"The Things That Matter" are important because they are pieces of our life, physical reminders of hopes, dreams, and memories. Author and design expert Nate Berkus offers a baker's dozen of very different lives and lifestyles, but the most fascinating story remains his own. Influenced at a young age by his interior designer mother and image-conscious entrepreneur father, Nate marched through his childhood to the beat of his own unique drum, and he continues to follow his own inner compass to this day. The book begins with Nate's own narrative, and I was drawn into his life experiences, which includes the tragic loss of his life partner, Fernando. Vacationing together in Sri Lanka in 2004 when the devastating tsunami struck, Nate watched in terror as his loved one was swept away in the dark, swirling water. Nate survived a horrible ordeal, and no trace of Fernando has ever been found. Eventually, Nate moved forward with his life, always carrying memories of loved ones, and favorite places and moments in time with him through the living space he created in his own private world. Having risen to national prominence through his work with Oprah Winfrey, and later with his own TV show, Nate has also written other design books. What I enjoyed most about "The Things That Matter" was the sense of embracing your own life, and letting that essential energy be the guiding force of the reality of your own living space. The heart of this book is the heart of the author himself, and he most appropriately includes a photo gallery of "people who matter" in his own life. When you read this book, you will be encouraged, as I was, to look at your own "things", wonder where you got some of them, and ask yourself why you have them. Other things will need no such reminder, for they are the things that matter.

Review Copy Gratis Library Thing ( )

The most successful parts of this book were those that were extremely personal--Berkus's essays about his childhood, surviving the great tsunami, the profile of Dr. Ruth. The decor sections were relatively pedestrian. No great insights into how to decorate ("flea markets! meaningful trinkets!"), and most of the homes profiled were very similar in style. Recommended for fans of Berkus or his decor style, a pass for others. ( )

In The Things That Matter, Nate Berkus underscores the importance of recognizing the meaning and worth of our lives and the lives that intersect with ours. Where we live, how we live, and the choices we make regarding how to express how we feel about both matter because those choices not only help us tell the story of our lives to ourselves but also share the meaning of our lives with others. The mementos we select to surround ourselves with convey more than lifestyles, decorating trends, or transitory fads, those mementos remind us of people and places that we want to remain a part of our lives even if they are gone or we never visit those destinations again.

Our homes are us in ways which many of us do not understand. From the amount of clutter or organization to the colors that resonate with our spirits, we need our nests, our sanctuaries to help us maintain an inner focus. Whether we long for a spiritual sanctuary or an energizing vibe, we can attain that through our homes whether those homes are a one-room bedsitter, or a multi-story mansion, whether we decorate piecemeal by ourselves or hire decorators, those choices are ours and reflect in large part who we are, what we need, and what we want from life.

In the thirteen homes (his own included), Nate discovers the stores behind the “things,” the meaning of what we cherish, and reminds us how those things can enrich our lives. He also nudges us through these examples to examine our current digs, see why we may be dissatisfied with them (perhaps they lack our personal touch, bits and pieces of what matters to us) and how to how to enrich our lives by acknowledging the things and people we care about. What I like is how he stresses that making our homes meaningful and relevant to us doesn’t need huge investments; we need only invest our time and thought, relax and reveal ourselves to ourselves and others.

This is not the standard decorating book. It is a book that touches the heart through the stories it shares. It is a book that not only make us see things clearer, but feel things more deeply because if we dare to share the things that delight us, we become more authentic and comfortable with ourselves and our intimate environment. I thank Nate Berkus and each person highlighted in the book for daring to share themselves and the stories of the things they love because by doing so, they give us each an opportunity to be more comfortable with our own lives and loves.

I wish I had been able to write this review when I first received an unedited, black & white copy of this book, but we were in the midst of moving and it got packed up and stored for a couple of years. When I unpacked it, I decided to order a color copy of the final version. I am glad I did. The published version has more impact and conveys a deeper understanding of Nate’s message. I highly recommend this book. ( )

Like other reviewers, I was expecting more of a slick decorating book, with lots of magazine-style photo spreads interspersed with tips and suggestions for incorporating personal, sentimental objects into your interior décor. Instead, The Things That Matter gives profiles of the author and his friends and talks about their stuff – the stuff that matters to them and why it matters. It ended up being a much more interesting book than the eye-candy I had anticipated. ( )

Given my professional interests in art and its role in interior design, and of course intellectual interests in object-oriented ontology and actor-network theory, I picked this up thinking that it would provide a somewhat engaging perspective on how the objects that we collect through life tell stories and create spaces on their own. I was wrong. It's actually the incredibly arrogant and self-absorbed story of Nate Berkus, whose background could not be less interesting, interspersed with photos of and backstories behind the apartments of his friends. None of which, incidentally, are actually tasteful or illuminating, with the possible exception of one small image of an apartment the author lived in when he was just starting out. ( )