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" Marta Blades&amp;#039; space might have taken the 5th honorable mention in the Met Home Winners Contest, but at a sweeping 34 percent of the vote, it takes first place with readers. Blades&amp;#039; Winston-Salem loft was perhaps so appealing because it was so personal, integrating a lifetime&amp;#039;s worth of art collecting\u2014her own works and others\u2014into her loft design. At 78 years young, Blades knows how to love life. Never one to shy from an arduous journey \u2013 she immigrated to the United States when she was 18 and then went on to beat cancer, TWICE\u2014she sold her home of 45 years and started a new adventure. &amp;quot;I fell in love with it in the hard hat stage,&amp;quot; says Blades of her Winston-Salem loft. &amp;quot;For over a year, I plotted, planned, designed, selected, and traveled to view the progress.&amp;quot; In July of 2006 she and her cat, Savannah, moved to her swanky new pad. &amp;quot;It is everything I hoped for, everything I need.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Today, as I walk the halls, open the door to white spaces, admire art I collected, art I created, my treasures, my books, and my 1,500 square feet of heaven,&amp;quot; says Blades, &amp;quot;I am living that joy.&amp;quot; Even though her Winston-Salem loft is nearly the opposite in all ways to her antique-filled house in Indianapolis, she never let go of her most treasured items. Blades is always editing and changing the interiors to suit her moods\u2014and despite her ups and downs, her house shows a woman in a great mood. Congratulations to Blades for her stunning and inspiring home!  An off-white living space lets art take center-stage.  Blades&amp;#039; punchy dining room is filled with rich, no-holds-barred color. To see the homes of all the winners, visit MetHome.com/winners.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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