pops of fun color and patterns. Also order. ?
Congrats on your new book. I’m looking forward to it. Home is a nice kitchen where everyone gathers.
Home is the hugs of loved ones, the smell of something yummy emanating from the kitchen, and physical reminders, from furnishings to photos, of generations of family before me. I’ve so enjoyed your blog over the years, and look forward to your new book. Congratulations, Marian!
Home for me feels like a place of belonging, where my soul finds rest, inspiration and energy to be love inside and outside of my home.
Home is comfort & family but also the view from a window curled up in a comfy chair, memories of travel in artwork & furnishings as well as love in the photos of your people that make your heart sing.
Looking forward to reading the book!
Can not wait!!! Love every single thing you create♥️♥️♥️
I also love blue and it’s in almost every room of our house!
Congratulations on your book! You are inspirational!
Home is where my family is, where I am reminded daily of my blessings, where joy is sparked, and tomorrow’s memories are made.
Please keep up the inspiring work!
Home feels like a
An overstuffed chair with a soft reading light, tucked in a quiet corner looking out over Long Lake, Michigan.
The depth of the book and the calm of the water envelope me and form a barrier from the outside world….
Yay Marian! Congratulations!
I can’t wait to read (okay, devour) your new book!
Home to me feels like love, safety, comfort, peace, happy smiles and laughter, and lots of kitty purrs. And if there’s a lot of white, wood, and art I’m happy aesthetically.
Home is where I enjoy my books, seashells, vintage bottles, and telephone insulators. Its also the place I love to have family and friends gather for any reason.
Home is where my loved ones are…including 2 dogs, my garden & my studio.
Home is safety, comfort, and unconditional love. It’s a place where my adult child walks in and goes through my cabinets for a snack like she did as a child. Then she takes a tour to see if anything is new ( or new-to-me from the thrift shop.) And always there are pictures of her through the years, books (so many books! ), plants and my many collections. I always want her to still feel at home. And that goes for my other loved ones as well. Marian, I am so excited for your new book! I’ve followed your blog for years and have enjoyed it immensely. Thank you for all the joy and inspiration you bring to the world!
Congratulations! Home to me is family and a comfy chair.
Congratulations on your book! What an undertaking! Home to me is a pretty ocean view out a kitchen window, flowers blooming in summer and a great fireplace to cozy up to in the winter. Fill that space with pretty colours, comfy furniture, your loved ones and there you have it! Home!
Home is comfortable and inviting. It’s layers of history and whimsy. It’s images that inspire me or comfort me and any who enter. It’s tidy and organized with lovely little messes of life.
I’m excited for your book!
Congratulations Marian! What a wonderful accomplishment! To me, home feels like a big exhale, a hug—a place to welcome family and friends with love.
Home is a comfortable, safe place where family is, with soothing, calm colors and treasures gathered through life.
Home is a feeling of warmth and comfort, brought on by comfortable seating, artwork, pretty lighting, flowers from my garden. Making a home is my delight!
Congratulations on your book! I’ve been homemaking in my own homes for 33 years, and know my style well. Your book is one that I will buy because I know it will be filled with inspiration!
Home to me feels like a space that has pieces of who we are – the little pieces that are reminders of the lives we have lived and loved that don’t necessarily make any sense to anyone else but us. Bits and pieces of memories, scattered about as subtle reminders of all we love- hidden treasures we rediscover when we really look beyond the paint swatches and furniture arranging.
Home has a lit candle with a food scent, vanilla, apples, or a fresh air dried linens scent. It’s my glasses where I have left them handy with a partly finished book or magazine. It’s the blinds and drapes fully open with sunlight streaming in and visuals of dog-walking, and kids riding bikes, neighbours going by, and birds playing outside the window.
Home isn’t literal, it’s a feeling, it’s comfort, and it’s belonging.
Kim
Holding your own book in your hands is not quite like holding your newborn but it’s pretty great, Marian! Congratulations!
Home to me is a place my husband and children feel loved. There should be photos, favorite art work,
and a mom happy to make it all happen
Home to me is being surrounded by loved ones, home furnishings that bring loving memories of being with those loved ones and photos that capture those moments.
It looks like a great book! It may be hard to describe exactly what feels like home, but our hearts certainly know it and yearns to be there. Family, safety, memories and love. Wether those things are reflected by design or style doesn’t matter as much as how we find that comfort at home.
