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A House to Call Home: Creating Places That Will Comfort and Care for Us
This collection of lyrical essays offers readers philosophical and practical insights into creating a deeper sense of belonging in the place they call home.
What makes a house a home?
It’s a question with countless answers, wholly unique to each of us. Yet a common thread runs through the stories we tell about the places that bring us meaning and peace. No matter how we define it, home must evoke a strong sense of comfort.
Join acclaimed writer Christie Purifoy as she reflects on what makes a home truly special. Through practical tips on decor inspiration, thrifting, and personal homemaking traditions, Christie shows you how to craft a space that feels wholly yours. With insights drawn from her own experiences, you’ll discover how to build sacred spaces that promote rest, welcome, and healing.
With creativity and care, you can cultivate comfort in the house where you live.
What makes a house a home?
It’s a question with countless answers, wholly unique to each of us. Yet a common thread runs through the stories we tell about the places that bring us meaning and peace. No matter how we define it, home must evoke a strong sense of comfort.
Join acclaimed writer Christie Purifoy as she reflects on what makes a home truly special. Through practical tips on decor inspiration, thrifting, and personal homemaking traditions, Christie shows you how to craft a space that feels wholly yours. With insights drawn from her own experiences, you’ll discover how to build sacred spaces that promote rest, welcome, and healing.
With creativity and care, you can cultivate comfort in the house where you live.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published February 3, 2026
17 people are currently reading
5257 people want to read
About the author
Christie Purifoy
9 books282 followersMy name is Christie Purifoy. I am a writer and gardener who loves to grow flowers and community.
I am the author of two memoirs, Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons (Revell 2016) and Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace (Zondervan 2019). Garden Maker: Growing A Life of Beauty and Wonder With Flowers releases in January 2022 from Harvest House Publishers.
A decade ago, I earned a PhD in English Literature from the University of Chicago, but eventually I traded the classroom for an old Pennsylvania farmhouse called Maplehurst. I still love to teach, but today I teach virtually and for small groups here at the Maplehurst Black Barn.
Each Wednesday, I join my long-time friend and fellow writer, Lisa-Jo Baker, for storytelling and conversation on a new episode of the Out of the Ordinary podcast. We believe that the very best stories grow out of the soil of ordinary life.
Lisa-Jo and I, along with a whole host of others, are turning social media’s usual ways upside down through quiet, weekly rhythms of listening, sharing, and celebrating in a virtual gathering place called the Black Barn Online. You are invited to join us in helping to build a place where art and faith cultivated in community can take root, flourish, and grow.
I am the author of two memoirs, Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons (Revell 2016) and Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace (Zondervan 2019). Garden Maker: Growing A Life of Beauty and Wonder With Flowers releases in January 2022 from Harvest House Publishers.
A decade ago, I earned a PhD in English Literature from the University of Chicago, but eventually I traded the classroom for an old Pennsylvania farmhouse called Maplehurst. I still love to teach, but today I teach virtually and for small groups here at the Maplehurst Black Barn.
Each Wednesday, I join my long-time friend and fellow writer, Lisa-Jo Baker, for storytelling and conversation on a new episode of the Out of the Ordinary podcast. We believe that the very best stories grow out of the soil of ordinary life.
Lisa-Jo and I, along with a whole host of others, are turning social media’s usual ways upside down through quiet, weekly rhythms of listening, sharing, and celebrating in a virtual gathering place called the Black Barn Online. You are invited to join us in helping to build a place where art and faith cultivated in community can take root, flourish, and grow.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 7, 2026
"In this place, we have received a legacy, and we are cultivating one. We are middlemen. We are caretakers living in between the past of this place and its future."
Yet another beautiful book by Christie, packed full of her memories, advice, quotes, and photographs that not only invite us into her home but also encourage us to rethink our own. I felt inspired by her book and the many ideas I never would have thought of on my own. Rather than creating feelings of discontent, it sparked excitement to add more traditions...focusing not just on decorating a house, but on adding the things that truly make it feel like home.
Something I loved in this book was all the lists she included: holistic remedies to have on hand, books to keep nearby, ways to make practical items more appealing to the eye, thrifting ideas, and so much more.
This was a wonderful addition to my other books of hers. Now I need to go search out her gardening books in preparation for spring!
I received a complimentary copy. This review reflects my honest opinion.
Yet another beautiful book by Christie, packed full of her memories, advice, quotes, and photographs that not only invite us into her home but also encourage us to rethink our own. I felt inspired by her book and the many ideas I never would have thought of on my own. Rather than creating feelings of discontent, it sparked excitement to add more traditions...focusing not just on decorating a house, but on adding the things that truly make it feel like home.
Something I loved in this book was all the lists she included: holistic remedies to have on hand, books to keep nearby, ways to make practical items more appealing to the eye, thrifting ideas, and so much more.
This was a wonderful addition to my other books of hers. Now I need to go search out her gardening books in preparation for spring!
I received a complimentary copy. This review reflects my honest opinion.
March 9, 2026
Absolutely savored each and every word. Some words made me giggle, others brought me to tears. The way she writes calls to me — about home and caretaking and God woven all throughout. What a beautiful book.
February 10, 2026
Please keep writing Christie!!♥️
February 19, 2026
A beautiful book to both look at and read. Christie’s photos are only, and just barely, outdone by her writing, the style, form, and content of which has always had an almost magical impact on my heart and soul and nervous system. It calms me. It provides vision that feels attainable rather than something I have to strive towards. For anyone wanting to think more deeply and live more intentionally but without consternation, I highly recommend this book and every book written by Christie.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This book is beautiful and inspiring! I’m looking around my home and thinking of how I can care for it more and allow it to care for my family.
Christie- you are such an artist and you are sharing your gifts with us. Thank you, friend!
Christie- you are such an artist and you are sharing your gifts with us. Thank you, friend!
February 3, 2026
This is a beautiful book! The themes of home and place making mean so much to me as someone living in and raising my family in the city. This is such a beautiful book inside and out!
March 1, 2026
I absolutely loved this book and was so encouraged. Christie writes in a gentle yet profound way that encourages me to love my family, my home and my creator.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews