Peek inside a vintage Christmas home in the countryside: “It feels like stepping into a photo taken a hundred years ago”
In this farm steward's house built at the turn of the last century, Christmas is celebrated in an old-fashioned style, complete with traditional decorations. Nestled beside a field in the Häme countryside in southern Finland, it’s home to a father, a mother, and their young daughter. The Christmas Eve feast table is laid out well in advance, ensuring plenty of time to savor the festivities, nibble gingerbread cookies, and sip piping-hot cocoa.
Snow drifts closer to the old wooden house, arriving in small, sporadic flakes before it intensifies, blanketing the Häme countryside so thoroughly that the horizon vanishes. Yet the house at the field’s edge, sheltered by sturdy maples, remains clearly visible with warm lights twinkling in its windows.
Candles glow in the dining room, and soon the glass veranda will be filled with lanterns and tealights. The door is slightly ajar, inviting you inside.
You’re greeted by the warm aroma of cinnamon and clove from gingerbread cookies, mingling with the spice of a scented candle. Everything is nearly ready for Christmas Eve—a tradition in this home that begins well ahead of time.
All sense of time fades when you spend Christmas in this traditional setting, far from traffic and noise.
Built in the early 1900s, a family of three with a young child now comfortably lives in this farm steward's home. The large house encompasses many rooms, each one crowned with a finely paneled ceiling that rises impressively high.
On holiday mornings, the day starts in the rustic kitchen, where breakfast is laid out at dawn by the warmth of the wood-burning stove. While their daughter still sleeps, the adults sometimes can’t resist nibbling a few bites in advance. At Christmas, a little indulgence is always welcome whenever the mood strikes.
After breakfast, they venture outdoors for fresh air, then return to the veranda for cocoa, gingerbread cookies, and rosy-cheeked apples. Later, everyone gathers around a large dining table set with the same blue-and-white Davenport dishes used in many past Christmases, even in previous generations. They linger over a fish-based meal for hours by candlelight.
Finally, they move on to the living room for gift-giving, lazing by the crackling fireplace until the day quietly turns into the next.
In this home, the colors of Christmas remain the same year after year: red, green, and a shimmer of silver.
These Christmas decorations have been assembled by the family’s good friend Elina Siltanen-Sjöberg. As an interior architect, Elina is known among her friends for her flair for ambiance and style, and they frequently seek her decorating expertise.
In this bright, classically furnished home, Elina has arranged basketfuls of red and green in the form of flowers and evergreens, rather than just ornaments. From the stair banister to the entryway mirror and various floral arrangements, she has hung greenery and eucalyptus branches everywhere.
Elina loves green in every hue, which is why she has trimmed even the living room chandelier with muted green eucalyptus leaves.
For Christmas flowers, Elina favors traditional British choices like paperwhites, tazettas, and carnations. One vase in the center of the dining table features a surprising burst of white lilac branches, while another holds skimmia and bright red roses.
There are only a few true Christmas ornaments, mainly hanging from the Christmas tree and as singular highlights. However, ribbons abound, having been tied from silk and velvet to everything—from the tree’s peak to wreaths, lamp stands, and door handles.
It feels like stepping into a photo taken a hundred years ago. Such is the magic of Christmas.
The home is filled with bows that are easy to tie from satin or other strips of fabric.
