To say Hayley Smith loves books would be an understatement. Her new bookstore, A House with Books at 1101 Bear Creek Parkway, Ste. 3123, Keller, isn’t just a dream of hers; it’s also a love letter to the community.
“I'm a lifelong reader, and it's always been my dream to open a local bookstore," Smith said. "My family and I are eager to also provide Keller with a bookshop they can be proud of, find their latest read and meet new people to further strengthen our community."
She’s putting on the finishing touches—she designed and decorated the shop herself—and is shooting for Feb. 24 as the opening day. She will announce the exact date on her Instagram @ahousewithbooksshop and website as soon as she knows for sure.
While books—mostly fiction, nonfiction, children's, young adult and Christian—are the main items for sale, there’s a lot more to the store than just books.
“We will [also] sell gifts and home decor," she said. "We will offer a children's story time on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and a book club will start in March.”
Smith was an interior designer before becoming a shopkeeper and will still be dabbling in that world as well. She's an interior design blogger/Instagram poster and plans to continue sharing home design content on her Instagram.
“I will also start offering design workshops at the bookshop in the summer regularly,” Smith said.
Another unique aspect about the bookstore, aside from its tranquil location across from Keller city hall, is that inside it will be Keller’s first co-working space.
“Erik Reynolds is opening a co-working space in our suite. I completely redesigned the suite to meet our needs, and we did a full renovation,” Smith said. “We're both passionate about opening this space up to the community, especially to people that already love and serve Keller in some way.”
Smith and her family moved to Keller from the Alliance area of Fort Worth in July 2021 and is ready to make fellow residents fall in love with her bookstore just like she has.
“I love Neil Gaiman's quote about bookstores,” Smith said, “‘What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.'”
