I recently read Restoration House: Creating a Space That Gives Life and Connection to All Who Enter, by Kennesha Buycks. I don't have it in front of me now, but I'll give some of my impressions from it.
I found it to be a warm and inspiring book. It is a mix of the author's personal story, ways to graciously show hospitality in your home, and practical tips for decorating your house.
The pictures are in the same decorating style as the cover photo. It is a very restrained style, I would call it a subdued variant of Beach House, but it is also very simple and very accessible. I went to her blog, Restoration House, because I wondered how her style had evolved over time, but it is not set up for easy backward browsing, so it took me some doing to even see that her style has indeed changed a great deal in the last few years.
Her story of meeting God in the midst of refinishing furniture was something I found meaningful, as that is where I am sometimes managing to be these days. Her children apparently slept more or less on time, though.
Her idea of establishing a budget for hospitality, so that you can provide extra for your guests, instead of trying to stretch out what you have far enough to include them, is something that my family should probably begin to practice at this stage in life.
My biggest complaint about the book is that the sidebars and sidepages are visually too similar to the main text; they are set off mainly by a different background color, that is not that different from the plain white pages. So I'd be reading about her spiritual journey, and then I'd suddenly find myself reading about some completely mundane aspect of decorating, because I had missed the subtle change in background color.
Overall, I think it is a good book, and good for multiple stages in life: starting out, starting over, and re-orienting in between.
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