BOOKS
Published
Read Time
8 min read
Reader ratingreader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
4.6
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The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith Review: Warm, Practical Home-Decorating Encouragement
Myquillyn Smith's The Nesting Place is a four-color home-decorating book built on a single liberating premise: a home doesn't need to be perfect to be beautiful, and real life — kids, pets, mess, and all — is not an obstacle to a welcoming space but the very thing worth designing around.
Tap to enlargeLuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers who feel paralyzed by an imperfect home, a tight budget, or the pressure to match aspirational interiors — particularly those in busy family households who want practical encouragement over prescriptive design rules.
Worth it if
You want a warm, permission-giving framework that frees you from perfectionism and helps you shape a livable, personal home without waiting for ideal conditions or a designer budget.
Skip if
You're looking for technically rigorous design instruction — detailed spatial planning, color theory, or a systematic room-by-room methodology — as the book leans firmly toward encouragement over comprehensive decorating reference.
What readers & critics say
Retailer and publisher descriptions consistently highlight the book's practical, photo-rich format and its core promise of helping readers "find beauty in imperfection," as noted across Barnes & Noble and HarperCollins UK. Bookwyrms Hoard's review praises Smith's anti-perfectionist philosophy directly, noting that her experience across many homes makes the advice feel genuinely tested rather than idealized.
Sources: Barnes & Noble, HarperCollins UK, Bookwyrms Hoard4.6from 1,791 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Is and What It Argues
- Significance and Place in the Genre
- Strengths: Accessibility and Permission-Giving
- Limitations and Who May Be Frustrated
- Who It Is For and How It Holds Up
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Centers a liberating, anti-perfectionist philosophy that explicitly rejects aspirational 'flawless look' standards in favor of real, livable homes
- Draws on Smith's experience across thirteen different homes, grounding advice in varied, practical situations rather than a single idealized setup
- Full four-color photo format pairs ideas with visual reference, supporting the book's practical, step-by-step decorating guidance
- Praised by Sherry Petersik (bestselling author of Young House Love) for 'approachable ideas, encouragement, and a whole lot of heart'
- Frames decorating as a confidence-building exercise, making it accessible to readers with limited budgets or imperfect starting points
What Doesn't
- Leans toward encouragement and permission-giving over technically detailed design instruction, which may leave readers seeking rigorous methodology wanting more
- Smith's perspective is rooted in a specific domestic context — a family home with children and pets — that may not translate as directly for readers in different living situations
A home-decorating book grounded in imperfection rather than aspiration, The Nesting Place makes the case that beauty and livability are not at odds.
What the Book Is and What It Argues
Chapter opening spread showing styled interior room with furniture and decor, introducing "Behind the Pretty Pictures" section.
The Nesting Place: It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful is a full-color home-decorating book by Myquillyn Smith, the blogger known as The Nester and also the author of Cozy Minimalist Home. Its central argument is direct: decorating is not about achieving a flawless look to impress guests — it is about making peace with imperfection and shaping a home that genuinely reflects the people living in it. Smith draws on her own experience across thirteen different homes to show readers how to think differently about what a home is for, and to tailor their spaces to their own style without overspending or measuring themselves against idealized interiors.
“full of approachable ideas, encouragement, and a whole lot of heart”
The book is aimed squarely at real households — the kind bursting with kids, pets, and the unpredictable messes of everyday life. Smith frames her own North Carolina fixer-upper, worked on alongside her husband and their three boys, as the testing ground for every idea she shares.
Significance and Place in the Genre
Interior spread featuring vintage candlesticks and fabric, illustrating imperfect home styling for practical decorating guidance.
Home-decorating publishing is crowded with aspirational content that can leave readers feeling their actual homes fall short. The Nesting Place occupies a distinct niche within that genre by explicitly rejecting the perfection standard. Smith's blogger roots — she built her following as The Nester before the book's original publication — give the book a voice that reads more like an enthusiastic friend than a design authority handing down rules. That sensibility is part of what the book is known for and why it continues to find an audience.
Sherry Petersik, home blogger and bestselling author of Young House Love, describes the book as "full of approachable ideas, encouragement, and a whole lot of heart" — a blurb that captures the tone Smith is clearly aiming for throughout.
Strengths: Accessibility and Permission-Giving
The book's most consistent strength, reflected across its promotional record, is accessibility. According to the publisher's description, The Nesting Place is structured around easy tips, simple steps, and practical advice — the kind of guidance designed to give readers the courage to take risks with their homes rather than wait for a budget, a renovation, or a perfect starting point. The four-color photo format supports that practical intent, pairing ideas with visual reference so readers can see how arrangements and decorating choices actually translate to a space.
