Publishers Weekly
09/04/2023
“Your home does not look like a magazine article and it was never meant to,” writes Napier (Make Something Good Today), cohost of HGTV’s Home Town, in this unpretentious celebration of ordinary houses. She discusses how she and her husband transformed a 1925 Craftsman-style house in Laurel, Miss., noting they refurbished the kitchen by installing a cast-iron sink and custom-built refrigerator cabinet and spruced up the living room with canvas curtain panels and an antique butcher’s chopping block used as an end table. Napier weaves intimate memories into descriptions of the renovations, recounting, for example, how she bathed her newborn daughter in the freestanding tub she put in the primary bathroom. Though the photos of Napier’s house are carefully orchestrated, they’re more candid than typical home design fare, with her daughters’ mermaid dolls splayed in the bathtub and a child’s costume left draped over a kitchen chair. Images from the homes of Napier’s friends highlight, for instance, bed frames sourced from a WWII-era Navy cargo ship in the guest room of frequent Home Town guest star Mallorie Rasberry and the Ping-Pong table and neon sign in the basement of Linda Phan, creative director of Scott Brothers Entertainment. Napier’s fans will relish the personal anecdotes, and the emphasis on everyday living offers a down-to-earth alternative to the luxurious abodes that populate most home design books. This charms. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Erin’s new book, Heirloom Rooms, is something that lives on my desk because I love to look at it and go through a page at a time. It’s one of my favorite books and it is so phenomenal.” —Drew Barrymore
“These are the rooms for me—messy, warm, and filled with stories. Erin Napier is full of love—for houses, for the past, for what a family brings to a space that transforms it into a home.” — Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow
"As a Mississippi writer whose every word is attached to home and a simpler time and place, Heirloom Rooms is the book that I wish I had written. If I had known that unmade beds would one day be celebrated in a book, I could have saved myself fifty years of anxiety and guilt knowing my daughter, of all people, would make it inspirational." —Karen Rasberry, IPPY Award-Winning Author, Erin's Mom
“I like it. I really like the sheets and blankets and stuffies on my bed. I like Halloween at our house when we put decorations up as a family and we were having fun together. I’m eating right now, Mama.” — Helen Napier, Erin’s daughter, age 5
"Almost everyone resonates to the idea of home, for many reasons. But to articulate what home means specifically is more difficult. HEIRLOOM ROOMS: Soulful Stories of Home speaks artfully, nearly kaleidoscopically, to the idea of what home is—or can be—in ways that are beyond inspiring. I looked at the beautiful photos many times, seeing something new each time. I loved the prose: friendly, intimate, full of heart and, yes, soul; sometimes practical, sometimes funny, often times downright poignant. (The thoughts Erin shares in the preface about her grandmother leaving her house brought me to tears—me, and my partner, too.) Comments made by Erin's friends about their own houses added other helpful perspectives and dimensions. I finished reading this book with deeper reverence for what my home means to me, and with a newfound confidence that I can trust my instincts to make the place where I live truly reflect me, as well as the things and people I care so deeply for. Thank you, Erin, for teaching me that sometimes an errant sock is not so much clutter as proof that someone you love is nearby." —Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv
“Napier’s fans will relish the personal anecdotes, and the emphasis on everyday living offers a down-to-earth alternative to the luxurious abodes that populate most home design books. This charms.” —Publishers Weekly
Library Journal
07/01/2023
Designer Napier (coauthor, The Lantern House), who cohosts with her husband the HGTV show Home Town, has written a lushly illustrated book that describes the renovation of their home in Laurel, MS. She shares stories of their early renovations, the upgrades they made as they could afford them, their daughters, time with family and friends, and surviving a tornado that damaged their house. The author also includes her memories of the houses where she grew up and her grandmother's home. Included in the book are her family and friends' reflections, favorite room picks, and photos. There are also mentions and images of porches, entryways, home offices, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, and living, dining, and guest rooms. This browsable, charming book includes stunning photographs of inviting and eclectic spaces, along with the owners' thoughts on what makes these rooms in a house become a home. VERDICT Fans of Home Town will relish this insightful look at the cohosts' dream home and memories. This title will also likely appeal to readers who enjoy interior design and personalizing their own living spaces to create a homey feel.—Sue O'Brien
