Creating a
SenseSational Home

Terry Willits's new book Creating a SenseSational Home takes us a step further in the quest for good home decorating -- she encourages us to think of appealing to all five senses as we make our homes warm and inviting. A professional decorator for 15 years, she owns her own decorating business in Atlanta and travels to speak to groups across the country.

In the first pages of the book, Willits makes clear her love of her home and her belief that God created homes to be a physical refuge, a restful place for the body, heart, and soul. Women usually have their greatest sphere of influence in the home, and Willits reminds us that much of that influence is through the ways we choose to stimulate the senses -- the color paint we choose, the tone and volume of our voices, the fragrance of the room, the firmness of the mattress. And the more aware we are of these possibilities to make our homes pleasant and memorable, the more our homes will be a blessing to others. The more we will enjoy the gifts of God.

Willits presents chapters filled with countless tips on enhancing the home from the perspective of each of the senses -- everything from selecting appropriate music to scrubbing the toilet! The final chapter, "The Heart of the Home," acknowledges that "What we fill our hearts with, we will eventually fill our homes with." It is the heart that sustains life, that has the potential to bless others if the treasure of our life is Christ. Each chapter concludes with a "Tiny Thought," actually a four-line prayer.

Well written and organized, Creating a SenseSational Home encourages readers to do just that with its own beautiful design. Full-page watercolor illustrations by artist and architect Edsel Arnold introduce each chapter, and black-and-white line drawings and appropriate quotations are in the wide margins of each page. A soft cream color underlies all the text.