Creating a soulful home is a lifestyle, not just a look. It grows from the intersection of the things that make you feel alive and the things you love to do. Your home reflects not only your aesthetic, but your values and priorities—the things that truly matter.
In The Soulful Home, I describe four Soul Styles. Your primary Soul Style reflects your deepest values. Traditionalists are grounded by roots, continuity, and belonging, while Modernists are energized by openness, curiosity, and innovation. Two secondary Soul Styles add richness to the mix: Practicalists are driven by purpose, function, and craftsmanship, while Sensualists value beauty, comfort, and nurturing themselves and others.
The first two books on this summer reading list invite you to reconnect with your heart and your values.
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz offers timeless wisdom rooted in the Toltec tradition, exploring how to live with integrity while extending compassion both to others and to yourself. The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama is an equally accessible but profoundly wise meditation on the idea that generosity, kindness, and inner contentment create a happiness that isn’t dependent on circumstances or possessions.
These books remind us that a soulful home is ultimately a reflection of a soulful life. Before we choose paint colors or furniture, we reconnect with what matters most. I see this happen naturally with my clients over and over again: as they shape their homes, they also rediscover themselves.
The second two books focus on creating space for that life to unfold.
Let It Go by Peter Walsh may be framed as a book about downsizing, but its wisdom applies to any life transition. Whether you’re creating your first grown-up home, raising a family, or embracing a new season of freedom—downsizing, “funsizing,” simplifying, or settling into an early or semi-retired lifestyle—Walsh’s thoughtful exercises help you identify what truly belongs in your life and gently release what no longer does. His approach makes room for what’s next without bruising your heart in the process.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo provides a wonderfully practical system for organizing your home once you’ve decided what deserves to stay. Her gentle, heart-centered approach to editing possessions is followed by remarkably simple methods for keeping closets, drawers, and storage spaces beautifully organized.
Together, these four books reflect the same philosophy behind The Soulful Home: first reconnect with your values, then create space for the life you want to live. A soulful home isn’t built all at once—it is cultivated, one thoughtful choice at a time.
I hope these books accompany you well this summer, whether you’re reading on the beach, in a hammock, or on your own front porch. My wish is that they inspire not only a beautiful home, but a richer, more intentional way of living within it.
