Cozy Minimalist Home : More Style, Less Stuff - by Myquillyn Smith (Hardcover)

About the Book

Popular blogger Smith, known as the "Nester," teaches how to decorate any room by starting with what people already have and using just enough of the right stuff to get the unique style they want.

Book Synopsis

Cozy Minimalist Home goes beyond pretty and sets up your home for true connection and rest without using more resources, money, and stuff than needed.

After reading Myquillyn Smith's first book, The Nesting Place, women everywhere were convinced that it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful and they found real contentment in their homes. But how does a content imperfectionist make actual design decisions?

Cozy Minimalist Home is the answer to that question. Written for the hands-on woman who'd rather move her own furniture than hire a designer, this is the guidance she needs to finish every room of her house one purposeful design decision at a time. With people, priorities, and purpose in mind, anyone can create a warm, inviting, cozy, and beautiful home that transcends the trends.

You'll have the tools to transform your home starting with what you already have, and using just enough of the right furniture and décor to create a home you're proud of in a way that honors your personal priorities, budget, and style. In Cozy Minimalist Home, Myquillyn Smith helps you:

• Realize your role as the curator of your home who makes smart, style-impacting design choices
• Finally know what to focus on, and what not to worry about when it comes to your home
• Discover the real secret to finding your unique style--it has nothing to do with those style quizzes
• Understand how to find a sofa you won't hate tomorrow
• Deconstruct each room and then re-create it step by step with a fail proof process
• Create a pretty home with more style and less stuff--resulting in backwards decluttering!
• Finish your home and have it looking the way you've always hoped so you can use it the way you've always dreamed

Cozy Minimalism isn't about going without or achieving a particular new, modern style. Nope. It's simply a mindset that helps you get whatever style YOU LOVE with the fewest possible items.

Review Quotes

'Cozy doesn't mean cluttered, and minimalist doesn't signify bare. And combining the two, according to stylist Smith (The Nesting Place, 2014), sets the stage for a home with plenty--and yet no-junked-up surfaces. Smith guides readers in finding an interior design to fit their needs....Smith's clear-eyed narrative is punctuated by photographs of her house; even better are the appendix's before-and-after pictures. Rather than a photo-based decorating tome, this is thinking fodder for home designers who've decided enough is enough.'---Booklist

Smith (The Nesting Place) collects her thoughts and practical advice about downsizing and eliminating clutter in this spiritually informed book about home style. For Smith, the key is to focus on creating the atmosphere one craves rather than being tied to more and more items. Employing humor, clever terminology, and personal anecdotes, Smith offers practical methods and temporary fixes to ease what she calls 'clutter anxiety.' Knowing which pieces of furniture to start with, and how to prioritize where they will go in a room, for example, can help one decide what additional items will be needed. Smith understands how hard it is to find the line between cozy and cluttered, and recommends concentrating on the rooms and styles readers already have. Chapters open with questions to spur thinking about home space: 'What about this room draws me in? What ideas can I steal for my own use?' Smith also includes prompts for sparking creativity, steps for getting started, and inspirational sound bites: 'When we have clarity and purpose, we find motivation and confidence' and 'We long to create because we were made by a creator.' Readers will discover interesting perspectives on decluttering in Smith's instructive book. Agent: Jenni Burke, D.C. Jacobsen and amp; Associates. (Oct.)--Publishers Weekly

Myquillyn is, no exaggeration, my go-to person for helping me reframe how I think about home. I'm a serial traveler, yet her enthusiasm for making my home a place I want to be keeps me grounded like few things I know. She's got a knack for mixing practical know-how with simple beauty, and her wisdom helps me actually love to hang up my backpack and start the tea--while loving everything around me. That's a tall order. I can't think of a person in my life who couldn't benefit from this book.--Tsh Oxenreider, author of At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe

Step by step, chapter by chapter, Myquillyn writes as if she's your best friend who's moved in to destress your home and your life. With her 'I've been there, and together we can do this' approach, you'll learn to curate a space with just the right balance. It's like clutter detox in a delightful interior-design book.--Kim Leggett, author of City Farmhouse Style

When Myquillyn talks about home, I lean in and listen. She has a brilliance about her that makes it easy to forget that she's talking about home decor. I want her wisdom in so many areas of my life, but I'm happy to start with the living room. Strip away what's keeping you from serving people and then teach your rooms to do the same--yes! This book is a gem and its author a rare gift to those who wish to make home a place of peace, love, and hospitality.--Edie Wadsworth, author of All the Pretty Things

