Wreath whisperer

Christmas spirit fills this Finnish wooden home, adorned with Annika’s handmade evergreen decorations: “There must be candles everywhere”

Annika and Kalevi bought their wooden house when they were young and have completed many renovations. As Christmas approaches, Annika starts crafting wreaths and garlands and dresses the home with flowers and candles. You’ll find Annika’s ceiling wreath tutorial at the end of the story!

Author Annarina Yöntilä

Images Riitta Sourander

December 23, 2025Lue suomeksi

Annika and Kalevi’s home in the peaceful Kemiönsaari archipelago is steeped in the anticipation of Christmas. You can feel it even before you catch a glimpse of the light brown wooden house. Burning torches guide visitors through the moss-covered woods all the way to the front door.

Home: A wooden house built in 1959–1960 in Kemiö, Finland, on the island of Kemiönsaari; 5 rooms plus a hall, kitchen, 2 × WC, bathroom and sauna; 150 m² (about 1,615 square feet).

Who lives here: Annika Holmberg, 53, Kalevi (Kage), 55, and cats Sigge and Sigrid.

Follow on social: @fredricebo_upp_i_backen

Annika and Kalevi have shaped their home and yard over the years. The round metal sphere is an oil lantern from Härliga Hilma.

Annika, there are Christmas arrangements everywhere in your home. Are you a Christmas person?

Christmas is an inspiring time for me. When the kids were little, we had more decorations. I always made a gingerbread house and an elf forest where many different little elves lived. These days I decorate with natural materials, and I start gathering them early in the fall before the snow arrives. Sometimes winter surprises me and I end up scraping moss out from under the snow. The Christmas tree is important. It’s always real, and I scout it out already in the fall. I also make several wreaths and evergreen garlands. There must be candles everywhere.

I took a break from red for many years, but now it’s starting to feel inviting again. I want to curl up in a warm winter nest.

On the covered entry porch, Annika has gathered beautiful vessels filled with moss, apples, and cold-hardy bulb flowers.

You’ve blended new and old with ease. Where do you find objects and inspiration?

I love a soft, farmhouse style, seasoned with industrial elements. A friend of mine has an interior shop, and we take trips to Sweden together—there are so many interesting flea markets there. I find inspiration in magazines and on Instagram. I also browse online buy-and-sell sites, and nearly all our furniture is vintage. I choose the big pieces thoughtfully, but I don’t overthink the small finds.

From the living room there’s a view into the dining room. The double doors, found in an outbuilding on a neighboring farm, still have their original paint and add character to the whole floor. The lantern is from Härliga Hilma. The masonry stove was built in 1994, later refurbished and painted white. Lingonberry wreaths adorn the double doors.

All the Christmas meals are enjoyed in the light-filled dining room. Annika bought the old pine sideboard with a neo-renaissance feel from a friend. The tablecloth was ordered from Sweden, and Annika sewed the linen curtains herself—linen is her favorite material.

Annika loves setting a beautiful table. Little bottles with sprigs of lingonberry are delicate and don’t steal space from the plates and cutlery.

The dining room cabinet is a flea-market find. The plates are from IKEA, but the cutlery is old silver—Annika’s treasures. She bought the wine glasses from Härliga Hilma with a gift card she received from her workplace when she turned 50.

What’s the story of your house?

We bought this as twenty-somethings in 1994. Back then the house needed a lot of renovation. We started with the kitchen, living room and dining room. Over time we’ve worked through the house room by room and have already begun a second round. We use reclaimed materials in our projects, too: the wonderful double doors were found in an outbuilding on Kalevi’s brother’s farm. We fitted them into the opening between the living room and dining room when we remodeled that space for the second time in 2018. At the same time, Kalevi built plank floors for these rooms with lumber milled from our own timber. An old house always needs care.

”We ordered a new kitchen a couple of years ago, and I’m still completely smitten with it. All that long dreaming was worth it.”

Hyacinths thrive in glass vases when their bulb doesn’t touch the water. The gentle ring of the angel chimes can always be heard at Christmas from the top of the dining room cabinet.

Annika, the kitchen is one of the most important spaces for you. Tell us about it!

The kitchen is the heart of the home for me, and I spend a lot of time there. I love baking and cooking. During our first kitchen renovation, I didn’t have strong opinions about how it should look or work, but little by little my standards grew. I dreamed of a new kitchen for years. I planned, sketched and measured. Everything clicked when I saw a photo of my dream kitchen on Instagram. It was made by a company in Tammisaari that builds them on site. We ordered the new kitchen a couple of years ago, and I’m still completely smitten with it. All that long dreaming was worth it.

The kitchen cabinets are by Melinda Kök and were built on site. The oak-veneer doors are painted so that the wood grain shows through. The Linnea wallpaper is by Sandberg. For ease of care, we chose vinyl plank flooring. The countertops are laminate for budget reasons, but the material has proved to be a great choice for Annika, who bakes a lot.

A star made of recycled paper spreads soft light around the table. Annika ordered it from the Swedish interior shop Ängshem Inrederi. The tablecloth was sewn by Annika’s friend.

Homemade gingerbread with blue cheese and fig jam is the crowning touch for a mulled wine moment.

How do you spend Christmas?

We enjoy Christmas Eve breakfast early. I light candles and cook Christmas porridge on the wood-burning stove. Our daughters Elin and Sofie live in their own homes, but they often spend Christmas Eve with us. My sister and my father join us at the Christmas table, and often Kalevi’s mother is able to come, too. The following days we lounge. We may also visit my sisters for Christmas Day lunch. Christmas for us is a time of togetherness and rest.

There’s a cozy sitting area in the upstairs hall. Kalevi made the cabinet from old windows as a Mother’s Day gift for Annika. The spindle-back chair and little table are flea-market finds.

The bed invites you to rest, thanks to quilts by Danish brand Ib Laursen and a heap of pillows. It’s lovely to step barefoot onto the soft IKEA rug. The bench came from a friend who no longer needed it.

The cabinet that decorates the bedroom was found in a friend’s barn loft. The window frame came from Kalevi’s brother’s farm. The soft Christmas letters were a gift to Annika.

The kitten Sigrid got to sniff the outdoor air in Annika’s arms and marvel at the torches.

Annika searched for a long time for just the right ornate old iron bed and finally found it at a flea market. At Christmastime it’s dressed in evergreens, and in summer it’s full of flowers.

Make a striking wreath with Annika’s instructions

You can use a hula hoop as the base for the ceiling wreath.

Ceiling wreath from evergreens—supplies:

a large plastic ring (for example, a hula hoop)

duct tape

spruce boughs

thin wire

jute twine or silk ribbon

battery-operated string lights

Ceiling wreath from evergreens—instructions:

1. Start by wrapping the ring with duct tape if it feels too slick. This helps the bundles of greenery stay put.

2. Snip a generous amount of spruce boughs to a suitable length and tie it into lush bundles, for example with wire.

3. Attach the bundles around the hoop by wrapping wire, just as you would when making a wreath.

4. When the ring is covered densely enough, cut four lengths of jute twine or silk ribbon of the same size. Tie the hanging ties to the hoop at even intervals and join them together at the other end.

5. Finally, attach the string lights to the ceiling wreath.

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