Creating a Life That Feels Like Home

Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands

—establish the work of our hands!

Psalm 90:17 CSB

Edith Schaeffer's The Hidden Art of Homemaking is not a book about housekeeping. Rather, it is a lovely guide that invites us to transform our homes into places that are not only more beautiful, but more sacred. Through interior design, music, cooking, and countless everyday acts of creativity, Schaeffer shows that homemaking is about far more than maintaining a house. It is about cultivating an atmosphere where order, beauty, and creativity gently and continually draw our hearts back to God.

I especially love that the title contains the phrase “The Hidden Art,” because it reminds us that there are countless meaningful ways to express love through creativity. In her book, Edith gently reminds us that the ordinary moments of life are anything but ordinary. As we offer them to God, the simple rhythms of everyday living become opportunities for worship, gratitude, and our unique creative expression.

Edith Schaeffer writes:

“I am sure that there is no place in the world where your message would not be enhanced by your making the place (whether tiny or large, a hut or a palace) orderly, artistic and beautiful with some form of creativity, some form of ‘art.’”—Edith Schaeffer, The Hidden Art of Homemaking, p. 213

She also reminds us that art is not reserved for museums or the exceptionally gifted. It is woven thoughtfully into everyday life through hospitality, gardening, music, literature, preparing food, and the intentional cultivation of beauty in our homes and relationships.

The chapter on music (Chapter 3) especially resonated with me. Over the past few years, when my children begin to squabble (almost as a little experiment), I’ll put on music, usually a Pandora playlist such as “Happy Radio,” Piano by Jim Brickman, or another favorite, instrumental hymns. I don't say a word. I simply watch the atmosphere of our home soften into something sweeter and more peaceful.

Moments like these remind me why this decades-old book still feels so fresh and relevant today. If the name Edith sounds more like your great-grandmother's than someone you'd expect to find on today's bestseller list, you're not far off. Schaeffer passed away in 2013 at the age of 98, but the beauty and wisdom of her words live on. Long before "slow living" became a movement, she was inviting readers to embrace a quieter, more intentional way of life in this book first published in 1971.

Part of the enduring appeal of this book is that it speaks to a longing tucked inside each of us. We long to belong, to be known, and to dwell in places that nourish both body and soul. We long for beauty, comfort, and, at the heart of it all, a place that truly feels like home...

Because a home is so much more than four walls, a roof, and a place that constantly needs cleaning. It is a refuge for our families and for us, a place where we can exhale deeply, rest, create, laugh, and simply be. It is also a place where we can extend welcome to others, offering a glimpse of God's love through the simple gifts of warmth, beauty, and belonging.

And beneath our longing for home, might there also be a deeper longing for the presence of God Himself?

He has also set eternity in the human heart. Ecclesiastes 3:11

We must always remember, we were created by Him and for Him. When we use our gifts to create something beautiful, whether a meal for our family, a welcoming space for others, a handwritten note, or a peaceful corner of our homes, we are reflecting the heart of our infinite Creator. We are also stepping into the sacred work of bringing order, beauty, and love into the world. And in those moments, as we create with what He has given us, something inside us settles… It feels, in a small but meaningful way, like coming home.