Madrid loft..

Hi lovelies. Just stumbled across this beautiful loft in Madrid, Spain. Don't you just love the use of  red/orange, white, black and natural wood!?!

Am also smitten with this large white piece of art. It relaxes me and I love the circular detail. I might just try to replicate something like this for my bare walls in our new place here in Sweden.. I promise to share the result if I achieve something reasonable, though it may take some time as our consignment is still making its way from Sydney to Stockholm by ship.

The black/white piece on top of the vintage luggage is also very nice, and I love the tension between it and the fun little desk lamp. Simple yet impactful.

And don't you love the follow through in the bike.. Colour co-ordination done by a pro.. :)

Have a great rest of the week my darlings. 
Lots of love from Sweden.

xx Charlotta 

via Nuevo Estilio

Dreaming of a Swedish bakery..

Hello lovelies and happy new week to you all! How about throwing all sense & caution to the wind and buying the quaint 'Rute Stenugn' bakery on the island of Gotland in Sweden..!?! 

Yep, it's for sale folks and for a mere 3.8million Swedish krona you could be waking up to the smell of freshly baked organic bread, straight from the log fired oven. Aaaahh!

Gotland as you may know, is a unique island in the North Sea off the East coast of Sweden. It's known for it's spectacular scenery, tangible heritage, local crafts, sheep (the famous Gotland sheep) and lots more. You simply have to go there if you get the chance!

The Rute Stenugn bakery includes a fully equipped cafe (originally an old black smith's cottage..), and a lovely greenhouse that has been converted to a dining area. 

Perched on a hill near by is a comfy residence which was merged with an old three story mill.. I can imagine the owners of the bakery would have lived here quite happily.

Look HERE for details on the property and HERE for more inspiration and pictures. This place has so much potential, don't you think..!?!

xx Charlotta 

Image credits:

1/3/4/5/7/12/13/14 & 15 via Hemnet, 2 & 8 Johan Odmann, 6 Ewa Ahlin, 9 Sven Halling, 10 Jenny Gaulitz, 11 Google, 16 Charlie Drevstam

Haute Right Splendid!

Darlings. I am sure you are all up to date with the amazing news over at my dear friend Monika's..!

Her beautiful e-tail boutique 'Splendid Willow Avenue' has been  stylishly revamped, updated, and filled to the brim with irresistible Scandinavian treats for the home and family!

 All images via 'Splendid Willow Avenue'

And as if that is not enough to brighten the day, Monika is also generously sponsoring a three way give-away hosted by blogettes Sarah Klassen of 'Haute Design' and Ally of 'From The Right Bank'.

Sweet Sarah is giving away a stunning necklace by Swedish designer Åsa Daxberg. You can choose between two different designs of which one has been released specially for Monika's 'Splendid Willow Avenue'. How special!

Gorgeous Ally is treating her lucky winner to a pair of super stylish  Ilse Jacobsen rain boots that come in a range of colours that out-do the best of rainbows! They are so nice you'll be wanting a wardrobe of boots. Really!

Our wonderful 'hostess trio' invites anyone from Rio to Reykjavik to take part. That's right, it's open to the world!

All you need to do is to hop across to their blogs now to find out just how to enter. Good luck everyone and thank you to the Haute Right Splendid girls!

xx Charlotta

For your blog roll.. Simply click on the banners to be transported, though please ensure you eat and drink before hand because you'll be glued to your seat for hours! You have been warned..

 

Home sweet home..

Hello my darlings! I am finally back after what feels like an eternity of time away from you, and I am so thrilled to be typing this very first post as a resident of my beloved Sweden. Yay!

via Corbis RF

Before I dive deeper into this post, I want to thank my dear Kerry once more for her wonderful 'send-off-post'. I can't tell you how many times I read it and cried - Kerry it was written so well and really touched my heart! xx

 Original image via Pinterest. Edited by me

The move (and all that came with it) is thankfully behind me now and I am in some sort of 'transitional stage' of nesting and adjusting to living in Sweden. Most people probably expect me to already feel at home since I was born here but the truth is that both the country and I have changed so much in the 23 years I have lived abroad that I am faced with a somewhat 'mind-messing' (technical term..) task of re-discovering a familiar place.. I have a sense of 'belonging' but not quite 'fitting in'. This is not necessarily a bad thing..

  via Fancy

Just over a week ago we got the keys to our new place - a two story apartment in a small block of flats in a leafy and tree lined street. The rooms are flooded with natural light with typically white walls and tall ceilings. 
Since my husband is still based in Sydney for work reasons (sob sob!) we are currently running two complete households which means that my 'Swedish nesting budget' is vastly restricted. At this stage our place is a functional yet rather 'bare shell' of what will be our home for the next 12-18 months (before we head on out into the 'great big world again'..). Of course there  has been a long list of essential 'new-buys', but I have also tried to make good use of what I had stored away here in Sweden since I left. As such we are living with an eclectic mix of pieces that I am trying to  mould together into a reasonably eye-pleasing end result.. It will certainly not be a 'show home' but that is not my aim. Instead I am focusing on creating a homely and cozy base from which we can launch into our 'Swedish adventure'.

via Nicho Södling

So that's the state of affairs from my corner of the world for now.. I am spending most of my time ensuring the kids are happy & calm after a very trying few weeks of good-byes, packing, general stress & unsettledness. I miss you all very much and am so looking forward to a time (in the not too distant future..!) when I can finally plonk myself down on one of my beloved Swedish antique kitchen chairs and start blogging for real!

Until then.. I am sending you lots of big warm hugs from my beautiful Sweden! I get chills of joy down my spine typing that.. :)

xx Charlotta