Over fifty years or so ago I discovered the art of Carl Larsson. His paintings of his family in their daily life from their home in Sundborn, Sweden, enchanted me. I hung prints of favorite paintings framed in blue, bought a piece of furniture I called my “Carl Larsson table,” and had a pair of red clogs from the Swedish shop in the Rice Village.
I’d always wanted to visit the house and gardens that I’d loved from his paintings, but never expected that I would.
Until I imagined what outrageous thing I’d love to do to celebrate my 75th birthday.
So here I am. In Sweden. And I still can’t believe I’m really here.
I’ve called this, however, the Karin Larsson tour because it turns out that the beauty I had admired was actually the work of Karin, Carl’s wife. Yes, Carl did the canvas, but Karin created the home with beautiful textiles, furniture she designed and built, the colorful gardens, and, of course, their children who were at the center of the paintings.
My dearest traveling friend and I first spent two nights in Stockholm which included nearly a day long visit to Artipelag, a museum nestled in green space in the Stockholm archipelago.
Carefully designed beauty everywhere. Even the bathrooms.
We spent a whole day driving the three hour journey from Stockholm to Lake Siljan. We are slow travelers because we keep taking pauses for surprises along the way.
This included an art walk in Örebro
and what the guides say is the best ice cream in Sweden.
We arrived at our hotel where I had booked the Carl Larsson suite in time for a glorious sunset.
Such beauty and I hadn’t even reached the destination of my pilgrimage.
House of Grace 