Heirloom Rooms: Soulful Stories of Home

by Erin Napier

Erin Napier, designer, host of HGTV’s Home Town, and author of Make Something Good Today, returns with a gorgeously illustrated and one-of-a-kind celebration of the homes we live in and love.

Our homes are more than an assemblage of bricks and glass, wood and nails.

They are the keepers of our childhood memories, our milestones, and heartaches. They evolve as we do. As a family grows and eventually retracts, a home can change hands and begin again. We are the chapters in the book of a house. They carry on after we are gone, setting the stage for another story, a new life, new memories.

From Erin Napier, coauthor with her husband, Ben, of their memoir Make Something Good Today, comes a collection of essays walking us through every room in her home, telling the story of a family’s life, of the days that made their home the place she longs for when she’s away.

We learn about when they became the new owners of Erin’s dream house from childhood in downtown Laurel, Mississippi, and explore the beautiful homes of family, friends, and projects past in photographs.

With essays that evoke her Southern home, photos of the beautifully imperfect, lived-in spaces of her family and friends, and prompts for us to document our own homemade memories, Heirloom Rooms feels like walking through the front door of the collected and loved-in houses Erin and Ben are known for revitalizing in HGTV’s #1 hit series, Home Town.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Design, Interior Design, Biography, Audiobook, Photography

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 3, 2023

Reviews

[Lydia Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erin Napier what a great book with great ideas to beautify your home. I have read other home decor books but they are always hard to do projects. This is a real life book of real people’s houses and the photography reflects that. As I read through the chapters I was challenged to think through what makes me love my own home so dearly, and catalog both the tangible and intangible qualities that make my house a home. This book is beautifully written. Highly recommend.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories of what makes a house a home. Color pictures may provide inspiration for readers.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big Ben & Erin fan so this audiobook filled with memories about various parts of their homes and episodes from the show was highly enjoyable! If you like getting behind the scenes insights into celebrities you follow and enjoyed the HGTV show, Home Town, definitely give this book a try.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book as a new homeowner. This book gave me ideas of how I want to renovate our home but also how to keep the history and purpose of rooms. I enjoyed reading how overtime rooms in your home become useful for different purposes.

[Saljo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't typically like home decor books. Too white, too classy, too boring. Plus where are the kids, and even the regular humans who leave messes behind? This book was different though. There was actually heart in this book.
"If the house were a food it would be a yellow coconut cake with white icing."

It was cool that so many different homes were featured because although some weren't my style, others sure were. And I liked the words. Off to read their memoir now.

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Napiers memoir “Make Something Good Today” way more than this book. It’s an odd collection of family, friends, HGTV stars, and Instagram influencers showing supposedly unstaged pictures of their homes and telling stories about the rooms. First, I call foul Sir because only some of these pictures were not staged. Many of them are so clearly staged it’s actually comical. But I appreciated that Erin and her family took authentic pictures to share. It makes at least part of the book believable. Second, most people never get to experience living in their dream house. They have to compromise for innumerable reasons, and instead they have to look at the Pinterest board they have been creating as opposed to being able to live in it. The other people featured in this book, excluding Erin and her family/friends, are bougie Instagram influencers trying to make us believe that living in a hundreds of years old French Chateau is “normal”, and that they live like this everyday while creating content and paid partnerships. Not my cup of tea, but I will continue to watch Erin and Ben on their incredible show!

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a fan of Home Town and Erin and Ben Napier on HGTV and this book about memories of rooms we live or have lived in really intrigued me. This couple just seems so genuine and kind and I wanted to hear Erin read her own writing so even though this is a “coffee table” book with tons of pages filled with well lived in and loved rooms I downloaded the audible version. The downloadable PDF was easily viewed to see the images the writing describes. I was so glad I listened - the author’s voice is so important in a book like this! I may still buy the print version too!! The book is organized like you enter a home: front porch, living room, office, kitchen, dining room, bath, bedrooms, back porch and her memories in these rooms are warm and comforting. I think this would be a great writing prompt for students to write about a room and their memories spent within. This would also make a wonderful Christmas present for anyone sentimental about life, family, and memories spent together. It’s like a warm hug!!

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erin has such a beautiful way with words. She perfectly expressed how homes house memories in every single room.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

“…when we remember the homes we grew up in, we are really remembering the ways we felt in them, the people who lived in them, and the ways they cared for us.”

Really loved this sweet coffee table book - part beautiful “real life” pictures and part sentimental stories. Made me appreciate home more.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a beautiful coffee table book with beautiful, inspiring pictures (and decor styles) of the different rooms of a home. But what I loved most about this book were Erin’s essays on home, family, and the memories + moments that are interwoven into each room of her beloved dream home. So many sentences rang true to my core. Want to own and re-read.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful and sentimental book. Erin reaches down deep where all of our core memories are and makes us remember how important they are and how to pass them on to those around us. The writing and photography are fabulous as well. Easy 5 ⭐️ from me!

