HOUSE & HOME: A Novel by Kathleen McCleary

by hookedonhouses on September 2, 2008

Today I have the privilege of kicking off the TLC Book Tour for Kathleen McCleary’s novel House & Home. She’ll be making virtual tour stops all over the blogosphere this month where her novel will be reviewed and discussed.

The book drew me right in with these opening paragraphs, which are read in this video trailer for it. Go ahead and watch. I’ll wait:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5bUJE8kSVs]

Did you catch that? Ellen loves her yellow Cape Cod so much that, rather than move out and let strangers live in it, she decides to burn it down.

I couldn’t stop turning the pages to find out what would happen, and whether the house would survive until the end. There’s also a love story, but it’s not immediately apparent who Ellen’s true love is. It really kept me guessing.

I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say I was crying by the time it was all over! This is a beautifully written book, full of twists and turns that I never saw coming.

Author Kathleen McCleary’s lovingly detailed descriptions of the Cape Cod in the novel made me feel like I had actually lived in that beautiful old home myself. You could say the house was one of the primary characters in House & Home.

McCleary admits she is as hooked on houses as the rest of us here. So I asked her some fun questions about her own house and decorating style, and she was kind enough to respond. (Thanks to Marilyn at Simmer Till Done for inspiring the Q&A!)

1. Favorite room in your house?

My favorite room has to be my living room/dining room, which open to each other and are pretty much one big room. As a family, we really live in our living room and we eat all our meals in the dining room, so the rooms are constantly used. It’s where we hang out with friends when we entertain.

Both rooms have large picture windows and are flooded with light. I painted one wall in the living room a really rich buttery yellow, and we have lots of blue in the area rug and upholstery. It’s a warm, sunny space filled with personal treasures and good feelings and happy memories of family and friends.

2. Any current house/decorating projects?

I’m in the middle of re-doing both my daughters’ bedrooms. My oldest is starting high school, my youngest is starting middle school, so it seemed like the perfect time to create rooms for them that reflect who they are now.

My oldest asked me to “surprise” her while she’s out of town this week, so I’m painting her room in a lovely palette of pale ice blue, white, and bright watermelon pink. Hope she likes it. My youngest chose a rich periwinkle blue. So I’m spending a lot of time covered in paint these days.

3. How would you describe your decorating style?

Eclectic? I love color, I also love clean lines . I’m very inspired by the home of Carl Larsson, the Swedish painter, who used color and textiles and simple lines just brilliantly to create a really beautiful, rich-looking, welcoming home (above).

4. Three prized possessions in your home?

1) A painting my oldest daughter did of my youngest daughter many years ago. It’s primitive but somehow captures my youngest’s personality perfectly.

2) A beautiful little porcelain sculpture of two children in yellow and blue outfits that my mom gave me when my girls were little. It reminds me of my mom AND my girls and I love it.

3) My collection of Fiestaware. The colors just make me happy every time I look at it.

(Note: You can see all these items Kathleen mentioned in the video at the top of the post.)

5. Favorite home-improvement show on TV? Decorating mag?

I love HGTV and it’s hard to pick a favorite. I’m a big fan of Decorating Cents, as well as Designed to Sell. With magazines, I like O at Home.

6. If you had to decorate in any decade, which would it be?

Probably right now, because there are so many options and so few rules as opposed to decades past.

7. Favorite move for the sets?

The Holiday, with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. There was a little stone cottage that Kate’s character owned that I’d love to curl up in for about a month.

8. Your go-to store for home furnishings?

I gotta say Target , for home accessories and really great prices on some furniture items. I’m also a fan of Crate and Barrel; their furniture always has nice, clean lines and is good quality (photo from Crate & Barrel, below). And I love to walk through the furniture department at Bloomingdale’s, just to dream.

9. Colors used most frequently in your home? Any colors missing?

I have lots of blues and yellows, because I love both colors and love them in combination. The missing color is green—maybe because I spent so many years in Portland where the outdoor palette is so green that the indoor palette needs to be different!

10. Any “What was I thinking?” moments in your decorating past?

Plenty, but the most recent involved painting the brick around our living room fireplace a horrible shade of khaki. The brick was pitted and stained so painting was a good idea, but I sure chose the wrong color. (I repainted it a rich shade of chocolate brown—much better).

Thanks to Kathleen McCleary for stopping by today. This was a lot of fun!

Check out an excellent review of House & Home at Books on the Brain if you want to read more about it or go to Amazon.com to order your own copy.

If you have already read it, I would love to hear what you thought!

* A FEW BLOG NOTES *

The second season of “Top Design” premieres Wednesday night (Sept. 3) on Bravo. Be sure to watch–and then come back Thursday for my recap! To read my post about Top Design and the show’s new host, click here.
The new-and-improved Blissfully Domestic e-zine is having technical issues, so the official re-launch has been moved to next Monday. Sorry if you tried to get to the site and the link didn’t work!
Follow me on Twitter to find out what I’m up to between blog posts. I’m @hookedonhouses. Click on the birdie below to read what I’m chatting about today!

If You’re Hooked on Books:

Tagged as: book review, books, Decorating, entertainment, House & Home, Hyperion, Kathleen McCleary, novels, reading

Layout and Design Customized by EightCrazy Design.