I was hardly aware of the low-grade sense of failure I had every time I walked into my sunroom. It sounds dramatic, but I think a lot of women struggle with feeling shame about the way our houses look. I knew something wasn't right but I didn't know why. And then I learned the Cozy Minimalist way and everything changed. Step by step, I applied Myquillyn's Cozy Minimalist method to my sunroom, and it went from being my least favorite room in the house to my most favorite within days. I didn't have to take out a loan, sell my birthright, or win the lottery to make the changes. Now that I know these simple principles, I can apply them to any room in my house. We have enough to fight against in this world. Our homes should be the last place on earth where we feel shame. I'm so grateful for this beautiful, life-giving book.--Emily P. Freeman, The Nester's little sister and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Simply Tuesday

In her humorous, down-to-earth style, Myquillyn shows us how to stop trying so hard and instead create a space where we can exhale and simply be ourselves. Isn't that what home is all about?--Lisa Leonard, jewelry designer and writer

In Cozy Minimalist Home, Myquillyn explores what's missing from the minimalist versus hoarder conversation: in life and in decor, what does it mean to have enough? With an affirming approach, gentle guidance, and trusted tips, she's the grace-based KonMari we've been waiting for. Here's to more style and less stuff-within our own four walls and beyond.--Erin Loechner, blogger at DesignforMankind.com and author of Chasing Slow

Myquillyn Smith's approach to living and decorating has inspired me for a decade. No home designer in America is better suited to speak to the everyday woman who craves beauty but doesn't have the time and energy for perfection. Her words and style have impacted my perspectives about design and have helped me transform my house into a home.--Jessica N. Turner, author of the bestselling books The Fringe Hours and Stretched Too Thin

Ugh, stuff. Sometimes it feels like it deserves an 'it's complicated' Facebook status. The struggle of having enough to feel comfortable and welcoming, but not so much that you feel suffocated and overwhelmed, is real. Which is why I devoured Cozy Minimalist Home. An approachable way to create a chic and inviting house that isn't stuffed to the gills so there's more room for life?! I'M IN!--Sherry Petersik, blogger at Young House Love and New York Times bestselling author of Lovable Livable Home

Cozy Minimalist Home is more than just a book about decorating; it is a manifesto of sorts that I wholeheartedly adopt as my own: more style with less stuff. Myquillyn's down-to-earth, practical decorating advice and doable step-by-steps are what we house-lovers want. But it's her big-sisterly encouragement to use our homes to serve and gather and shelter and nurture that truly makes this book a must-read for anyone wanting their home to be a lovelier place.--Emily Lex, founder of Jones Design Company

Cozy Minimalist Home puts to rest once and for all the assumption that minimalism needs to be cold, rigid, or impersonal. Quite the contrary--it is a life filled with passion, purpose, and beauty. Thank you, Myquillyn, for showing that to be true in this beautiful book and work of art.--Joshua Becker, Founder of Becoming Minimalist and author of The More of Less

Finally, a book that gives you permission to be minimalist and be cozy, to live with less and enjoy a beautiful home. If you think minimalism results in a cold, empty house, Cozy Minimalist Home will show you how to fill your home with what matters most to you and your family. This lovely book is as warm, cozy, and simple as you'll want your home to be.--Courtney Carver, author of Soulful Simplicity

Here is what I love about Myquillyn, and what I believe sets her most apart: she is primarily concerned with the way a space makes you feel. Her ultimate goal is to help people create spaces where people feel welcome, comfortable, cozy, relaxed, refreshed, and inspired. Contrary to a form-over-function culture, Myquillyn has developed a way to coach us into creating spaces where the people we love--and ourselves!--can feel our best. And lucky for us, she just happens to help us to make these spaces beautiful along the way.--Lindsay Sherbondy, Owner and Designer, Lindsay Letters

My home is my happy place, and it's even happier thanks to Myquillyn's encouragement, know-how, and practical guidance. She's taught me about decorating math, wall sabbaths, and personal style, and I adore the results I get to enjoy every day in my home. If you want to make your own home more warm, inviting, comforting, and welcoming, I highly recommend this book.--Anne Bogel, author of I'd Rather Be Reading

Myquillyn is that trusted friend who comes over in the midst of your home-headaches and in her wise, no-nonsense way, gets to the heart of your decisions about decor and dwelling. She elevates minimalism without sacrificing style, sets the stage for hospitality minus the production, and empowers even the most intimidated home decorator to make simple styling decisions that count. Cozy Minimalist Home will give you the freedom and confidence you need to simplify your style and make your house your own.--Ruth Chou Simons, artist and bestselling author of GraceLaced and Garden of Truth; founder of gracelaced.com