Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave

Room-by-room styling guidance from a different design voice — Henderson's mix-and-match method teaches the same 'make it yours' principle Gaines champions, with broader style range.

Readers who finished Homebody and are hungry for more hands-on decorating instruction will feel right at home with Styled. Emily Henderson, a former HGTV design competition winner, walks through how to layer objects, mix patterns, and build a cohesive room around your own personality — the exact skill set Joanna Gaines encourages but from a stylist's perspective rather than a renovator's. Where Homebody leans toward warm farmhouse and transitional aesthetics, Styled covers a wider spectrum of visual styles, so it's especially useful if your taste runs more eclectic or modern. The photography-forward format makes it easy to flip to specific rooms when you're mid-project. Anyone searching 'what to read after Homebody by Joanna Gaines' who wants to build real styling confidence rather than just inspiration will find Henderson's practical breakdown genuinely useful.

Shares Homebody's core conviction that a home should feel like you — Smith's 'imperfect home' philosophy is the ideal next read for readers who feel intimidated by design.

Myquillyn Smith, known online as The Nester, wrote The Nesting Place for exactly the reader Joanna Gaines speaks to in Homebody: someone who loves the idea of a beautiful home but feels stuck waiting for the perfect budget, the perfect space, or the perfect style clarity. Both books argue that authenticity beats perfection, and both use the author's own home as a working example rather than an aspirational showroom. Smith's tone is warmer and more self-deprecating than Gaines's, which some readers will find even more freeing. If you liked Homebody's message that your home should reflect your real life and not a magazine spread, The Nesting Place is one of the best books like it — same encouraging spirit, same practical outlook, with a focus on renting and imperfect spaces that broadens the audience.

Bridges Homebody's 'identify your style' framework with a budget-conscious, contentment-first approach — best for readers who want to work with what they already own.

If Homebody got you excited about defining your personal style but you're working with an existing home rather than a blank renovation canvas, The Inspired Room by Melissa Michaels is the logical next step. Michaels, a popular home blogger, focuses on loving and improving the home you already have rather than overhauling it — a philosophy that rhymes directly with Gaines's emphasis on authentic, livable spaces over trend-chasing. The book covers room-by-room guidance similar to Homebody's structure but keeps the advice grounded in small, affordable changes. Readers who search 'books like Homebody by Joanna Gaines for renters' or 'if you liked Homebody try...' and want something equally warm in tone but less renovation-heavy will find Michaels's approach a practical, encouraging match.

Structured eight-week home improvement program — trades Homebody's style-discovery focus for a systematic emotional and physical room-by-room reset that suits action-oriented readers.

Where Homebody helps you discover and define your personal design style, Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure by Maxwell Ryan gives you a structured, week-by-week program for actually fixing the rooms you're unhappy with. Ryan treats a home like a living system — addressing clutter, light, flow, and emotional comfort as interconnected problems to solve in sequence. The room-by-room structure mirrors Homebody's organization, but the tone is more urban, apartment-focused, and process-driven. It's a strong pick for readers who loved Homebody's practical planning tools but want an even more regimented action plan to follow. Anyone asking 'what to read after Homebody if I want a step-by-step home improvement guide' will find Ryan's eight-step cure one of the most methodical answers in the genre.