Thank you for the chance to win a copy of the book and a gift card.
Love your blog! Inspiration daily!
Home for me is a place where my creativity takes hold, where I get to share my art with my loved ones, where my husband and I have antique mementoes from our parents home, where we relax together and live in the moment.
Congratulations on your new book?
What feels like home is safety, God’s love giving me that safety, but also the beauty of His love expressed through the love and laughter and everyday noises of family, the sweet sight of pets sleeping rolled up in a ball on the chair or rug or watching me while licking their paws. It is colorful, beautiful pictures and things that remind me of loved memories and comfortable scents of the seasons like coffee, or a fire in the woodstove, or lilac blooms fresh from the spring garden. It is the simple beautiful care God gives in the simple things, like life in the ferns on the window sill and flowers in vases and photos of days I have loved and treasured. Home is wherever God gives peace, and peace comes from knowing He loves me so much He sent his only Son to come to earth to die and rise again to save all who will call on Him. Home is a treasure. <3
Oops, I meant an exclamation point after my congratulations! Not a question mark!
Congrats on your new book Home!
I feel a home is the comfy place where we can remove our shoes, find rest, and settle in to enjoy family and friends. An authentic home expresses the unique story of those who dwell within its walls.
Home feels like the place I recharge and clean my “wounds” before going back out into the world then next day.
I’m not sure why, but a red-and-white checkered tablecloth has always felt like “home” to me. That probably has its roots in the gazillions of times that I read the “Little House On The Prairie” books!
Home is me, home is us, home is our tranquility!
Congratulations on your book, can’t wait to read it.
Home to me is the place where I am surrounded by the people I love, the memories and treasures we have collected along the way and the mix of old and new and repurposed that make my home unique and special to us and all that enter. Your book looks amazing-congratulations!
I think it feels like my home when the people I dearly love are near. I love to make the place we call home welcoming and enjoyable so everyone feels comfortable and happy. Time spent together is best, but making the nest cozy is important.
Home is where my family is.
Growing up an Army brat, we moved a lot. We were home when Mom got the 2 wood bookcases she had bought when she and Dad first married filled with books. Mom and Dad are gone now and I have those bookcases, updated with chalk paint filled with books. When I walk by them I always smile and feel at home.
Congratulations on your book! Home to me is an earthy color palette: green, blue, brown, gray, white.
My favorite things to make a cozy home are cushy, soft rugs, comfy throws , down-filled pillows, wonderful smelling candles on the coffee table and fragrant sachets in the linen closet. Fresh flowers also add to my favorite things to make my home feel cozy.
Open windows with the curtains fluttering in the breeze, bringing nature inside, never fails to lift my spirits and make me feel so at home.
Congratulations!
Home is where I’m sure everyone is welcomed. I tended to decorate with earth tones and family antiques. Farm life is the best!
Familiarity and comfort!!! Congratulations on your book!
Congratulations, your book looks amazing.
It is hard to describe what our hearts feel when we are home with family and friends, surrounded with memory treasures. Thank you for helping us stop for a moment to reflect and count our blessings.
Home is wherever my family & pets are… if it feels cozy…like a place one can cuddle, & they are there- that is home!
Home is where my loved ones are. I love the noise I hear when we are all together. No matter where we are, when we are together, we are home.
Home has always been a comfort. A place to enjoy family, feel secure and freedom to create. Having moved a few times I’ve enjoyed new inspiration to create that comfort zone.
Congrats on your book! It sounds like it will be a wonderful addition to anyone’s library. I just moved into a new to me home and had to start all over as we sold our previous home furnished, except our art we have collected over the years. What feels like home to me is finding the perfect place to hang that art.
home is my refuge – I’ve needed this since I was 16 because my mother wouldn’t let me live at home!
Home, to me, is the place where our comfort and memories congregate most.
Home is where you relax and revive. But it’s also where you learn new things. I love reading your blog and getting inspired, then putting that inspiration into making my house my home.
Home is: sunlight streaming in, a hot cup of coffee, children running in and out giggling, favorite books that are read and reread dozens of times, and a sense of belonging ?
Yay for your first book, Marian! Can’t wait to get a copy!
Home to me is being surrounded by family and friends who are comfortable and relaxed. Congratulations on your book. I m looking forward to buying my copy!
Home is where my husband is!
HOME, defines who I am and the loves of my life. ?
