Give-away winner and life..

Hello my friends! Hope you have had a nice and relaxing weekend and that you are ready for this brand new week!

It's been a big week for me. In more ways than one, and I am exhausted - emotionally and physically. I will spare you the details but want you to know that this is the reason for my delayed responses to some truly amazing emails, sparse blog comments and posts lately.. Things will settle & return to a nicer & more harmonious pace soon and with that I shall become better blog friend again. xx

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Now to happier and more fun stuff! We have a winner of last week's give-away and without further delay CONGRATULATIONS Shari of 'Little Blue Deer'! Darling, please pop me an email so that I can pass along the details for your win. xx

Thank you everyone who entered! I saw many new and old names in the list. It's always fun to meet new friends and of course equally lovely to be given a chance to spoil old & dear ones. On that note I want to also thank CSN once more for giving me the opportunity to do so. xx

Before I go I want to share a beautiful house tour that the fab Anne of the City Sage treated us to recently. It's featuring designer Thomas O'Brien's Long Island home and  I just cant get enough of some of these rooms.. Enjoy!

I feel very at home in calm, neutral and light-filled rooms such as this one. Though it feels pleasantly ordered and airy, there are in fact quite a few objects stacked and arranged around the room. What I find appealing is how the neutrals (& whites) magically and effortlessly fuse it all together in a soft whisper. Nothing feels contrived or forced, and the eye is allowed to discover the layers of detail at a slow & gentle pace.

Who hasn't photocopied a hand (or face..) at least once..?!? :)  Though the print on the mantle is probably more likely a photograph, I really like how it reminds me of silly photocopier experiments. It's simple, fun and different.
I have an ongoing project in Sweden where I collect hand prints from members of my family.  I paint their hands with acrylic or water colour and then imprint them on paper. I have several prints but am determined to start over and do them all in the same colour before I have them scanned and fused into one large artwork. It is my way of creating a 'family tree'.. I will share more on this at a later stage.

Now back to our house tour..

Though nice, the kitchen is perhaps my least favoruite room in the house. That said, the clean and white crispness appeals to me. In fact I find it very hard to do any kind of creative work in rooms painted in stronger colours.. cooking or otherwise. Not that I dislike colour, because I don't, (!) it's just that my mind needs a 'colour-free' base to bounce off when working.

Isn't it amazing how 'homely' a room feels when parking a few pairs of shoes in it.. ?! :) 
That aside, I am very attracted to the tall, dark & handsome stranger in the corner.. A glossy black cabinet like that can move in with me any day.. and I have since for ever been a fan of the Danish 'Ant chairs'. Especially the 3-legged originals..!

Images via 'American Modern' by Thomas O'Brien via The City Sage

Ok my lovelies, that is it for today. Once again, apologies for the void here and in your in-boxes. I love you lots and will be back in full force soon.. :) xx

xx Charlotta

P.S. Click HERE to watch a brilliant commercial. I love it!