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Island escape on the Bothnian Bay

Boundless creativity at Eki and Marita’s island retreat: driftwood pergola edges, fishing-net decor, and more

Sauna sessions, boating, and ceramic design! Marita and Eki’s paradise on Selkäsaari island in the Bothnian Bay invites them to savor the maritime atmosphere and pursue their favorite hobbies.

October 11, 2025Lue suomeksi

Marita Kumpulainen and Eki Nikkanen’s island cottage on Selkäsaari in Kemi’s outer archipelago and the yard
The main cabin was built in 2013, and its spacious glass-enclosed terrace serves as a second living room.

The midsummer sun blazes down from a cloudless sky above the Bothnian Bay. Waves gently lap the shore, where grasses sway in the breeze. We’re in Kemi’s outer archipelago on Selkäsaari Island, which has welcomed summer visitors for decades to enjoy the southwestern Lapland sea air.

In the past, Selkäsaari was known as a summer paradise for wealthy residents of Kemi. Marita Kumpulainen and Eki Nikkanen’s current cottage lot also once housed the local pharmacist’s summer cabin.

“The island also has a dark past. In 1918, it was used as an execution site for the Reds after the Finnish Civil War,” Eki says.

The kota and other buildings on Selkäsaari in the Kemi archipelago
An old, weathered rowboat has found a new use as an herb bed.
The terrace of Marita and Eki’s island cottage and a view of the sea
During the summer, coffee and meals are enjoyed in the sunshine on the terrace—naturally on Marita’s handmade tableware. “Usually I craft precise ceramics, but sometimes I want a rough, almost haphazard style. Plenty of glaze came off the plates and cups during firing, so the colors appeared only then.”

Us: Marita Kumpulainen, 63, and Eki Nikkanen, 69, plus their smooth-haired dachshund Muru. Marita works as a dental hygienist, and Eki is a retired pharmaceutical salesman.

Cottage: Started in 2013, the Villa Merelle complex includes the main cottage, a kitchen cottage, a guest cabin, a sauna, a smoke sauna, a pergola serving as a summer kitchen, and an outhouse.

Where: On Selkäsaari in the Bothnian Bay, just off Kemi.

The living room of Marita and Eki's island cottage and a view of the sea
Selkäsaari is right off Kemi’s inner harbor, adjacent to Bothnian Bay National Park.
Marita Kumpulainen and Eki Nikkanen by their island cottage’s shore on Selkäsaari, with a dachshund in their arms
Eki, Marita, and their dachshund Muru visit Selkäsaari year-round.

A five-kilometer (3.1-mile) long and one-kilometer (0.6-mile) wide island is home to around seventy summer cottages, thoughtfully arranged in three rows stretching from the shore toward the island’s center.

“Unfortunately, some of the older cottages have stood empty for years, without summer residents,” Eki says.

Marita and Eki, along with their family, have been retreating on Selkäsaari since 2012. The cottage gets plenty of use, as they visit year-round. Their adult children and families sometimes join them, and the atmosphere buzzes with activity when the grandchildren, ages 7 to 19, come by.

“Friends visit us from Kemi and farther afield, both for the day and overnight. We also enjoy spending summer evenings with our close neighbors,” Eki says.

Inside Marita and Eki’s island cottage: a wooden shelf on the wall with old dishes
The sea washed a small cabinet ashore. After Marita sanded and treated it, it found a perfect spot on the summer kitchen wall. The onion jar is also Marita’s handiwork.
A string of lights hung above the sauna window in Marita and Eki’s island cottage
Solar-powered lamps hang from a piece of driftwood perched above the sauna window.

Getting to the cottage couldn’t be easier, according to Marita and Eki. They live right by the marina in Kemi, and the boat ride to the cottage takes only ten minutes in summer. In winter, the journey is slightly longer on foot or by snowmobile.

Eki finds the cottage a refreshing contrast to apartment living during the winter months.

“There’s always something to do, and the daily tasks require time in a different way than they do in the city. We live a fairly minimal life here, with fewer modern comforts.”

There’s also plenty going on, thanks to the active Selkäsaari Association, which hosts summer events and brings cottage owners together. Marita says that each summer they celebrate a Selkäsaari Day and hold a fishing competition.

“Inspired by that, Eki and I took up fishing as a shared hobby.”

cork net floats hanging on display
The floats on the nets are made of real cork.
A fishing net used as wall décor inside the cottage
Once the old fishing nets had been thoroughly cleaned, Marita and Eki hung them on the cottage wall as decorations.
A dachshund and patio furniture on Marita and Eki’s island cottage terrace
“The truth is, we mostly putter around each doing our own thing.”
Eki

The couple’s days revolve around heating the sauna, making firewood, and other cottage chores.

