Book review: The Nesting Place

After reading rave reviews, I purchased The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith expecting something similar to other interior design books, but with slightly more imperfect interiors that I’d be able to relate to. In some ways I enjoyed it, but it was not at all what I was expecting. 

There was a lot more reading to it than a lot of interior decor books, a lot of mentions of the author’s religious beliefs, and a lot about her personal journey as far as home decor is concerned. I found the book somewhat sexist in its attitude that it’s mainly women who are interested in decorating their homes, and that husbands are the main breadwinners and need communicated with in a particular way and cajoled to accept the wife’s ideas. In one particular sentence I was tempted to score out “women” and write “people”, and I’m not a person who readily takes a pen to a book!

Then, about half way through, the book began to grow on me. There were some tips I found inspiring, about bringing more plants into your home (and not caring if they die!), making use of what you have, working withing the limitations set by your house or your budget (and how this inspires creativity), and having meaningful beauty in your home.

After reading the book I looked back through it to see how she had reused some quirky accessories in different locations and ways - at the moment I'm really into the idea of having some flexibility in my decor and moving things around like this.

This book actually really got me thinking about my own design philosophy, and how I like to have meaningful items in my home.