Quote Of The Day By Erin Napier: 'Everything Is About Feeling...'

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As far as Erin Napier is concerned, if it feels right, it is. It appears the cohost of HGTV's "Home Town" has more or less lived by this motto her entire life. She felt it was right the moment she met her future husband, Ben, at junior college (the pair decided they'd marry only four days after meeting and are living happily ever after to this day). And when an HGTV producer emailed after spotting the Napiers' house in small town Laurel, Mississippi, on Instagram, it felt right to dive in headfirst. In 2016, "Home Town" premiered on HGTV.

Since then, Napier has added New York Times bestselling author, businesswoman (she and her husband own three stores in Laurel), and nonprofit founder to her resume, just to name a few. Her latest project was another impressive feat: she and her husband helped their friends transform an old building in Laurel into a stunning inn on the show "Home Town: Inn This Together."

Thanks to her love of heirlooms and lived-in spaces, she is credited with originating the wildly popular grandmillennial decor trend. "Home Town" finished its 10th season in May 2026 and has four spinoff series to date. Safe to say, Napier's instinct to lean in has served her well, and that's why she is today's quote of the day.

Napier's full quote is: "Everything is about feeling. When you see a house that looks like who you are as a person stylewise, or where it sits on the street, under a specific beautiful tree — the way the house makes you feel should be the first thing that tells you this is it."

At the time, Napier was speaking to Realtor.com as a part of her promotional tour for her book "Heirloom Rooms: Soulful Stories of Home," detailing how homebuyers would know when that property was right for them. The book snagged a spot on the New York Times bestsellers list when it was published in 2023 and remains a beloved inspiration to create the loved and lived-in spaces homeowners dream of.

While Napier was talking specifically about that warm, "this is the one" feeling you get when you step on the right property, this quote also embodies her ultimate design tip every homeowner should know — and perhaps, her outlook on life.

When you think about how you want your home to feel, words like "welcoming," "warm," and "comfy" may come up. Maybe the stylish yet lived-in apartments from "Only Murders in the Building" come to mind, or something straight out of a Nancy Meyers set, complete with the radio playing faintly in the other room. Whatever your version of home is, Erin Napier wants you to ditch the traditional design advice and look for what feels right.

If you fall in love with a styled magazine spread, resist the urge to copy it down to the pale green throw styled on the foot of the bed. Instead, Napier suggests looking at the image with a critical eye to find what specifically calls to you. Once you've put your finger on it — maybe it's the specific shade of green or the textile itself — you know what would feel right in your space.

Similarly, let's say you're wandering through the aisles of the local home decor store or antique market, and something catches your eye — a bowl, a vase, a rug, whatever. Instead of worrying about whether the colors will blend into your current decor, trust your instincts. Your eye subconsciously saw it and knew it was right. Trust it.

• "When we're seeing these images of these perfectly styled houses, there is a place and a purpose for that: It can inspire decor and design, and we should use it as such. But not use it as like, 'This is what my house should be.'" — from a 2023 Realtor.com interview

• "Perhaps our real passions sometimes just need a little commotion to thrust them to the surface, then a dusting off to make them shine again." — from "Make Something Good Today: A Memoir"

• "We are all old houses, altered by time and circumstances. Our lives are shaped by the good and the bad, and we take it all in and make it a part of us." — from "Make Something Good Today: A Memoir" 

• "We become the parents and then grandparents in the photographs someday, and through it all, our houses are the constant: there in the background, silently keeping watch, and giving us a place to feel like our best selves." — from a 2022 Laurel Mercantile Co. post

• "It comes to me now that when we remember the homes we grew up in, we are really remembering the ways we felt in them, the people who lived in them, and the ways they cared for us." — from "Heirloom Rooms: Soulful Stories of Home"