70s cottage revived in Alvar Aalto style: A truly charming cottage in a rural idyll

When life gets going, changes often come quickly and all at once: in a single year, you might buy a home, a vacation place, and a camper van. That’s exactly what happened Henna Immonen and Karo Tammela from Helsinki in 2022.

“We experienced what many others did during the pandemic years: we had had enough of the city life and needed a change. We also believe that change is healthy,” Henna says.

The couple had been dreaming of a cottage for three years. During that time, Henna and Karo toured several cottages in southern Finland.

Karo had pictured a traditional, low-maintenance log cabin—very different from the one they discovered in the autumn of 2022. Waiting for them in the rural idyll of the town of Vihti was an atelier-like, red-and-white building designed by architect Mikko Marttila. Both fell for it quickly. The couple made an offer that same day, and the cottage was soon theirs.

The cottage’s updated look is dark and refined. The practical sliding doors add a striking edge to the building.

Henna and Karo fell in love with their leisure home at first sight. Originally red and white, the cottage was ideal for these two enthusiastic renovation pros.

Although the building was full of all kinds of stuff, its potential was immediately obvious.

“The structure was pretty simple. We immediately saw what could be done and just how extensive the renovation could get,” Karo recalls.

Henna was actually touched by the cottage’s history.

“The place was so special to the previous owner and keeping the positive spirit of the village community alive so important that they wanted to know more about us than just our names,” she says.

This small village community has several cottages. The neighbors know each other, help each other, and in summer they even keep shared sheep on a nearby meadow.

High ceilings and natural light highlight the roomy living area. The decor is a combination of furniture the couple originally purchased for their Finnish wooden house and vintage finds that reflect Aalto’s style. Their favorite piece is the Artek 556 sofa. The painting is an oil work Henna made in her youth.

The modern style is mixed with just a hint of the original 70s atmosphere. The heart of the cottage is the old fireplace which the couple painted with white masonry paint and lime paint.

The couple were no strangers to renovation, having already refurbished their previous Finnish wooden house nearly from top to bottom.

“We’re not afraid to dive in and start. We trust that our plans will take their shape as we go. If something doesn’t work out, we can always do it again,” Henna says.

Originally, they wanted to buy a village school to combine home and vacation living. But after finding a new home in Helsinki in early 2022, owning a separate cottage felt like the right move.

That same spring, they also bought a van and turned it into a camper to travel to the north with. Henna and Karo aren’t the sort of cottage-goers who spend their entire summer in one place.

One of the two remote work areas features Rosa Aamunkoi’s Take a seat poster. It celebrates the colors and forms of the Paimio Sanatorium, which was designed by Aino and Alvar Aalto.

The couple built new kitchen cabinets from birch plywood on a tight budget. The backsplash was brightened with tile paint, and the handy wall shelves provide extra storage.

Removing the wall between the kitchen and living room opened up the entire space.

The jute interior panels were simple to install on the bedroom walls. Tapani Aartomaa’s Alnus Poster hangs on the wall. The Artek 112B shelf doubles as a bedside table, keeping everything within reach.

The home and cottage renovations overlapped, so Henna and Karo could escape their home renovation by heading to the cottage and vice versa. Their new home only needed a surface makeover, whereas the cottage project required greater effort.

Henna has graduated as a designer from Aalto University, which shows in her passion for planning and aesthetics. Karo has a background in business and economics and uses Excel for budgeting and a 3D program for modeling. Both have largely learned to renovate by doing, but Karo’s carpentry skills also run in the family: four generations, including Karo himself, have worked in furniture-making.

The couple made the sauna more practical by swapping where the sauna benches and washing area were. The new benches have a mechanism that allows them to be lifted on the wall.

The cooling room between the sauna and the back terrace got some color on its walls as a contrast to the other spaces.

There’s no need to replace original features without good reason. The old sink and tiles in the cooling room got to stay when they were paired with a modern mirror cabinet.

Before starting the cottage renovation, Henna and Karo drove around in their camper van to check out buildings designed by Alvar Aalto and to gather ideas. They’re fascinated by wood, and they also appreciate functionalism.

Aino and Alvar Aalto’s summer home, the Muuratsalo Experimental House, was the most inspiring to them. Henna and Karo were also captivated by the white-and-brown exterior of Villa Skeppet in Tammisaari. They had already decided to paint the cottage black, but then what happened?

“We ended up buying white and brown paint on that same trip,” Henna says, laughing.

The couple tore down the old terrace and built a larger one. It was almost like adding another room to the cottage.

The couple took inspiration for the rattan accents from Villa Mairea, also designed by the Aaltos.

The couple is never short on ideas. First on their list was the kitchen, revamped with under 600 euros. They built the cabinetry from birch plywood, brightened the backsplash with tile paint, and removed the wall between the kitchen and living room.

“We wanted less color and more brightness, openness, and a simpler style,” Henna explains.

They painted the fireplace white with lime paint. They also installed a freezing toilet in the spot it was originally designed for but never built.

Henna and Karo want to uphold both the design choices and the simpler lifestyle that were typical to the era; one such thing is carrying their water from the well. Meanwhile, they already have a new dream: these renovation enthusiasts would love to have a kelo tree log cabin in Lapland.

The rattan furniture creates a timeless, welcoming look, which was inspired by Villa Mairea. The sliding glass doors allow the couple to use the terrace beyond summer.