“The truth is, we mostly putter around each doing our own thing. Marita decorates and cooks, while I thin the forest,” Eki says with a laugh.

“We do split firewood together using the log splitter, and we sauna-bathe and fish together.”

For Marita, the cottage is not just a relaxing break from work but also a place to plan her ceramic projects, which she creates during winter at the adult education center. Many functional and decorative pieces here have been shaped by her skillful hands, from cups and plates to serving dishes.

“I decorate the cottage and garden with ceramics I make. In the summer, I plan what I’ll craft the following winter. It’s a hobby that means a lot to me.”

Because of her talent for crafts, the yard is filled with unique items. You’ll find a bird water basin and a holder for mosquito coils in the garden, and on the sauna’s rocks, ceramic hedgehogs and water lilies meant for adding sauna scents.

A ceramic container made by Marita for mosquito coils, displayed on a wooden stand
A ceramic bird drinking bowl made by Marita for the cottage on Selkäsaari
Marita designed and created this large ceramic bird bowl.
Ceramic sauna flowers made by Marita on the sauna’s stove
The ceramic sauna hedgehogs and water lilies on the heater are also Marita’s handiwork. You can pour sauna fragrances onto them.
A ceramic lighthouse created by Marita
Marita’s ceramic lighthouse blends beautifully with the maritime scenery. She formed it from multiple sections using a coiling technique, then joined them after glazing.

The cottage setting has evolved over time. First, in 2012, the couple built Villa Piccolo to have a place to spend the night, and it now serves as a guest cabin. The next year, they built the main cottage, followed by the kitchen cottage.

“We wanted a separate kitchen so cooking wouldn’t happen in the same building where we sleep. If there are many people at the cottage, you can make your morning coffee whenever you like,” Marita explains.

Practical convenience is enhanced by the kitchen cottage’s spacious terrace, accessible through double doors. There’s room for a large dining table, and the stove and fridge run on gas. The kitchen cottage is usable year-round, kept warm by a radiant heater in winter. Electricity is supplied by a windmill and two solar panels on the main cottage’s roof.

“That gives us enough electricity for lights, the TV, and charging our phones,” Eki says.

You can also cook and wash dishes in the pergola built by the shore in 2018. Because the wind can be strong coming off the sea, glass and plexiglass were installed later as wind protection.

“We covered the pergola in driftwood we found on Laitakari Island, using those beach treasures to decorate the interior, too,” Eki notes.

Marita and Eki’s summer kitchen at their island cottage with a sea view
In summer, cooking and dishwashing happen in the pergola, which offers a spectacular view of the sea. The pancake pan and other utensils dangle from an old driftwood branch that washed onto the shore.
Marita and Eki’s island cottage on Selkäsaari in Kemi’s outer archipelago and the yard
The pergola by the shore is clad in beautifully weathered wood pieces gathered from Laitakari Island.
Marita Kumpulainen in the summer kitchen on Selkäsaari in Kemi’s outer archipelago
The sauna at Marita and Eki’s island cottage on Selkäsaari
The summer sauna has been treated with iron oxide. Marita and Eki sauna-bathe nearly every day they’re at the cottage.

The sea plays a huge role in their cottage life overall. Out here, the sun and wind feel different than they do on the mainland, and a thunderstorm or gale can arrive swiftly. The water level also changes dramatically on the island.

“When the water rises and falls, the shoreline can shift by up to 3 meters (9.8’),” Eki notes.

He was previously involved in the Kemi Sea Rescue Association and hopes to spend more time boating soon.

“We’ll have fewer projects in the future, so we’ll have time to head over to nearby Pensaskari or Sansker on the Swedish side.”

The couple has come to know Selkäsaari’s natural wonders in detail, especially Marita, who enjoys foraging for berries and mushrooms. Everything that matters most to them—forest, water, and sauna—is just steps away here.

“And nothing beats a night’s sleep in a log cabin,” Eki says with a smile.

A ceramic basin made by Marita and a metal water container at the wash station
This ceramic enthusiast’s cottage even has a homemade ceramic washbasin in the outhouse. Eki built a stand for it.
The terrace of Marita and Eki’s island cottage with various planter boxes
Ceramic labels for herbs on a wooden deck
Flowers and edible plants flourish in many spots around the property. In the vegetable patch, Marita has placed ceramic name tags for the herbs.
Marita and Eki’s dachshund Muru in the boat
Drinking and household water is brought in from the city.

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