Sage Living: Decorate for the Life You Want

by Anne Sage, Emily Johnston (Photographer)

“I love [how this book] breaks down the relationship between our home and our happiness . . . Plus, it’s a reminder that perfection is totally boring.” —Emily Henderson, New York Times–bestselling author of The New Design Rules   Aptly named style maven Anne Sage, founder of the City Sage blog, knows a wise decorating our living spaces for our goals is the first step in making them happen. In Sage Living, she opens the door to covetable dwellings designed to boost the dreams of their occupants, from the sunny, open-air kitchen of a holistic nutritionist to the eclectic living room of a world traveler ready to put down roots.   Filled with stunning interiors, engagingly written home stories, and hundreds of design tips for every room, Sage Living goes beneath the stylized surface to help readers decorate for the lives they truly want.

Genres: Design, Interior Design, Nonfiction, Art, How To, Coffee Table Books

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2015

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't as impressed by the text of the book as I was the photos. Visually, it's awfully pretty.

[Mycala · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so forgettable, I checked it out twice in the course of a month. The cover looks interesting, but open the book and you start to realize every room layout looks like the one before. If you are a fan of walls that are black, white, grey, or taupe, then this is the book for you. If you like cold, almost clinical-looking rooms that are spruced up with a few splashes of muted colors and in one case, a pineapple in the living room, then this is the book for you. Okay, on page 125 there was a bedroom with a dark blue wall – careful now, don’t overdo it. This person has a style, and it says "waiting room" to me. To each their own, but it certainly wasn't for me.

[Hawley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is so very, incredibly hipster. If you want to have an aesthetic that is very much urban outfitters meets poor starving artist in Brooklyn, it might be just for you.

Otherwise, spare yourself! ;)

[Marissa Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these spaces are very serene, charmingly minimalist.

[Tina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope nope nope nope. There is nothing in this book about decorating for the life you want - it's all about decorating for the life the AUTHOR wants. Which let me tell you is not to my taste. If you match hers, it's great. Otherwise run to any of the other amazing books out there on decor.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up at the library on a whim and I am glad I did. I don't usually like interior design books because they are often filled with unachievable images of living spaces that, frankly, someone and their family/kids couldn't realistically live in without seriously messing it up. But not this book! It features mainly small spaces/apartments decorated by ordinary people in their own very differing styles. The people are creative and fun and by the look of it often on a realistic budget. It's quite a breath of fresh air in that way. Every few pages I found myself admiring a piece of decoration or design that rung true to me and seemed clever or beautiful and worth emulating. And on many pages I saw things that didn't fit me at all. But I do feel like there is something for everyone here. Definitely more of a book to borrow than a book to buy if you ask me. There are written descriptions of each of the homes as well, but most of the value is in the images.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing I did not like at All about this book was that the text would describe a piece of furniture, a shelving unit, something in the room, yet the photos of that particular area/item we not included in the book. I found it annoying to have to go back a page or two and try to find the item, and it wasn’t even there.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

good, realistic home designs by artists with thoughtful blurbs on lifestyles
my kind of style, and doesn't cost a million dollars, good inspo for how to actually decorate room by room with nice layout and pro-tip boxes of info

[Sami Peterson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one had some interesting ideas for purpose and story-driven home design, but felt less comprehensive and practical compared to Styled by Emily Henderson (which I finished earlier today, and could explain the comparison). Might still be worth checking out from the library, though

[Sid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filled with beautiful photos and stories, this book gave me a lot of home deco ideas. Looking forward to reading more stuff by the author.

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

mostly just pretty pictures

[Lauren Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

A refreshing, inspiring look at others' abodes, with thoughtful explanations and accessible suggestions on applying concepts to one's own situation.

[Amanda Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A decorating book that makes sense to me!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the format of this book! As far as interior content, it’s a tad dated but still a good read.

[Rachel Adrianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I loved the way the book was written, I just didn't connect to many of the styles personally.

[Jackie Brewer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover was amazing. I was more inspired by it then the inside. It wasn’t the style that was a disconnect it was the presentation. Because I did like the style.

[Farsha Bila · Rating 4 out of 5]

My go-to interior design guide when I'm on the verge of going too crazy with decorating. Sage Living is a guide to create a peaceful interior.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like Anne Sage's style and want her life, then this book will likely please you more than it did me. Possibly if you are in your twenties and haven't ever thought about the hows and whys of putting together your own living space, this book might inspire you. But for middle aged me, all of the suggestions were the sort you might expect in a magazine article--that is, nothing that was all that insightful or gave me a new lens through which to look and with little detail. Photos of the homes of various featured creative types were sparse, features were described but not shown, and most disturbing, virtually all looked identical: white walls, a piece of mid-century modern furniture, and in nearly every spread, an animal skull of some sort, usually with horns. It struck me as I read that if you spun the inhabitants around ten times (blindfolded) and dumped them into one of the other homes featured in the book, it would take them days to notice they weren't in their own space.

If you love this style (and animal skulls!) then this book might be all you dreamed of, but I was dreaming of something a little more unique and ideas that would encourage me to alter my current living space in a way that would help me achieve some creative and professional goals.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have fallen in love with this book over the holiday break. The writing style of the author is perfection and love the way she has with words. I have taken notes, been inspired to remodel, and really think about the purpose of each room and how our style can plan into that. Not to mention, being a photographer, the photography in the book is inspiring as well. Well done. This book will be on my coffee table for the long road.

[Stephanie Andreasen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found only ONE picture in the entire book that really inspired me. The homes that were featured were all very similar to my eye and not very appealing to me. And the captions were mostly blah. I can't recommend this book.

[Lexi Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

An eclectic and varied array of well-loved, cleverly considered spaces.

The one trap this fell into is a doozy for me: Too many overt, uninteresting sidebars and not enough full-page/ spread photos. More shots, less filler!

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was neat to see how all different types of people decorate their space.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos and beautifully written.

[Marianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my style at all, but there was some cool ideas.

[Cyndi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty pictures of pretty people living in pretty spaces. I'm not sure how it was supposed to help me learn to decorate to meet my goals though...

[Jayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mainly just looked at the pictures - I love books about decorating since it gives me new ideas, but this book wasn't as interesting as I hoped it would be.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspiration and Design book. Not really what I was looking for but all in all it was an alright book.

[Anne]

Lot of interesting pictures but not much use for someone like me on a budget of nil. The "How to Bring It Home" boxes were interesting.