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was a little overly sentimental. I didn't get that many decorating ideas, but I did like how one of her friends called her built-in bookshelves their "cabinet of curiosities." That was cool.

[Sydney Fort · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heirloom Rooms felt like sweet tea in book form! I love Erin, and her HDTV show Hometown, so I knew I would love her writing. I loved getting a peak inside her family’s home, stories about each room, and special memories each room holds. So beautiful, and so so sweet. 💛

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this. It is like a warm hug or cup of tea. It made me see my own sweet home from a fresh perspective, including all the things about it that make it special.

[Relyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a lot of shelter books for the eye candy. I loved this one for the words, the stories, and the heart. I have never watched Home Town, but you can bet that will be changing soon.

[Tegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most inspiring home design book I've read in a while.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not so much a home decorating book, but a look at a variety of lived in rooms with stories about creating homes that reflect the owners’ aesthetic, lifestyle, family history, and traditions. Erin Napier has written a cozy, homey book that drew me in from the first page.

[Sonia G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably better as an actual book (instead of audio), so you can see the images referenced.

[Amber McGimsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erin is a great writer. Good coffee table book

[Mary Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful book, a book that asks us to think not about design trends or the latest must-haves from Ikea or Home Goods but, instead, about family, history, and traditions. This is not a book for people who want to live in a magazine layout; it's for people who want to honor the past while shaping a meaningful future for their children and grandchildren.

Erin Napier, who can paint a picture with prose as well as she does with water colors, has written a love letter to The Family Home, inviting her readers to find the things we love about our own homes and do the same. Napier and her contributors show us their heirlooms, their family photos, the rugs on which their babies took their first steps, the "brown furniture" they found at flea markets that called out to them. The common thread here is that none of them showed us the latest mass produced decor from Target. This is about curating from love, not from (dare I say it?) what some other HGTV designer or advertiser is pushing. Forget about what others are trying to sell you, and fill your home with sentiment and memories.

You probably won't get specific design ideas here, if that's what you're looking for. But maybe you'll learn to appreciate all the wonderful things you already have.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

For whatever reason, this book was in my local bookstore weeks before the release date. I thumbed through it because I enjoy the author’s show and love home design books. I was disappointed to see that the photos were dark and the photo pages were on matte finished paper. The photos were of various rooms that , I imagine, lent themselves to stories that the author found interesting. I thought the photos, in such a book, would be about rooms from homes the couple renovated, but instead they appeared to be messy or “lived in” but not appealing aesthetically.

[Staci Overbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, and I loved getting to see what makes Erin…Erin. If that is what you are looking for, this is a five star read.

I was hoping to glean some ideas to help make my home homier. That didn’t happen as Erin, and most of her contributors, appear to be incredibly sentimental. I want a beautiful home, but I don’t have that kind of attachment to things or family history. That doesn’t make either of us right or wrong just different.

I love Erin, Hometown, and the first book she wrote with Ben. I am glad I read this one, I just couldn’t relate.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comforting and enjoyable read. The best parts by far are the essays written by Erin. The captions written about others' rooms were generally not very creative or even informative ha. The photos are beautiful, though most of the homes aren't exactly my style (a lot of them were rather bare or minimalist). They still made me think about and appreciate my own home more!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed to find this is NOT a decorating book, with tips and how-to, but essays from Erin, accompanied by photos of friends' and family members' homes.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually love Erin Napier’s style but this book was just a bit bland for me. She has created some lovely home spaces but the photos and descriptions in this book are just blah to me.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply couldn’t love the Napier’s more if I tried!