Over my lifetime, I’ve lived in 32+ houses! What made them homes was family. Now that my children are grown and gone, I have their photographs, memorabilia from our travels, and family antiques. My current house doesn’t feel like home – yet – since we are gutting it down to the studs for rewiring, removing asbestos, and re-plumbing. This book looks SO beautiful, like all your other projects, and I think it will help many people feel comfortable where they are, making their house feel like home, like they belong. <3
Home to me is warmth, so I have a difficult time using white. But I love antiques & traditional decor. This book will be welcome in helping us all incorporate “the look” in newer construction! Thank you.
After living in many, many, many homes over the 20 years in the military, we have added our unique touches to each one. I love a home where no only family feels welcome, but all those that enter. Treasures that tell stories, items that invoke memories and special things that are truly loved are all important in the feeling of home.
Your book definitely looks like something I would want to have in my home. To me, home is my cocoon, my safe place, where I can do and have the things that give me and my family pleasure. I love being surrounded by my books, my fabrics (I’m a quilter), and objects that evoke memories and promote creativity. I have gotten past needing to have the perfect “interior designer “ home and now am happy with a home that is inviting and comfortable.
Wherever my husband is, feels like home.
Home for me is a cozy sofa with a soft blanket, cup of tea and a good book. A tea kettle and book shelf full of books are also necessary.
Home is filling each space with memories of those I love. Love people… like “things”. Creating a beautiful and healthy home for my family includes antiques, green plants and plenty of windows overlooking the Lord’s beautiful creation.
Home is when I pull down the shades and close the curtains it feels like a great big hug!
Yay! Congratulations!! I’m so excited for this book to come out! Another Marian masterpiece that we all will enjoy the privilege of devouring! Thank you!
Home is where I was born- Nantucket Island off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Every time I am on the ferry rounding the Brant Point lighthouse, pulling into the harbor, I get all the feelings of coming home. It’s no wonder that I invite the island feels into my (mainland) home every chance I get. I love blues and whites, natural elements, landscape artwork, and comfy chairs.
It’s the places that shaped us that remind us of home, and in my case it’s a sandy shore, grey cedar shingles, bumpy cobblestones, and scrubby pine trees that remind me of home.
Thank you for continuing to inspire us all.
May the Lord continue to bless you,
Jill
Home is my mind’s eye brought to life! I’m from mid-Missouri where oak and leather is strength and stability. I am partial to tiger oak as it “tells a story” and love the smell of classic leather. Color is important and is defined by what makes my mind see spectrums of my mood which is always evolving to become the best that I can be. I’m inspired by simple, strong lines and new bright beginnings, so I tend to be eclectic in my design.
Thank you for letting us into your “mind’s eye!”
Congratulations on your new book! I look forward to reading it and absorbing the details in your decorating choices.
For me home is a place of calm and tranquility and a place where I can relax and create. Surrounding myself with vignettes of items collected over the years gives me great joy.
Thank you for providing continued inspiration Marian.
So much inspiration over the years. Love your studio especially.
I’m so excited to hear about your new book! Incorporating vintage into my home feels like home to me!
Home is where my wife and cats are. We have a ranch style home, and we are making it truly ours a little bit at a time.
Home is a place of new and old history. Where generations gather together and celebrate family. It is a place of shelter and solace for those who need it. A place to count our blessings and to bless others. Where we nurture children,, grandchildren,, and great grandchildren.. A place to follow no ones decorating rules but our own…where we can invoke feelings at different seasons in our lives. Home and family is everything!
It feels like home when I walk through the door and see the boots and the warm jacket that greet me. We live in coastal, central Maine and my dear husband is a Mariner. Home is when he’s close by, sitting on the glassed-in porch in the winter when the sun hits it right and it’s 80 degrees inside and 30 degrees outside, and the green shaker rocker is filled with his presence. Home smells like home-made soup and yeast rolls…and is filled with the sweetness of my beloved.
Home is where I can feel safe and comfortable surrounded by family heirlooms, books and other sentimental items!
Congrats on the new book! I recently moved into a 1990s McMansion and was all but crying when we had to leave our 1920s cottage. Your blog gave me hope that I can make this a home. I often go to your blog to pick what to work on next (currently painting the faux oak trim white). Can’t wait to get your book!
Home is wherever I am when one of my cats is sitting on my lap.
Home is also the mark of claws on the upholstery. Sigh.
