The health crisis we are facing has made homebodies of most of us. Whether you live in an apartment, house, mansion or cabin, home is where we are spending a significant amount of our time right now, whether we are working, working out, staying glued to our devices, finding solace in our backyards or a myriad other things.
In her book, “Home Comforts: the Art and Science of Keeping House” Cheryl Mendelson writes, “Home is the one place in the world where you are safe from feeling put down or out, unentitled or unwanted.”
Here are some ebooks/audiobooks centered around the home, our private places of residence and refuge.
Some explain the joys and essential elements of a home; quite a few give practical advice on making our abodes more comfortable, clean, organized, and less cluttered. Others show how our homes can be a warm and inviting place, despite the chaos and messiness of daily life.
American Cozy: Hygge-Inspired Ways to Create Comfort & Happiness by Stephanie Pedersen
This book demonstrates the Danish phenomenon of hygge—comfort, togetherness, and well-being—to bring coziness and ease to readers’ homes, work, and lives. Filled with charming four-color illustrations, it explores organization and home décor, entertaining, cooking, creating a happier, more productive work life, decluttering, and slowing down.
At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
A fascinating history of the modern home, with Bryson taking us on a room-by-room tour through his own house and using each room to explore the vast history of the domestic artifacts we take for granted. As he takes us through the history of our modern comforts, Bryson demonstrates that whatever happens in the world eventually ends up in our home, in the paint, the pipes, the pillows, and every item of furniture.
The Complete Book of Clean: Tips & Techniques for Your Home by Toni Hammersley
From establishing routines, making schedules, and DIYing green cleaning solutions to help keep every area of your home neat, safe and spotless—find it all here. Learn the best seasons to tackle home projects, storage solutions to simplify the process and teach even the messiest kids to clean up after themselves.
The Complete Book of Home Organization: 200+ Tips and Projects by Toni Hammersley
From storage solutions and cleaning tips to secret space-saving methods and expert strategies, this book is packed with the tips and shortcuts you need to effectively organize your home.
Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff by Myquillyn Smith; read by Lisa Wright
A step by step guide on making purposeful design decisions for your home. You’ll have the tools to transform your home starting with what you already have, and using just enough of the right furniture and decor to create a home you’re proud of in a way that honors your personal priorities, budget, and style.
Elegant and Easy Rooms: 250 Trade Secrets for Decorating Your Home by Dylan Landis
Covers everything from how to arrange furniture in comfortable and imaginative ways to how to choose a color to create a certain mood or period
The Elements Of A Home: Curious Histories behind Everyday Household Objects, from Pillows to Forks by Amy Azzarito
Reveals the fascinating stories behind more than 60 everyday household objects and furnishings. With tales from the kitchen, the bedroom, and every room in between, these pages expose how napkins got their start as lumps of dough in ancient Greece, why forks were once seen as immoral tools of the devil, and how Plato devised one of the earliest alarm clocks using rocks and water-plus so much more.
Feeling at Home: Defining Who You Are and How You Want to Live by Alexandra Stoddard
Focuses on this most essential aspect of decorating: creating a home that is truly your emotional center. Every room and object should answer your needs and make you feel more human and whole. Stoddard gently leads us through a process of self-attunement and self-expression in which we discover not only our practical needs, but also our yearnings–perhaps a sunny spot for reading; a colorful nook for ironing; an inviting place for paperwork.
Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control, and My Other Experiments in Everyday Life by Gretchen Rubin
“Of all the elements of a happy life,” thought Rubin, “my home is the most important.” In a flash, she decided to undertake a new happiness project, and this time, to focus on making her home a place of greater simplicity, comfort, and love.
How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House’s Dirty Little Secrets by Dana K. White
Bring your home out of the mess it’s in—and learn how to keep it under control.
How We Live Now: Redefining Home and Family in the 21st Century by Bella DePaulo
This book challenges our old concepts of what it means to be a family and have a home, opening the door to the many diverse and thriving experiments of living in twenty-first century America. Across America and around the world, in cities and suburbs and small towns, people from all walks of life are redefining our “lifespaces”—the way we live and who we live with.
Lou Manfredini’s House Smarts: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Buying, Maintaining, and Living Comfortably in Your Home by Lou Manfredini
In his fun, friendly, fully illustrated guide for both inexperienced and seasoned homeowners, Manfredini takes you through your entire house and around the yard, showing you how it all works and what to do when it doesn’t
The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life by Joshua Becker
One of today’s most influential minimalist advocates takes us on a decluttering tour of our own houses and apartments, showing us how to decide what to get rid of and what to keep. He both offers practical guidelines for simplifying our lifestyle at home and addresses underlying issues that contribute to over-accumulation in the first place.
The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Beautiful by Myquillyn Smith
Myquillyn shares the secrets of decorating for real people-and it has nothing to do with creating a flawless look to wow your guests. It has everything to do with embracing the natural imperfection and chaos of daily living. She will show you how to think differently about the true purpose of your home and simply and creatively tailor it to reflect you and your unique style-without breaking the bank or stressing over comparisons.
Biologist Dunn introduces us to the nearly 200,000 species living with us in our own homes, from the Egyptian meal moths in our cupboards and camel crickets in our basements to the Lactobacillus lounging on our kitchen counters. You are not alone. Yet, as we obsess over sterilizing our homes and separating our spaces from nature, we are unwittingly cultivating an entirely new playground for evolution.
Simply Living Well: A Guide to Creating a Natural, Low-Waste Home by Julia Watkins
In this timely and motivational guide, Watkins shares rituals, recipes, and projects for living simply and sustainably at home. For every area of your household—kitchen, cleaning, wellness, bath, and garden—Julia shows you how to eliminate wasteful packaging, harmful ingredients, and disposable items
10-Minute Home Repairs More Than 200 Fast, Effective Fixes You Can Do Yourself by Jerri Farris
An indispensable guide for homeowners and renters alike, this handy little book will show you how to put on a new toilet seat, change an air filter, unclog a drain, caulk a sink, patch a hole in the wall, change a lock, replace washer hoses, and much more.
Check out House Beautiful Magazine on RBdigital for more inspiration https://www.rbdigital.com/bccls/service/magazines/landing?mag_id=798
-Archana, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian