The Book
First Slow Food (encouraging sustainable, locally grown produce over fast food), then Slow Parenting (an antidote to fear-based, ‘helicopter’ parenting), now Slow Home.
It’s not about trading up, maximizing profits, buying new stuff. It’s about slowing down, taking stock, and creating thoughtful, comfortable, intuitive spaces for our families. It’s about having a home that is a calming antidote to our fast-paced, stressed out lives.
“More than merely a dwelling, the definition of home extends beyond the meaning of a house and contains an additional poetic meaning. There’s the saying, ‘Home is where the heart is.’ Creating a home for our families can be both a challenge and a pleasure. Creating a home is a process of imbuing our space with soul and spirit, surrounding our family with love, care, comfort.” —Shannon Honeybloom
Making a Family Home is a book of real beauty, one both personal and universal. In describing her home and family life, Shannon Honeybloom shows how she made—and how we can make—a house into a real home as she shares her own efforts, hopes, and lessons in making a safe and healthy home that provides warmth and intimacy for the whole family.
Illustrated in color with lively, evocative photographs, Shannon invites the reader into her home and offers warm encouragement and practical suggestions for virtually every aspect of bringing love, comfort, and beauty to a family home. The chapters in Making a Family Home range from “At Home with Children” to “The Front Porch” and “The Playroom” to “The Backyard and the Garden.”
Shannon Honeybloom is a friend and confidant who offers gentle suggestions and wise insights for parents who wish to surround their family with the best possible home environment.
“From a communal farm, to an ashram, to an adobe hut and a typical American suburban ranch house, author Shannon Honeybloom has inhabited homes of all shapes and sizes. In her book Making a Family Home(SteinerBooks, January 2010, $20.00, 978-0-88010-702-0), Honeybloom helps readers figure out how to turn their own shelter into a warm, comforting environment, one that enriches the whole family. Before having her first baby, Honeybloom dove into how-to guides and parenting magazines in search of the perfect “nesting” elements. A former educator, she knew that a child’s personal development began at home.
“But I was overwhelmed,” said Honeybloom. “And I’m not the only one. Many parents I know are overwhelmed by the wealth of information about parenting and children. Wherever we go, stores urge us to fill our homes with all manner of useful and not-useful objects, baby gadgets and high-tech toys. So for inspiration, I turned memories of my grandmother and mother, and the homes they created.” Honeybloom found that her family’s time-honored home practices helped her create the peaceful sanctuary she was looking for.”
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