Home is my favorite place to be and gives me so much peace. My home is special because of my family and the memories we have made over the 23 years we’ve lived here. Even though it’s very average in size and there are things I would change about it if I could, one of my favorite things about it is that it’s light and bright. Congratulations on your new book!
Home feels like snuggles with my family in a cozy bed.
Surrounded by the blankets, quilts and crafts I have made for our family comfort , feels like home to me. Also the recipes hanging in the kitchen that I have made over and over the last 20 something years for my husband, sons and friends feels like home.
Home to me is a place where serenity and love live. A place that welcomes friends and family in and invites them to stay awhile. It’s where mementos of the past remind us of where we came from. It’s delicious food, lazy Sundays, celebrating each Holiday and making beautiful memories. It’s where God resides in our hearts and in our lives. It’s where LOVE always takes you in.
I have a feeling mine will be a popular universal sentiment. Family photos. Old, new, ancestors to grandchildren. AND
Quilts. I’ve been a quilter for almost 40 years, so, many I’ve made are hung on walls and grace our beds.
Can’t wait to read your book! Congratulations. Home is where I can prop up my feet in a pair of cozy handmade socks in front of the fire and do a little slow stitching… or sit in a rocker on the front porch and lazily watch the doings of the neighborhood. It is a calm and creative space that I can wear like a raggedy sweatshirt. One that pleases my eye and allows me to sink into the interior.
Home is where I can breathe. It is where I am welcomed by the people and pets that I love and love me. It is where I enjoy the new, beautiful things while also being surrounded by the old family treasures that take me back to other beloved people and homes that are no longer here. It’s where I can wear my most comfortable jammies all day and nobody cares. It smells like childhood comfort food on the stove and tastes like warm homemade bread. Home is my cocoon where I dream my dreams, make my plans, and recharge my batteries. Home is what my soul looks like.
Home is where the things around me tell my story.
Home is where I exhale!
The lamplight in the window after a long day away, The smell of my husband brewing coffee after returning from an early morning walk with my dog. Watching my plants breaking their way through the soil after a harsh Winter. A place where the love never sets…
greenery like topiaries and a little bit of scroll wrought iron
“Home” has always been “where the Army sends us.” But, after 28 years and 17 moves we finally got to choose our own home. We reside in a small home in Newport, RI. The house needs a ton of work with a 91 year old kitchen and bath. But we love and use every inch of it. We have been warmly welcomed to Aquidneck Island and our home has been a haven to us this past year. I love Newport’s charming streets and rich history but nothing beats Newport’s sense of community.
After many years home is where the heart is and for me that’s being with the family. After living in Wales for over 15 years you pick up a few words of the beautiful Welsh language.
One such word is Hiraeth – a deep longing, especially one’s home, a feel for the mountains and the valleys. A feeling of nostalgia, a longing, a deep connection. Can’t wait to get my hands on your new book.
Congratulations on your new book! What does home feel like? A big hug❤️
I’ve preordered my copy from Amazon and can hardly wait to get my hands on it. I have your other books and just know this one will be awesome. Home for me is where my family resides and is comfortable. So excited for you and for all of us who follow you.
Home is my happy place, my comfort zone, my work-at-home space, my place to feel secure and safe and my place to spend time with those people and pets that I love.
Home is with my family. Cozy and inviting, clean.
Congrats on the book! Home to me is a gallery wall of family photos. I love when my 3 year old just sits and stares at the memories in it!
I think knowing how to fix up your standard buider-grade home into something uniquely yours is needed. Most people can’t find or afford the house they dream about. Better to learn how to fix up what you already own or what you can afford to reflect you. I love your blog and read it long before I finally realized you weren’t living in an old house you had fixed up. I love your blog and all you share there. You style is completely different from mine but I love seeing how you transform each room and its contents into what you love. It’s inspiring. Your home is beautiful and unique to you which is how each of our homes should be. Thank you for your blog and for your new book.
Home is a feeling, no matter where. What does matter, is the with whom. Thank you for sharing your journey! Your blog inspires!
Home is where my wonderful husband & I have been living happily ever after for the past 44 years. Love your posts. You speak for so many of us kindred spirits!
What feels like home… colors, textures, smells that wrap me in a cozy, peaceful setting with my family
Congratulations on the book! Can not wait to read (see devour!) It!! Home for me is where smells like fall and has that cozy vibe all the time!!