From ruins to radiance

Leena bought a deserted house alone with five kids: “On first sight, I was faced with a leaning house and a drifting sauna roof”

The Rissa family’s home is a former deserted house in Kauhava, Finland. The renovation covered everything right down to the foundation. Before that, Leena and the children experienced a house fire. Thankfully, Leena met Jukka, and together they restored the old Kirmanen evacuee house to its full glory.

Author Laura Sychold

Images Mikko Kaaresmaa

November 6, 2025Lue suomeksi

Before finding her current home, you might have spotted Leena Rissa knocking on the doors of Ostrobothnian houses, explaining that she was interested in buying a place on their property. That’s how challenging it was for her large family to find a home in Ostrobothnia, close to her relatives. Leena wanted her children to enjoy the same countryside pleasures she’d had in her own childhood.

Eventually, Leena heard about a property near Kauhava known as the evacuee Kirmanen's house. It had been empty for a couple of decades, and no one had dared—or wanted—to buy it. Leena decided to take a chance.

Leena, Jukka, and Tessa Renko at the dining table. — In Leena and Jukka Rissa’s family are the children Nikolai, 15, Ilja, 13, Miska, 11, Meimi, 9, Aatos, 7, Ukko-Pekka, 3, and Tessa, 1, plus dogs Ninni Kettuli and Alpo. The photograph shows their youngest, Tessa. Leena and Jukka have shared life in a large family since 2017. Even though Leena bought the house before meeting Jukka, it has also become very special to him.

A dining table made from old planks and chairs in different colors. — Leena built the table herself from old floorboards. The chairs came from various places; one was found nailed to a wood workshop wall.

When you first went to see the house, what did you find?

The house was in disrepair, and you could barely see the yard because of the chest-high nettles. The building leaned slightly, there was half a meter (about 20 in) of water in the basement, and we found the sauna roof floating off when we walked around the property. I knew we were facing years—maybe decades—of restoration.

The house’s price was low, essentially just the lot’s value, so after getting advice, I decided to buy it. Although my country-living dream wasn’t entirely fulfilled by this place, I value that it’s on the village’s edge, close to the children’s school, and within walking distance of their grandparents. When I bought it, I was still alone with five children, so having my family close by was a huge help.

The Rissa family’s farmhouse kitchen-living area. — A wipe-clean faux-leather couch is practical for a family with kids. The sofa was rescued from the trash. We were drawn to the pretty color palette of the thrifted rya rug.

A window bench in the kitchen and old baby pram. — On the carpenter-made window bench lies a flea-market rag rug, and the curtains are Leena’s own design.

A rack on the log wall filled with fun bags. — The kitchen rack was found in a cabin woodshed. The bags are thrift-store purchases, and Leena sewed the backpacks herself. They’re often used for packing snacks on outings.

“Our home is filled with things that bring joy and a sense of security.”

A wood stove and enamel pots. — Almost every morning starts with Jukka lighting the Högfors wood-burning stove to make porridge. The stove handles most of the cooking, and it’s perfect for pizzas, buns, rolls, flatbreads, and casseroles. We only use the electric stove on extremely hot days.

A potholder collection found at a thrift store. — These potholders are only a few cents each from various flea markets. In this kitchen, nothing is purely decorative—both the retro pots and potholders are in daily use.

The turquoise-blue kitchen table rescued from the fire. — The table was a real patchwork: parts were salvaged from the fire, its legs extended with sofa legs, the tabletop rebuilt, and the frame reinforced. Old Miranol standard turquoise-blue was bold enough to cling to the charred wood.

A blue dish cabinet and kitchen table. — Isu—Grandma’s cousin—insisted Miska should have the blue cabinet. The 1950s chairs were found online.

After you bought the house, something terrible happened—tell us about that.

My plan was to work on the house bit by bit while we stayed in a rental. I had just settled into the rental and felt like life was finally running smoothly when, on a trip to the store, my grandmother—Isu—called to say the rental was on fire. The flames spread quickly, and almost nothing could be saved. Fortunately, the dogs and cat escaped in time.

It was a hard blow, but we had to keep going. We all moved into a tiny studio, and the Kirmanen house renovation started sooner than planned. People talk about how wonderful it is to start fresh, but in my case, that fresh start was a pile of ashes—there was nothing glamorous about it.

During the first summer, we tore out the floor and literally lifted the house one wall at a time with supports.

Leena and Tessa Renko. — Tessa enjoys a rare moment of Mom’s undivided attention while her older siblings are at school. You can follow the family on Instagram @leenarenko.

A wooden sofa painted blue. — Leena rescued her great-grandparents’ wooden sofa from the charred remains of the rental. It required four coats of paint before the soot stopped seeping through, and the smell finally went away. The armchair is Miska’s favorite spot, and the cushion is wrapped in a rug he wove himself. The rya rug echoes the room’s shades of blue.

An old radio and a collection of rubber toys. — The radio is a flea-market find repurposed into a clock. A group of rubber toys has gathered on top to ponder. The colors match a painting by Leena. She also saved the snake plant from the dump when a local school closed.

What did you end up renovating in the house?

