With tips, projects and assignments this is a great book to make your home unique.
Plenty of ideas for any taste, and how to that will help any level of experience.


I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am not a confident decorator....at all. So I feel authors have their work cut out when they're working with me. I like to pick up a book like this every now and then and see if it can get me one step further. I feel like this book did that. This book isn't about having the perfect house but having one that is perfectly suited for you and how you want to live and function there. I appreciated that it focused on this being a long, slow process that will probably last a lifetime. It's not a destination.

It had 9 project tutorials. A lot of these were beyond anything I'm hoping to do. Maybe someday I'd come back to them. It also had assignments scattered throughout. These were more my speed. For instance, one assignment was to add one unexpected thing to one room in your house and live with it for a week. That seems manageable and interesting and fun to me. I'm going to do it.

I appreciated a lot of the tips and I made note of a few things I want to think about as I'm out at thrift stores and sales...things like statement pieces. I also want to find some interesting switch plate covers to add interest to a room.

I appreciated that the author isn't encouraging you to go out and start from scratch and spend a lot of money. She asks questions that help you analyze what's working for you already and how you can take it a step further. I think this book is helpful for those who want to make big sweeping changes as well as for those like me who just want to dip their toes in the water of decorating.

Thank you to Worthy Books for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Feels Like Home gets five stars from me! Marian Parsons instills confidence in you as you take the reins of defining and beautifying every space in your home as she guides you through the process! This book is down to earth decorating at its finest and the projects are very doable! This book will warm your heart whether you are a newbie beginner or a seasoned experienced designer. Lots of beautiful pics and how tos. I loved reading every page of it! Marian has inspired me to see the rooms of my fifty year old home with new eyes. I put he book to the test as I redecorated my living room for fall and guess what...it turned out stunning! Thank you Marian for giving me the confidence to "tell my story" in my home!

“Imagine walking into a home that was designed, built, and decorated just for you….We can customize each space, one little step at a time, bringing our idea of what feels like home to life,until we delight in each room of our house. It’s not perfect, but rather perfectly suited to us.”
In Feels Like Home, Parsons takes us step by step through the process of customising our homes (my favourite part of the book), followed by a tour through each room of the house and finally, some thoughts on furniture and finishing touches
The photos, while beautiful, are quite limited – many are of the same homes and even, multiple photos of the same rooms (the author’s) , which meant there's a lack of style variety. The style is lovely though.
Parsons’ mix of inspirational words, domestic anecdotes, diy projects and decoration advice seems a bit of a jumble at times, but that’s its charm. Some of what she has to say, about practising and taking time and making the best of what you have, really resonates with me.
“Decorate with the mindset of a gardener” she tells us. And I think that’s what really makes a house feel like home.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

I enjoyed the beautiful pictures and appreciate some of the advice given in the book. However, it seems all the examples are of a french country style design. I think the book would be more helpful if there were a mixture of styles featured - not all of us like the french country look

I enjoyed this books which has lots of good decorating ideas for every room in the house and step by step DIY projects. Mostly country style decorating photos throughout. Highly recommend!

Plenty of tips, tricks, techniques, and some DIY to transform your home to feel just like your home. I liked that a lot of the information are presented in bulleted points making it very easy to read, digest and use for decorating your house. I also enjoyed the author’s stories about how she worked on her own place, sharing her wisdom and experiences.

I loved many of the ideas including using fabric starched to walls instead of applying wallpaper, and I spotted a picture frame for hanging art work that I want to copy right away!

The photos of the interiors are all beautiful especially when compared to the before photos at the back of the book!

This would make a really useful gift for someone about to move into a new house or someone planning on some redecorating.

Throughout this book, Marian walks you through the process of how to make your home work for you. Even if you don't share her particular aesthetic or style, the book is full of exercises and questions that will help you identify your priorities. She guides you through thinking about how you want your spaces to look, feel, and function. I found myself taking lots of notes as I read through the chapters!

Many design books focus on general design "rules" that don't necessarily represent the people who live there, but Marian shows you how to add character to your home and to tell your story by incorporating things that are important to you. She encourages practicing gratitude for the little things about your home that bring you joy.

Marian offers step-by-step DIY projects, helpful tips, and lots of beautiful pictures that illustrate her points and for inspiration.

The heart of the book is that all of your home should be a place of beauty and rest for you - not just the common spaces, but the ones nobody else sees. I would recommend this book, and I see it continuing to be a staple in my own library for many years to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and Worth Publishing for the ARC.

Beautifully illustrated and written.
Very helpful to those who are building a new home to give it that lived in look.

Excellent book. Good tips throughout. Easy to follow instructions on how to create your own custom home.

Thank you to Marian Parsons , NetGalley and Worth Publishing for the ARC of this book.

This book has amazing ideas and DIY tips and tricks.
Marian has broken this book down beautifully, with a mixture of stories, history, how to do segments and pictures. I really loved the layout and it is very clear that Marian has great knowledge about making a house a home.

I would recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, worthy publishing and worthy books for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Great book of ideas on how to make your home uniquely yours. The pictures are beautiful though the style is pretty heavy on country cottage look, which is not particularly appealing to me. I did like the ideas presented in the book on figuring out what will work in your house and what elements can be featured or added to bring out the beauty of your home.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was filled with helpful information and beautiful pictures!

Feels Like Home is a style and tutorial DIY guide by Marian Parsons to help readers to put their individual mark on their personal space. Due out 12th Oct 2021 from Hatchette on their Worthy Books imprint, it's 304 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.

I really liked the casual conversational style the author uses. It felt almost like a chat with a friendly and reassuring friend ("It's only a bit of paint, no worries it'll be fine"!). The layout is beautiful, full of clear and well styled rooms which actually look lived in. The photos are drawn from a wide variety of styles and periods and there will be something to appeal to most readers.

The book's chapters are arranged thematically from finding out what readers' own desires and goals are, through to planning and executing projects. The following chapters provide inspiration room by room: living spaces, kitchens, dining areas, bedrooms, creative & work spaces, and the rest of the house (bathrooms, etc). Custom furniture and finishing spaces round out the content along with a relevant bit of philosophy (why are we decorating or working on these projects and how can we find inspiration?).

The author has included some short DIY tutorials including a hand painted wall mural project that is probably worth the price of the book. It's beautiful and really looks do-able.The book also includes some really useful appendices. There's a before and after exhibit showing the same areas for comparison and inspiration as well as a resources and links lists.

I liked that the book isn't locked into one particular style or level of exclusivity. Sometimes I feel like home style and interior guides are fairly useless for readers who don't have a seven figure salary. There are casually styled rooms included here as well as exclusive period stately homes and everything in between.

Lots of useful info here. Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This is a helpful resource for a very challenging issue: what makes a house feel like a home? As the new owner of a builder-grade box, I've been working through this myself and there was a lot of helpful information here, especially theory and exercises that can be adapted to many situations. Basic principles of customizing a space are explained clearly and accessibly. There are lots of lovely pictures and project guides to spark inspiration.

My only quibble was that the homes presented seemed to be mostly suburban-type spaces and the aesthetic skewed heavily toward country, rustic, and shabby-chic looks. This left me, and my modern, urban home, a little underrepresented. Still, the guide and overarching ideas are sound and I definitely found useful assistance in the text.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!