The emphasis on freedom — specifically, freeing readers from comparison and from the pressure of a "flawless look" — runs throughout. This is not a book that assumes a designer budget or a magazine-ready room. Its value proposition, as the publisher frames it, is confidence-building as much as instruction.
Limitations and Who May Be Frustrated
Readers looking for technically detailed design instruction — precise guidance on spatial planning, color theory, or architectural intervention — will find The Nesting Place leans more toward encouragement than methodology. The book's explicit focus on imperfection and livability, while freeing for some, means it does not position itself as a comprehensive decorating reference. Those seeking a systematic, room-by-room technical manual are likely better served elsewhere.
Additionally, Smith's perspective is rooted in a specific domestic context: a family home with children and pets, and a philosophy shaped by that particular lived experience. Readers in very different living situations — urban apartments, minimalist households, those without families — may find the framing less directly applicable even if the broader permission-giving message still resonates.
Who It Is For and How It Holds Up
The Nesting Place is designed for the reader who feels stuck — paralyzed by an imperfect space, a limited budget, or the sense that their home should look different before they invest in it. Smith's framework, built on thirteen homes' worth of trial and adaptation, is explicitly anti-perfectionist, and that focus gives the book a coherent identity. The publisher describes its aim as helping readers "create the home — and life — you've always wanted," which signals that Smith treats the home not just as an aesthetic project but as a reflection of how people want to live.
Readers who respond to a warm, first-person, encouragement-forward voice and who want practical prompts rather than prescriptive rules will find this book well matched to those expectations. It is a book about permission as much as decoration, and for the audience it is written for, that is precisely the point.
Frequently Asked Questions
is The Nesting Place: It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful by Myquillyn Smith worth reading
If you feel paralyzed by an imperfect space or a limited budget, this book is well matched to those frustrations — the reviewer describes it as a book about "permission as much as decoration." It won't serve you as a technical design manual, but for readers who want encouragement and practical prompts over prescriptive rules, it delivers exactly what it promises.
What is this book actually about
At its core, it's an anti-perfectionist home-decorating book built around the idea that real life — kids, pets, everyday mess — is not an obstacle to a beautiful home but the very thing worth designing around. Smith draws on her own experience across thirteen different homes, including a North Carolina fixer-upper she worked on with her husband and three boys, to show readers how to shape spaces that reflect who they actually are without overspending or chasing magazine-ready ideals.
Is this book good for people on a tight budget
Yes — the book is explicitly aimed at readers who don't have a designer budget or a renovation-ready starting point, and the reviewer notes its value proposition is "confidence-building as much as instruction." Smith's framework is built on easy tips and simple steps designed to help readers take risks with their homes right now, rather than waiting for better circumstances.
Is this book similar to Young House Love
There's a clear connection — Sherry Petersik, the home blogger and bestselling author of Young House Love, actually blurbed The Nesting Place, calling it "full of approachable ideas, encouragement, and a whole lot of heart." Both books come from a blogging background and favor warm, accessible voices over authoritative design instruction, so fans of one are likely to enjoy the other.
Does this book actually teach you how to decorate or is it just motivational
It's genuinely both, but the reviewer is honest that it leans more toward encouragement than methodology — those seeking precise guidance on spatial planning, color theory, or architectural intervention are likely better served elsewhere. The four-color photo format does pair ideas with visual examples, and the book offers practical prompts, but its identity is fundamentally anti-perfectionist and permission-giving rather than a comprehensive room-by-room technical manual.
Is this book good if you don't have kids or a family home
The reviewer flags this as a genuine limitation — Smith's perspective is rooted in a specific domestic context of a family home with children and pets, and readers in very different situations like urban apartments or minimalist households may find the framing less directly applicable. That said, the reviewer notes the broader "permission-giving message" can still resonate even if the specific examples don't map directly to your life.
What's the tone of this book — is it preachy or fun to read
The tone is warm and conversational rather than preachy — the reviewer describes it as reading "more like an enthusiastic friend than a design authority handing down rules," which the reviewer ties directly to Smith's roots as the blogger known as The Nester. It's explicitly encouragement-forward, so if you prefer a dry, technical voice this probably isn't your style, but fans of first-person, friendly home content should find it enjoyable.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
bookwyrmshoard.com
- Further reading
- 2
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- 5
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- 7
- 8
harpercollins.co.uk
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