Gingerbread at the door, porridge on the stove: Christmas in a 1920s yellow log house
In Maria and Jarkko’s ochre-yellow log house, candles already glow in the windows and an elf plays nighttime pranks. The home has been renovated to their taste, little by little.
The log house in Nousiainen, Finland, is about 140 square meters (about 1,510 square feet). Living here are Jarkko, 35, and Maria Oja, 35, their sons Roope, 8, and Peetu, 5, and the family’s 15-year-old cat, Iina.
The small bottles are the result of years of flea-market hunting, and the evergreens were snipped from trees in their own yard.
This family truly loves Christmas. The scent of gingerbread and holiday flowers greets you at the door well before the holidays. Lighthearted Christmas music plays in the background. You won’t hear any melancholy tunes in Jarkko and Maria Oja’s home, because Christmas is a time for joy.
For the past couple of Decembers, a silly elf named Tip-Tap has stopped by at night to pull peculiar pranks. He’s gotten tangled in gingerbread cutters, hidden the kids’ advent calendars, and even declared game days. It puts the kids—and the adults—in a good mood from the moment they wake up.
The sofa set in Maria and Jarkko’s home came from a family cottage a few years ago. The cats have worked the upholstery to the point that a redo is in order. The cabinet is from Mjuk.
The chest of drawers was made by Jarkko. It’s been with them in every shared home since their very first rental. In the vase sits an amaryllis—the couple’s favorite cut flower of the season for its simple beauty from bud to full bloom. The sofa set was originally purchased by Maria’s grandparents and later reupholstered.
The living room’s original plank floors had been painted over when they bought the house, but after a lot of sanding the natural wood grain was revealed and finished with a traditional soap scrub. The living room walls are papered with Pihlgren and Ritola’s Hyasintti pattern.
Christmas decorations come down from the attic closets upstairs as early as November, and the home is dressed for the season with a light touch. Most recently, the family crafted paper stars and small herb labels from craft clay, then painted them. They also gave both as little holiday gifts to friends. With their craft backgrounds, the couple values handmade presents—both giving and receiving.
For a family that loves Christmas, an old house is the perfect idyll.
The previous owners restored the wood-burning cookstove and the baking oven. Maria made the orange garland. The slices took several weeks to dry, so this isn’t a last-minute project.
Both have always been drawn to old furnishings. The kitchen’s wall cabinet was an affordable find on the Tori marketplace. The cabinet below it came from an antiques dealer in Uusikaupunki and is perhaps the couple’s favorite piece in the whole house. The cute little light is from Putiikki Vanha-Vanto in Raisio.
After searching for a new, larger home for quite some time, Maria and Jarkko became the owners of a 1920s log house in Nousiainen Finland. They sold their previous home in the old textile mill area of Littoinen to the downstairs neighbor and moved into the new house in late autumn 2019.
A silly elf named Tip-Tap has been visiting the family, sneaking in at night to pull peculiar pranks.
Over the past four years, they’ve renovated with respect for the old—much as the previous owners did. The living room floor was finished with a traditional soap scrub. They also replaced the living room’s lining paper and papered the walls with Pihlgren and Ritola wallpapers. Jarkko and Maria renovated the downstairs hall and the toilet, too. Room by room, the finishes are getting a fresh look. The house is taking on the character of its inhabitants at an unhurried pace, because the family is in no rush.
Alongside the wood-burning cookstove, the house has two traditional metal-clad masonry stoves that they fire up especially in freezing weather, as the main heat is electric. Firewood comes from the family’s land.
In the bedroom, the bed is dressed with a crocheted bedspread found in a relative’s attic. Maria got the charming idea of turning lampshades into a string of lights from the Instagram account @vintageinteriorxx. The Lintu sininen wallpaper is from Pihlgren and Ritola’s collection. The old chair was discovered in the cottage shed without a seat, and Jarkko restored it.
The loom belongs to Maria, who trained as a textile artisan. The rug projects will have to wait for a time when schedules are less packed. Jarkko created the home office setup from an old dining table and a Lundia drawer unit. He also made the clothes rack, and the thread-spool rack used to hold coffee mugs.
An old house is the perfect setting for a family that loves Christmas. Well before the holidays, the children get to choose their own little Christmas trees from Jarkko’s family’s forests. They hang their own ornaments on them, and the small trees decorate the boys’ rooms all the way to Epiphany. The family also selects the main Christmas tree from the family forests. The ornaments are handmade, and some are quite old—flea-market finds.
The couple celebrated their wedding in summer 2020. Instant photos of the guests were clipped onto a miniature clothesline on an old wooden door. A Christmas rose dresses the hall, and a poinsettia casts its glow right up to Epiphany.
The studio’s masonry stove had already been painted forest green before the current residents moved in. The softly colored cabinet was found in excellent condition on Tori. Its golden details give it a refined look. Jarkko received the golden pothos as a cutting from a coworker. The hydrangeas are from the cottage.
Steep stairs lead to the upper floor, which was once an unheated attic. The previous owners converted it into living space. Today, the upstairs holds a small hall, the kids’ rooms, a toilet, and some storage.
Though the home is magical at Christmastime, in the past four years the family has spent Christmas Eve there only once—and it made an indelible memory. Traditional Finnish Christmas porridge was simmered on the kitchen’s wood-burning cookstove, and the holiday dishes were cooked in the warmth of the baking oven. The unrushed evening was capped off with a sauna in the yard.
Otherwise, Christmases have been spent with relatives at the couple’s parents’ homes—family-centered and in a big group, savoring the children’s joy. They still dream of those holidays when Christmas Eve will be spent in their own beloved home. Its time will come.
With its outbuildings, the log house is a little slice of winter paradise. In the yard stands a large shed building. The family’s sauna was moved here from elsewhere.
Firewood comes from the family’s land, and a few trees on their own lot have been felled as part of yard work.
The house has a beautifully proportioned facade. The green front door suits the ochre-yellow house, and the high-ceilinged porch adds presence to the entrance.