In the first summer, we tore out the floors and literally lifted the house, one wall at a time, with supports. We replaced the old foundation and installed geothermal heating, updated the wiring and plumbing, and reinforced the footing of the 16-flue chimney, which had settled. Luckily, the roof and the log frame were in great condition.

My partner Jukka appeared in my life when I was renovating the interior. It was a brave move for him to join a single mother of five with a half-finished old house. We’ve tackled the rooms gradually, as time and money allow. Since the place once held four apartments, we removed the extra kitchens. We built a sauna in the yard building. Beyond Jukka, my family helped a lot—especially Isu and my dad, plus a couple of carpenter friends.

In the kitchen, nothing is purely decorative. Both the retro pots and potholders are used daily.

The living room’s rose-patterned rya rug and a log wall that once stood exposed to the weather. — From its weathered appearance, the house’s log frame must have been exposed to the elements back when it was built. It was simply brushed and vacuumed. Jukka gave Leena the rya rug as a gift. The wallpaper they bought from Tori was just enough—Leena did the calculations down to the millimeter. The pillows are thrift-store buys and donations.

A red armchair and a dark antique dresser in the Rissa family’s living room. — The wall mirror came from the attic of my childhood home’s storage shed. Leena finds its gently rippling reflection. The dresser was a bargain find in Helsinki. Ninni Kettuli has curled up for a nap in the armchair.

A collection of floral needlepoint pieces on the wall. — Floral needlepoint pieces arranged in a cluster look fresh and modern. Leena has adored flowers since she was young. She once dreamed of becoming either a florist or an engineer.

You found reminders of the past, too—tell us about those.

We mostly stumbled upon empty liquor bottles, but there was more. In the attic, we found what looked like one woman’s entire life: a dress, strap shoes, four coffee cups, flour, salt, and heart medication. In the barn, we dug up old magazines, and under the floor, we discovered composition notebooks from 1948. The name in those notebooks helped me track down the writer in Naantali, so I sent the nostalgic items to her.

I’m sure the evacuees who lived here missed their homes after being forced to leave. I feel deep empathy for them, and I truly understand the sadness that comes from losing a home.

A colorful children’s room with a floral rug and painted wooden furniture. — This vibrant room is shared by the youngest children. The painted table was saved from a dumpster. Leena and the kids built the stools from leftover boards, then painted them. The rugs were also rescued from a dumpster in Helsinki—they were filthy, but a thorough pressure wash revived them.

Throw pillows in the children’s room featuring patterns designed by Leena Rissa. — The children’s room features a beautifully wood-grained sofa discovered through a dumpster-diving group. The orange “Paratiisin puutarha”, “Omenankukka”, “Kettu” sewn into a fox plush, and the orange-black-and-white “Karkulainen Karkkimaassa” are Leena’s own prints. The cat pillow by Mirja Vänni was snapped up at a flea market.

Artwork and drawings above a metal-framed bed. — Leena’s paintings hang on the children’s room wall alongside Aatos’s drawings and coloring pages.

The wall behind the turquoise piano is filled with paintings by Leena Rissa. — These paintings are Leena’s work. The family got the piano through a local giveaway group on Facebook after Leena mentioned her son Ilja’s Christmas wish—he is the family’s main pianist.

A doll collection on the children’s room wooden sofa, backed by a traditional Guardian Angel image. — Ever since the fire, Leena has been picking up angel paintings from thrift stores.

Ever since the fire, Leena has been picking up angel paintings from thrift stores.

Your home is wonderfully colorful. How did you decide on this style?

I’m a textile designer by trade, continuing my family’s crafting legacy since my grandfather’s mother supported herself by weaving. I also love painting, which helps me process past traumas and fears. Our home is filled with various artworks and interior textiles. I decorate with secondhand finds, handmade items, and creations from people I care about, plus dumpster rescues. I want the children’s artwork to be on display, too.

Our home is filled with things that bring joy and a sense of security—cheerful colors, soft materials, and the freedom for the kids to build blanket forts. Jukka and I tackle projects side by side, and our favorite saying is, “It’s fine once your eyes adjust,” followed by laughter that makes our stomachs ache.

Leena Rissa painting a picture. — Painting is an important way for Leena to unwind. She also adores children’s books and their imaginative visuals.

Ilja’s room, featuring a bold rainbow fabric on the wall. — Ilja lost his collection of rabbits in the fire and has been slowly rebuilding it. He picked the teaching chart at a school-closure auction. He wears a national costume vest for concert performances. The rainbow fabric was a flea-market treasure.

The parents’ bedroom gallery wall with fascinating heirlooms. — In the parents’ room, Leena removed the headboards from a bed frame destined for the burn pile. The tall case clock on the table was crafted by her grandfather.

On the bedside table, the “Youthful Memories” carving given to Leena by Jukka. — The “Nuoruusmuostoja” (“Youthful Memories”) wood carving on the bedside table was a gift from Jukka, a reminder that once the children are older, they’ll have more time together—just the two of them.

A single-family house built in 1951 in Kauhava. — Many years have passed since the evacuee Kirmanen won this house at auction. Built in 1951, this single-family home in Kauhava found new life through renovation. It has eight rooms plus a kitchen, totaling about 200 square meters (2,150 sq ft).

Design & Decoration Log House Colorful Interior Homes

Most recent