I have been obsessive with my love for Jeremiah Brent since I discovered him 3 or 4 years ago. When I heard he was releasing a book, I preordered immediately, and waited what felt like 6 months to receive it.
There is so much I connect on with Jeremiah - being queer, not knowing what home or family will ever look like for you, a love for design rooted in intentionality, ritual and soul. A deep connection to space , and a deep yearning to find it for oneself after years of moving constantly.
“beauty is what this book is all about- the beauty of intention and connection, perception and memory, ceremony and ritual- and most importantly of life and love”
So much of his life is aspirational to me: the future family I hope to build, a business with the person I love, a life surrounded by beautiful spaces and the humans I love. I connect with these themes so deeply, and it is why I have loved his work so much.
I love the soul of who he is.
His personal story of growing up, meeting Nate and building a family together is a beautiful story, and I wish the book focused more on his personal experience. Two bookend chapters are the only tales of his personal journey with Nate. They met after Nate was already wildly successful and wealthy, just after his tv show ended which was produced by Oprah.
It was the first house she ever fell in love with. the moment she walked in she said ‘can I write an offer?’ She didn’t need the full tour in order to know. She just felt the energy of the house. That was enough”
What I loved about the book:
The importance of connecting with a home, how you have a gut feeling in the first 5 minutes if a property is for you, how you may never know when the time is right to move on.
A relationship with a home is a relationship that evolves with time.
How a place can impact your personality, your sense of safety, of calm. It affects so much of how we show up in the world.
I also enjoyed the themes of being a steward of land, and the restoration of homes.
There are a handful of quotes that I loved, scattered throughout the book that I enjoyed, the glimmers of soul. I have scattered them through this blog in a similar experience.
“we can never answer a question when it comes to homes. you just don’t know what your next home could be. You could walk into something magical a year from now, and wherever you are in your life, that might be where you need to be”
The rest of the book includes 9 stories of peoples stories of home, and their residences. In this book, most of them are in highly desirable locations and extremely wealthy. I find myself getting stuck in comparisons with people with these stories. The designers who had every advantage from the start, people who had their parents help buying their first house, born into a multi generational family lineage of properties to set them up for success, it’s hard to look past these things. This book is full of stories of people coming from these situations, and whether self made or not, the perspective is hard to connect with beyond his personal journey.
“the stuff in the house doesn’t matter, its the way they live in the space that helps them appreciate what it brings to them”
Stories of multiple 11,000 square foot homes in Montecito, Ojai, a literal palace in Venice, and a farm in Portugal. I found myself disconnecting while reading thinking about the privilege, the price tags, the standard of living needed for these dreams to become reality. There were glimmers of beautiful stories, and ideas about what makes home meaningful that I will share here, but I do have to say I’m disappointed overall, and unsure of who exactly this book is written for. Trust fund babies who have the luxury of buying massive estates abroad, with no concerns about making a living to afford them?
“She wanted something to help her distinguish between the ocean and the sky- a rock, an island, some trees. There is montecito was exactly the view she had imagined. I laid claim to it in my spirit, said Oprah, in my heart of hearts the moment I walked out onto the balcony and I saw the vision that I’d held a year before”
Additionally in the acknowledgements I realized he had a writer, so I’m not quite sure how much he wrote, and how much was ghost written, which is disappointing as I read it in an hour. This is another reminder of the level he is at in his career and life. I miss seeing an authors name and knowing the words are coming directly from that human.
“nature is always her sacred space. that is where she is most fully herself, most fully connected to all beings. In nature she is part of everything”
The photos only give glimpses of the stories written and it doesn’t capture the essence of what is written. The scrapbook aesthetic is true to his style but it doesn’t lend as well to the soulful energy he exudes and the relationships with clients I would expect him to craft for this book.
I will never stop loving Jeremiah Brent, but this book was sadly a miss for me.
Still on a meteoric rise, JB, and hoping that he can get some time to slow down and not just pump out products. There is such a rub between celebrity designers and aspirational living and helpful information for the rest of the world. I do believe everyone deserves a house that holds them.