A tiny journey through time: inside a nostalgic 20-square-meter cottage

Five years ago, Elisa Moisio was browsing Tori.fi, a popular Finnish online flea market, looking for an old sheet metal wardrobe. When she searched “sheet metal,” a tiny cottage suddenly appeared on the screen. It was love at first sight.

The 1930s cottage is located in Kemiönsaari, Finland, where Elisa spends her holidays with her spouse Jukka Moisio and Netta the cat.

Elisa loves the cozy, grandmotherly feel of the cottage, the wild garden around it, and its location in the beautiful Kemiönsaari.

What do you know about the cottage’s history?

The house was built in the 1930s by a woman named Alma, who lived there until her death. Occasionally her sister and the sister’s daughter also lived with her. The next owner had the cottage for 30 years, and then we came along.

What kind of renovations have you done here?

We have mostly managed with minor surface renovations. The kitchen has seen the most changes: we removed the plastic flooring and painted the wooden floor underneath gray.

We painted the lower part of the walls blue and the upper part white, with a border in between. We tore out some of the kitchen cabinets, and the remaining ones we painted and fitted with new handles. The room in the woodshed was paneled and converted into a guest room. We also built a new outhouse in the garden. My husband Jukka did all the renovations, while I chose the colors.

The kitchen cabinets got a new coat of paint and handles during the renovation.

The vintage items are a reminder of how different cooking and housework used to be.

This cabinet, purchased from an online auction, is the central piece of the main room. It holds beautiful dishes and very old Easter and Christmas decorations.

A cute shelf keeps the spice jars organized.

Elisa loves old blue and white ceramics, and the color scheme of the main room was inspired by the dishes. The walls were also painted in two colors, with a border bought from an online flea market attached in between.

The main room leads to the bedroom.

The wooden floor revealed under the plastic mat was painted gray.

Is there living space in the attic?

Not at the moment, because the room we have here is enough for us. So, the attic is empty, except for an absolutely gorgeous old wooden bed. However, we can’t get it out of there without breaking it or dismantling some of the wall. It’s a complete mystery to us how it was ever taken up there!

What principles guided you when decorating?

I wanted to make Alma’s cottage look like what it might have during her youth. The kitchen has lots of blue and white because I love old blue and white dishes. I chose the colors of the bedroom based on the wonderful yellow cabinet and the authentic cork flooring from Alma’s time.

The stunning floor in the bedroom is the original cork flooring chosen by Alma. The color scheme of the room was inspired by it and the cabinet.

The cast-iron garden furniture provides a playfully light contrast to the sturdy school cabinet.

Elisa had to buy the rose-patterned tray because the decorative painting amazingly repeats all the colors and patterns of the bedspread.

What especially charms Elisa about the art nouveau chest of drawers in the bedroom is the beveled mirror.

The cozy glass porch is perfect for relaxing in the summer. The glass bunny artwork in the window was something Elisa had admired at her sister’s place, so the joy was immense when she found it in a housewarming gift package. Later, it turned out that the creator of the artwork, artist Sara Ilveskorpi, lived just a couple of kilometers from the cottage. So, Elisa simply had to order a crow piece to accompany the bunny.

There is plenty to see on the glass porch, as is in the whole home.

Elisa made this table from a sewing machine base and a metal doormat.

The cottage has two rooms and 20 square meters of living space. In addition, there is a sauna, woodshed, outdoor storage, and an outhouse in the garden.

Did the cottage come with any furniture?

No. On the contrary, I asked the previous residents to hand over the cottage empty because I wanted to realize my own vision in the decor.

Where are your furnishings from?

The furniture is mainly from online auctions and flea markets. The absolutely lovely yellow cabinet in the bedroom was already in our storage, waiting for the right place.

A local man complimented the gray cabinet in the kitchen, saying it looks like it has always been there. I bought it from an online auction without considering its size at all, and it was a matter of millimeters that we managed to get it standing.

The sauna is as small as a playhouse, but that doesn’t lessen the experience.

The couple paneled and furnished the room adjoining the woodshed to turn it into a guest room.

In the outhouse, you can read poems and books about plants and cats. The previous cottage also had an outhouse book—a thick notebook filled with words of wisdom about life scribbled by visitors.

Do you customize or restore furniture?

Just enough to make them the desired color. Jukka does the work here as well, and I choose the color.

Who made the numerous patchworks in the cottage?

I’ve sewn all the textiles here myself. I enjoy handicrafts and I’m a classroom teacher by profession, specializing in teaching crafts.

Jukka has carried out all the renovations in the cottage. He likes woodworking anyway.

The summer kitchen in the garden is built from two IKEA metal tables. It has a grill and a small gas stove, on which the couple of course fries lots of pancakes.

At the cottage, the residents naturally prefer to eat outdoors.

The garden is also decorated with old items.

Cottage life at its best: a coffee break in the garden.

The lovely little cottage is Elisa and Jukka’s summer paradise.