New bones, old-world charm

A new shell with an old soul: “When I hear praise about how beautifully we’ve renovated the old archipelago house, I can’t help but smile with satisfaction”

When she couldn’t find a suitable traditional house by the sea, Johanna built one herself in Mustasaari, Finland. The red wooden building looks as though it has already stood there for at least a hundred years.

Author Laura Sychold

Images Mikko Kaaresmaa

September 29, 2025Lue suomeksi

Completed in 2013, the detached house in Raippaluoto, Mustasaari, is home to Johanna Ahlskog, Patrik Strandberg, and their children, 17-year-old Isach and 6-year-old Alvar.

The transverse plank on the floor and the crossbeam in the ceiling create the impression that the house was “extended” with a bay window. Johanna absolutely wanted some exposed log inside as well. One of the partition walls was built using old logs salvaged from a condemned house in Mustasaari. The wool rug is from a vintage shop.

The couple ordered their tiled stove from Kakelugnspannan.com. It’s connected to the home’s water-circulated heating system. The armchair is from the Juthbacka market. The table was made long ago by Johanna’s godfather’s father. It had fallen into disrepair, but Johanna removed the ruined tabletop, sanded and waxed the frame, and ordered a custom-cut glass top.

The house combines old, durable materials with modern technology.

Johanna is charmed by turned wooden candlesticks. In different colors, they offer plenty for the eye to explore. The String shelf features both new and old treasures. The wallpaper is Sandberg’s Lily of the valley. “I love wallpapering. The more matching up it requires, the better!” Johanna says.

Johanna spent her childhood in Raippaluoto by the sea, so building a home in familiar surroundings felt natural. However, her work took her away for long stretches. Home is a safe haven she’s always happy to return to. See more photos on Johanna’s Instagram account: @nyttochnyttjat.

Johanna is an imaginative decorator. She works as a set designer and has contributed to the Strömsö show. She cast the silky-smooth concrete countertops in the kitchen herself. The legs of the island were originally staircase posts. The stainless vent hood adds a modern contrast. The rustic bricks were rescued from two houses that had burned down. The wood-burning stove is vital in the archipelago, where the power occasionally goes out. Johanna’s love for houseplants was passed down from her florist mother.

“We moved right into the middle of a construction site. I came straight here from the maternity hospital.”

Old tin containers bring vibrant color to the kitchen. The Johanna coffee tin was a playful find. “I often justify my flea-market purchases by assuming they’ll be needed someday in my work projects.”

Johanna designed, drew, and painted the kitchen cabinets herself. The linseed oil paint is a muted umber gray/zinc white mix. Vöyrin Puuseppäpalvelu built the wooden frames for the cabinets. Tricky trim work is Johanna’s favorite. “Challenges really get me fired up. When I was miter-cutting the crown moldings, I used mathematical tables for help.”

The kitchen table is an oversized souvenir from a trip to Sweden. It can be expanded with extra leaves or used in two halves. The Swedish Nesto chairs are from Johanna’s childhood home in the 1970s. The tall cabinet is homemade. Its doors came from a damaged corner cupboard found in Johanna’s grandmother’s outbuilding.

“To help my husband understand my house plans, I baked a gingerbread version of our future home.”

The Boxing Hares wallpaper by Barneby Gates looks like a damask pattern at first glance, but on closer inspection, it’s full of bunnies. The black rabbit is a bookend from Hemtex. The bedside cabinets came from Johanna’s grandmother’s childhood home.

Johanna decided to keep the gray rag paper exposed because it was so beautiful. She ripped it into squares and attached them like wallpaper, and the lace doilies are a lovely finishing touch. The View-Master and its reels date back to Johanna’s childhood. She continues to look for more reels at flea markets. Kids who visit love it.

The old teaching poster and framed botanical prints in the bedroom are finds from her travels. A wooden coat rack functions as a curtain rod in the window. “Old everyday objects stand the test of time and never go out of style. They’re usually both beautiful and high-quality. Sometimes you can come up with a whole new use for them.”

Isach chose his own wallpapers, putting a different one on each wall. The fun table was made from a plywood suitcase and turned legs, jazzed up with paint. It’s a prototype Johanna created for a craft segment on the Strömsö show. The sofa was bought at an auction, and the traffic sign poster is from a flea market.

“My work as a set designer shows in that I seem to have my own prop warehouse right here at home.”

You can admire the sea view from the clawfoot tub in the bathroom. At night, the Raippaluoto Bridge glimmers on the horizon like a string of pearls. The glass cabinet is from Ikea. Next to it, you can glimpse the double sink. The wallpaper is Snow Tree by Colefax and Fowler.

It’s hard to believe the house dates back only to 2013. “I had a clear idea of what kind of house would suit the lot. A modern style wouldn’t have worked. When I hear praise about how beautifully we’ve renovated an old archipelago house, I smile with satisfaction,” Johanna reveals.

Try Johanna’s ideas!

I like styles from different eras and mix them boldly. Retro, rustic, the 1920s, antique, modern—anything goes! The important thing is to keep some unifying thread.

Karin Larsson is my interior design icon. The colors in her home were natural yet still lush and rich in pigment. Our color palette mostly heads in a Jugend direction.

I’m drawn to odd and whimsical items. I often pick them up at flea markets. There’s one thing many people don’t get excited about: old enema containers. I already have about fifteen of them. I hunt for collectibles at the “wrong time,” like buying Christmas decorations in July, and I manage to find real treasures.

A single candlestick might look lonely, but ten different ones together make an interesting display.

Design & Decoration Colorful Interior Homes

Most recent

A new shell with an old soul: “When I hear praise about how beautifully we’ve renovated the old archipelago house, I can’t help but smile with satisfaction”

Try Johanna’s ideas!

Part of the A-lehdet Group