Johnston Emily - Sage living: decorate for the life you want

For everyone who has helped to light my path, and
for everyone who is forging one of their own.

Text copyright 2015 by Anne Sage.
Photographs copyright 2015 by Emily Johnston except
copyright Alan Jensen.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4521-4616-4 (epub, mobi)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-4521-4006-3 (hc)

Designed by Allison Weiner

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

Our homes are like mirrors. An organized yet lived-in kitchen reflects its owners passion for cooking and entertaining. A spare, restrained space speaks of inhabitants who value simplicity. A playful, eclectic apartment may hint at a first-time renter exploring personal style through decor. From our passions and interests to the stage of life through which were passing, our living spaces are extensions of ourselves.

B ut it works the other way too. Just as our personalities influence our homes, we can shape our environment to help us push through challenges or nurture aspects of our character that wed like to see flourish. The busy mom who wants to care for herself more may cultivate a weekly habit of arranging flowers on her bedside table. The artist who wants to transition from hobbyist to pro might renovate a spare bedroom into a studio. The symbolism of these acts has as much power as the acts themselves. It signifies our desire for change and becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy in the realization of our dreams.

So instead of decorating for the life you have, why not decorate for the life you want? This book helps you do exactly that by introducing you to a host of inspiring individuals who have authored their own home stories and altered themselves in the process. On a budget? Meet a mom and small business owner who downsized out of necessity but who loves her cozy new bungalow more than her previous sprawling mansion. On a quest for better health? Read about a holistic nutritionist who revamped her kitchen to nourish her budding career as well as her growing family. Transitions like these arent easy, but they are possibleand hearing about them from real people enables you to visualize your own transformation.

Although the idea for this book materialized slowly over the course of a year, the seed was planted when I moved into my first apartment. Sure, Id had other apartments, but this was the first time Id navigated the real estate process by myself, the first time Id signed a lease with only my name on it, the first time Id be living without family, a roommate, or a husband. I was thirty years old, and I was terrified. I arrived in Los Angeles from San Francisco having walked away from an ailing marriage and from the business into which Id poured both my heart and my finances. I brought with me one suitcase, six grocery sacks, and a handwritten list of five goals. At the top of that list was the very journey upon which I had just embarked: live by myself for at least one year. As I carried my bags up the stairs and into the unknown, I felt trepidation but also an overwhelming need to prove that I could in fact survive alone. Because, truth be told, I didnt believe myself the least bit capable of doing so.

Today, my life looks very different than it did then. When fear and self-doubt come knocking, I simply remind myself how far Ive come since those first frightening days. This period of living alone has been a time steeped in reflection. Every question about my house (Should I shop vintage or new? How long can I go without a sofa, anyway?) has provided the chance to ask at a more profound level, Do I want this in my life? Do I need this in my life? As Ive become more intentional about my interior, Ive learned whats important to me and what I can let go. Ive witnessed firsthand the power of a mindful home to alter my outlook, boost my confidence, and empower me to take my destiny into my own hands.

Through my work as a design and interiors blogger at The City Sage and also as a cofounder of the online lifestyle publication Rue Magazine, Ive become more attuned to the immeasurable ways in which people adapt their decor to further their dreams. This awareness filtered my lens and focused it on the twenty-eight spaces contained here, all of which have been designed to advance their occupants along a course of personal growth. I visited their homes and learned the details of their lives, and Ive done my best to tell their stories with the mix of aesthetic reverence and emotional resonance I believe they deserve. Ive also highlighted key steps on their paths so you can chart your own course to living well.

Most of all, Ive made this a volume youll want to reach for no matter what your situation. One with images youll leaf through for decor inspiration before a sunny morning trip to the flea market. But also one with stories youll linger over when nighttime falls and shadows dim the path ahead. Because Ive walked that daunting path, and I believe that whatever your goals, your surroundings can help crystallize who you are, where youve been, and the direction youd like to head. This book is the road map to a destination in which your home and your heart sing in harmony.

I f the kitchen is the heart of the home, then the living room is its soul. Our homes witness the sharing of both our happiest and our hardest times, from tackling the crossword as a family on the sofa every Sunday to gathering with girlfriends to mourn a breakup. Common spaces designed to enrich interpersonal interaction not only elevate our highs, they better enable us to weather the lows. Whats more, they help us affirm our own identities through our decor. In the living room, we let down our guard and open up our self.

When we bond over a DVD marathon or proudly display our grandmothers travel memorabilia, we reveal our interests and our historyvital aspects of what makes us tick. An inviting, thoughtful living space not only reinforces our own values, it also encourages everyone who inhabits the space to relax and confide a piece of themselves. This reciprocal sharing in turn furthers an intimacy that Nana didnt anticipate when she willed you her souvenir spoon collection.

Or perhaps she did. After all, the social interactions of our grandparents generation had a significantly more tangibleand thus more enduringquality than those we experience today. Letters, phone calls, and face-to-face visits were the rule, not the exception to it. As multitasking fragments our attention and status updates make sound-bite communication the norm, lasting relationships require an increasingly concerted effort to initiate and maintain, and they become all the more necessary because most of us arent reaping their rewards on a daily basis. Suddenly, that wine-fueled girls night takes on a significance that belies its frivolity.