[Carolyn Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a house person and love home makeover shows, then you know who Erin Napier is. She and her husband Ben revitalize houses for clients on the HGTV show Home Town in their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. She is creative, warm, and sentimental and her book reflects that. She writes about her grandmother's house, her house growing up, and her current house and the stories they evoke, taking us room by room. She also uses houses they renovated on their show to feature various rooms. And, on top of that, she uses photos of friends' and designers' houses to further illustrate the book, with the caveat that they be "real life" photos and not overly staged professional portfolio photographs. The result is an inviting collection of rooms filled with everyday life, showing the overflowing baskets of children's toys and paraphernalia, vintage heirlooms that aren't a bit stuffy, kitchens that are cooked and lived in, personal collections, and interiors that definitely reflect their owners. Most of the houses are older houses and have character to begin with, with a couple being newer with old parts. If you like the vibe of old houses and vintage furniture, you'll like this book. What you won't see are soulless builder versions of "modern farmhouses" or an all white palette or all new trendy furniture and minimal accent pieces. Yet Erin is a designer with a keen eye, and rooms are designed, not a hodge podge. Some of the other designers work she features feel a bit more upscale than the often more humble abodes she and Ben renovate. Unlike many house design books that showcase high end designers' or architects' work (and I'm guilty of pouring over lots of them), this book is very accessible to the majority of us everyday folks. While many of the houses featured are in Laurel, the other contributors' homes are from all over, including Norfolk, UK, so it's not just American southern style. If you watch her show religiously, you'll recognize some of these homes, but that doesn't detract from the book. They look different here from the bright lights of the TV cameras. So, if you're a fan of the TV show, or if you love seeing new life in old houses, or love a vintage vibe, you'll love perusing this book. Erin's writing brings her love of home to the fore with warmth and memory laced musings. She reveals the elements that called to her about particular houses and sparked her inspiration, and she drops some hints on making an impact without blowing the budget. However, this is not a do-it-yourself manual, but there's plenty of visual inspiration. Like Erin herself, this book felt real and authentic and lovely at the same time. 4.5 stars

[Jennifer Cash · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite home renovation shows is Erin and Ben Napier’s hit HGTV show, Home Town! Erin and Ben are so compelling to watch because they seem relatable—like they could be your neighbors, and they renovate older homes into beautiful family homes where new memories can be made. In Erin’s new book, Heirloom Rooms, Erin has curated a beautiful book filled with photos and essays about her and Ben’s home in Laurel, Mississippi, as well as featuring photos and memories from her friends and family members about treasured spaces in their homes. I loved this book and savored every page! I love that many of the photos feature children’s toys lying around, shoes strewn on the floor, or an unmade bed. The photos capture real life and how most people live behind closed doors.

Heirloom Rooms is a book that has earned a permanent home in my book collection. Not only did I find design inspiration for ideas I can use now and, in my future, “dream home,” I also loved that in the back of the book, Erin includes a space with prompts to write about memories of your home. She also encourages you to photograph the spaces in your home to remember them. I have very strong personal attachments to my childhood home and my grandparent’s home, and while both are still in the family, I know they will not always be. I can’t wait to do these documenting exercises and will cherish those photographs and written memories to look back on one day.

I highly recommend Heirloom Rooms to anyone who loves home design! I guarantee you will love this and want it on your coffee table! This also would make a great gift this holiday season for a friend or family member, especially one who has moved into a new home or has a special home in their life and would enjoy the documentation part of the book.

[Mrs.Bee.17 · Rating 1 out of 5]

“If houses with porches are the huggers of architecture, the non-porches are those houses that offer a stiff handshake at first meeting.”

Not sorry, but not everyone can afford a home with a front porch. Why automatically discount any other architectural style? Oh wait, it’s because the branding for all things Napier is Southern charm, with (apparently) porches featured as the strongly-perfumed church lady hug. Whether or not Erin actually believes that or not, I’d offer up the counterpoint that single wide trailers often have the option of front porches, but I still question if those are as charming as the craftsmen and other (read: styles that Erin views as better) styles mentioned in the book.


It reads classist. And the scale/ratio makes for the cover is weird, as is the overall sizing of the book. Is that nitpicky? Of course. But my brand isn’t built on being a charming southern woman.

Can’t link a photo but on page 144, there’s an entire page dedicated to a photo of a doorknob with a homemade butcher paper “do not disturb” sign on it. Who edited this book? Why was an entire page dedicated to this photo? Why not, say, 1/4 of a page? Or smaller? Print it at the size of a business card and save ink, for goodness sake. Waste of color printing.

Why is the lighting in all of the photographs so terrible? A stylistic choice, I’m sure, but one that makes the photos feel flat, rather than “homey” as I imagine the photographer was going for.

Also, why are the Property Chipmunks featured? Did HGTV demand it as part of the book deal?

The book was boring. The 5 star reviews are probably from mega-fans who automatically like the book because it’s from Erin Napier, not because it’s a quality product.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Your home does not look like a magazine article, and it was never meant to. It is an ever-evolving heirloom keeping step with the humans who are the custodians of it."

One of the complaints I've heard about home decorating books is that the rooms look as though no one uses them. That's not the story with this book. EVERY ROOM within these pages has a lived-in look because they ARE most certainly being lived in. And . . . that was a problem for me. All the knick-knacks, children's artworkfamily photos, and tiny treasures on display were almost uncomfortably personal. I felt as though I was visiting a stranger's house when they weren't quite prepared for company.



If you want to be reminded of your last visit to Aunt Violet's house, this may be the book for you. If you're looking for ideas for using leopard print drapes, look elsewhere.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC.