Reading this book was like stepping into the homes and stories of people. Almost like reading interviews in magazines. I found it very charming and even inspirational. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review.

The photography is beautiful in this book and loved reading the stories about each person but I wish it had been focused more on the spaces.

Sacred Spaces, by Carley Summers, is beautifully laced with gorgeous photographs and wonderful interviews with designing homeowners sharing their home’s most sacred spaces. Of particular note is the author’s own story of her journey through heartache and addiction to finding herself and her own sanctuary. Additionally, the interview with Summers’ mother is both candid and honest and lends to the book’s story of love, family and home found within sacred spaces.

I’m impressed by this author and the life stories from people around the world..
Each story is unique,and gave me so much encouragement for my own life story…
Also I’m amazed how truthfully sharing thoughout the book about hard situations
changed my concept of hard situations in my life-never give up….
I love the photos of houses,I fell in love with the houses and gardens long time ago…
Thank you for sharing, I strongly recommend this book for others to read.

Loved the beautiful pictures and accompanying text - really gorgeous spaces … inspirational and aspirational - and I give three stars to all books I like

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sacred Spaces by Carley Summers combines inspiring storytelling with photos of beautifully decorated homes. Some of the major themes start with not being afraid to take risks. Find joy in your space. A perfect house is not the goal but a place where you can feel perfect. Everyone has a story and their path to the present. Life, indeed is a journey. “Beauty alone didn't make it a home. Because you can have the most beautiful home in the world, but if it's not filled with love, what is there?”

“Surround yourself with people who believe in you. I call it “social gardening." Weed out those people who are not good, especially now with Instagram and social media. And keep the friends who build you up.”

This book reinforces the importance of making your space a reflection of who you are. The photos and personal stories were inspiring, and I struggled to pick a home design that I thought was the best. This book was inspirational, and for a home decorating book, that is high praise indeed. I will buy it when published on April 2023.
🛋️

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to NetGalley, Convergent Books, and the author for the opportunity to read this book. @netgalley #sacredspaces #interiors @convergentbooks #convergentbooks @carleysummers

I absolutely loved reading this book. I was completely drawn into the topic and could not stop reading it.

The author of this book is both a photographer and a decorator, This book is filled with photos of beautiful homes and interviews with each resident. Unlike many design books, this is not a “how to” of decorating, Instead it is a look into the emotional and spiritual life of each person interviewed and how their life is reflected in their homes.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in design and learning more about how to use to reflect the personalities of the homeowners.

This is a wonderfully soothing book. Beautiful photography of "real" places. Feels like home, almost every one of them. Will definitely purchase a hard copy.

This book wasn't quite what I was expecting. While I very much enjoyed the beautiful photography of the interiors, and the varied design styles showcased, the text wasn't what I was looking for. I had gone in thinking there would be quick vignettes about the lives of the inhabitants and perhaps how certain pieces reflected their stories. In actuality, the stories are long, heavy pieces about every hardship faced, with some loose connections to home (more home than particular house). I found myself skimming a lot of the text, especially when religion came in, which was in nearly every story.
Overall, the pictures were very pretty and I wish there were more of them, with less text.

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy

For me, I enjoy being visually lost in a decorating book as an escape hatch into a world of design, color, texture and whimsy. Often, I am inspired by visual treats, which fall flat if I attempt to replicate in my space. Reading Sacred Spaces was inspirational. In reading chapters of the homeowners’ evolution into what makes their home a Sacred Space, for me was a game changer. This glimpse into what makes a home a home opened my eyes. Beautiful book beyond just photos of homes but of the homeowner themselves, a delight to spend hours reading.

Lovely book about people and places they transformed into home sanctuaries. Beautiful photographs, and inspiring stories. You realize how much your home space and it's decorations affect your mental health. This would make a great gift and coffee table book!

This was a perfect snowing and blowing, Saturday afternoon read. The stories shared are quite extraordinary and inspiring, as are the accompanying photographs.

There’s a lot to love about this interior design book that focuses on the stories behind the homeowners and on their spirituality. I loved the diversity of the homes and their occupants. They live all over the world and have all kinds of styles. They are gay, straight, old, young and from all kinds of occupations (though many work with interiors like rugs and design, naturally) and all kinds of nationalities.

Each home features an assortment of photos and an interview where the homeowner talks about his or her past, their favorite room, lessons they’d share with others, etc. There is a focus on religion for all of them, but especially so in a handful of them. Carley talks a great deal about feeling saved by God and the best place being “on your face” on the floor in prayer. I think non-religious folks will still get a lot out of the book though. While some chapters are heavily Christian, the overall theme of the book is how to make your home a sacred, special, personal space that reflects where you come from and what you love. There is a big focus on overcoming tragedy and troubled pasts to find redemption and peace.

I loved the diversity in the styles of homes especially. The author got to fly all over the world to interview these people and photograph their homes, and it’s refreshing to see such different homes. Not one of them looked like the stereotypical interior design magazine spread or generic American subdivision home. They are decidedly international, interesting, quirky, artistic and unusual.

A few small complaints— Carley frequently references finding these people and their homes online but she gives no way of finding them like Instagram pages. I found more than half on IG myself to follow them but I couldn’t find even some that she says she fell in love with online. Since the interviews reference things like pouring their hearts into redoing a room and not getting likes and the homeowners running related businesses, it seems that these people would appreciate having their websites and Instagram pages shared.

I also wish the photos were a little bigger and more prominent. It felt almost like the interviews were the focus and I was more interested in the homes.

All in all, though, this was an interesting and inspiring read that I highly enjoyed.

This book has a collection of home photography from some people from all around the world that transformed their homes into their own little relaxing spot. There are photos of their homes and an interview with them. It’s not a typical interior design book but a collection to inspire you to create the house that you want (instead of following trends). The author’s house is the only one that is closer to my own style, the other ones have too much stuff and for me personally I would go crazy with so much stuff everywhere, so that wouldn’t be a ‘sanctuary’ for me. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance readers copy of this book.
This book has a story for every picture. So therefore you will find more words than pictures. While the stories and biographies are heartfelt. I enjoy more decorating led in this genre.

Opening this book is like stepping into the intimate stories and spaces of the personalities concerned. No tips on how to decorate your place are explicitly offered here, more on what the homes mean to the people in the book, such as where their "sacred" spots are and how the homes reflect their lives and stories. The photographs are not captioned but they may trigger some inspiration and ideas in house decorating. It was fascinating to see the wide variety of styles. and to me, they are beautiful.

I like reading biographies and love to look at interiors so I found this book interesting. Many of the stories at least lightly touch on their spiritual lives.

4 stars from me.

I love, love, love this book! Full of gorgeous photos of healing home interiors, as well as interviews and background information on the families who transformed their homes into sanctuaries. Highly recommended for those who get inspired by beautiful homes and intriguing stories. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Let me start off by saying some of these houses are absolutely beautiful. Some of them, not my taste at all. They were gaudy (in my opinion) and didn’t feel homey but felt almost scary. But the majority of homes were inspiring. The stories including with the homes were nice, but I didn’t like how they were written, interview style. It wasn’t terrible, it’s just not my favorite. Overall the book is worth the read!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and opinions are my own.

Sacred Spaces is a beautiful book a book that will take you on a journey using stunning photography and personal memoir through homes that are a sanctuary to their owners. The pictures are a feast for the eyes and the stories will pull at your heart strings with tales of the trials and tribulations are life and the importance of having a home sanctuary to retreat to. Homes from around the world are featured with varied designs and interiors. This would make a lovely gift book.