{ 1 trackback }

Kathleen McCleary, Author of House and Home, On Tour September 2008 | TLC Book Tours: May 9, 2009 at 1:29 am

{ 25 comments }

1 sandra/tx September 2, 2008 at 10:30 pm: Great post, Julia! I love to read and am always looking for new books and authors.
2 abeachcottage September 3, 2008 at 4:34 am: I’m sure with you on paiting things khaki, a hard colour to get right, chocolate brown much nicer

I love Target too, so great for accessories for a quick spruce up or change of look without spending too much money, and the fact that their stock turns so quickly means if you wait it’s often reduced…

love that English cottage in the Holiday, would be great to have a holiday there lol!

Sarah
3 shaks September 3, 2008 at 6:32 am: ive read this thing its amazing

http://www.home-living-news.co.uk/
4 Marie September 3, 2008 at 8:09 am: Thank you for the great interview. I love the fact that you added pictures to compliment the narration. Well worth the effort!
5 Pat @ Back Porch Musings September 3, 2008 at 9:35 am: Wonderful post, Julia. I will be looking for this book. It sounds like something I will enjoy!
6 Lee Moates September 3, 2008 at 9:56 am: What a lovely blogsite you have , JULIA! Kudos!

Best Regards,
MIMILEE<
7 Liz September 3, 2008 at 9:59 am: What an excellent overview of a book! Makes me want to rush out and buy a copy! I particularly liked the interview. It’s so much fun to see what authors have to say!
8 Ms.Tee September 3, 2008 at 11:14 am: What a great review AND interview, Julia. I think the book will resonate with women everywhere, because when it comes down to it, it really is our desire to make our house a home.
I’m going to have to read it! (P.S. The bedroom on the cover is beautiful, too.)
9 Mrs. B September 3, 2008 at 11:26 am: I love a good book recommendation! I’ll have to check this one out. And I must say, I recognized that cottage from the Holiday the second I saw the picture because I completely fell in love with it when I saw the movie. It’s one of my favorite movies.
10 Kathy McCleary September 3, 2008 at 12:00 pm: Julia: I loved your review and am glad the book touched you. And the interview questions were really fun. I have to admit, though, that yesterday I thought of a house I may love even more than the cottage in “The Holiday.” It’s Dennis Quaid’s California winery and house in “The Parent Trap.” Now THAT’s a dream home. Thanks again, and thanks to anyone who reads the book!
11 Fifi Flowers September 3, 2008 at 12:22 pm: What a fun post… book and author seem lovely!
Thank you for visiting today!
Fifi
12 hookedonhouses September 3, 2008 at 12:35 pm: Oh, the “Parent Trap” house was amazing! I hadn’t thought about that one in a long time. Makes me want to watch the movie again. -Julia
13 bethany canfield September 3, 2008 at 5:19 pm: wow, that does sound like an exciting book!!! When I look at the cover it looks like a home design book, but it is fiction, I wouldn’t have guessed. Thanks for such a great review and interview!!!!
14 rue September 3, 2008 at 6:51 pm: Must… buy… that…. book…….. I’ll bet you knew that I’d want to

Great interview! She seems like a really lovely person

rue
15 savvymode sg September 3, 2008 at 7:14 pm: great post.
16 Kathy :) September 3, 2008 at 8:37 pm: Oh she seems lovely Julia, and I have got to read that book it sounds like something I’d love…

Thanks,
Kathy
17 Dawn September 3, 2008 at 9:26 pm: Great interview! It’s wonderful when authors let us peek into their non-author lives to see that they’re “real people” too!

I was impressed that Kathleen McCleary’s favorite rooms are the living room and dining rooms. These are the least-used rooms in our house, and I want to change that! We have too many “off-limits” items in these rooms; making the rooms more welcoming toward our kids (less fragile) will be a great start!

Thanks for the inspiration.
18 mishelle cushman September 3, 2008 at 9:45 pm: Hi i nominated you for” I love your blog award” come to my blog and get it.. mishelle
19 Literate Housewife September 4, 2008 at 7:12 am: What a wonderful review and a beautiful post! You have set the bar very high for this book tour. You did such a wonderful job!
20 Nikki September 4, 2008 at 10:29 am: this looks soo good and the author really seems passionate about it. I just might have to run out and get a copy!
21 Amy Jo Trager September 4, 2008 at 11:13 am: Sounds like a great book. I really enjoyed your interview with the author and will check out her book!
22 Kimba @ A Soft Place to Land September 4, 2008 at 12:54 pm: What a wonderful interview! Very fun. I’m looking forward to reading the book.

Like everyone else, I loved that cottage in The Holiday. I saw Kathy’s follow-up mentioning the Parent Trap house. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that movie. I guess that’s our rental for this weekend. Thanks!
23 Marilyn September 5, 2008 at 9:41 am: A great interview, Julia! So much to take in here. Now I’m off to find that book…
24 Wendy September 5, 2008 at 10:27 am: Loved this post! I’m scheduled for this tour on the 17th and it was so much fun to read Kathleen’s thoughts on decorating, etc…!
25 lucinda September 8, 2008 at 9:31 am: I got the book from the library and started it today. Thanks for the suggestion.