Sea views meet concrete brutalism—a family home with swimming and kayaking just steps away from the front door

Graphic designer Jussi Karjalainen and his family live in Merihaka, Helsinki, in a brutalist concrete complex from the 1970s. From their balcony, they can see across the water all the way to Korkeasaari Zoo, and they can swim or kayak right outside the front door.

“When we came to see the apartment and noticed the sea view from the living room, our entire family was sold. Through the windows, we could see the old buildings of the Kruununhaka and Katajanokka districts, the sailboats at the Pohjoisranta marina, and the lush greenery of Tervasaari and Korkeasaari islands. We never imagined we could live in a home with such a view.

For Jussi, originally from Kajaani, it’s a major perk to be able to walk from home to both downtown Helsinki and his studio in Kallio. The balcony is one of his favorite places in the apartment. “The best things about our home are the light, the view, and the location. Every season looks great from our balcony, even those sleety November days,” Jussi says.

The summer of 2018 was scorching, and we spent it renovating. We tore down the bumpy fiber wallpaper in a sweaty rush. We removed the old kitchen and replaced it with Veikko’s room, then moved the kitchen to connect with the living room. I’ve always preferred a separate kitchen, but in this home, the combined living room-kitchen works very well. We brought in Solmu Design, run by our friends Kasper Tammela and Elina Warsta. We wanted the kitchen to look as little like a kitchen as possible, since it’s so visible. That wish was perfectly fulfilled. Elina chose the bright yellow from our building’s façade and stairwells, and the brown hue came from our oak dining table. The result is like a playful puzzle, and the kitchen is now the heart of our home.

Maija, Anja, and Jussi love spending time in the kitchen designed by their friend, Kasper Tammela. Jussi and Maija wanted it to look as little like a standard kitchen as possible, which is why it has no upper cabinets. The oak table was made by Willem Heeffer, who took inspiration from old school chairs.

The countertop in the kitchen is 80 centimeters deep. The lamps are by Lisa Johansson-Pape. Above the counter, the wall is like an art gallery. The largest piece is by Jenni Rope. To its left is a work by illustrator and graphic designer Erkki Tanttu.

The bookshelf continues into the kitchen cabinets. The floors had just been varnished when the family moved in. They found the Kartell Componibili storage unit secondhand in a Facebook recycling group. On top of it are ceramic figures by Elina Warsta.

We’ve barely bought any furniture new. I love having items with a story behind them. Our coffee table is made from a nautical chart we found one summer night about 20 years ago while walking home from a bar. It was lying on the street, and after checking to see if anyone would claim it, we carried it home.

Jussi and Maija’s friend, designer Willem Heeffer, came up with the idea for open shelving in the entryway. He figured you shouldn’t walk straight into the living room from the front door. The shelving also creates a cozy nook for the sofa. It was designed to fit the La Boheme lamp, which Jussi inherited from his aunt, originally designed by Heikki Turunen. Plants thrive there, too.

They found their leather sofa at a vintage store called Roomage and the brass floor lamp in a friend’s attic. Above the sofa hang two pieces by their friend, Pauliina Mäkelä, which Jussi and Maija fell in love with during Mäkelä’s first exhibition at Napa Gallery. They became the couple’s first major art purchases. The rug is from Foreign Objects in Helsinki.

The coffee table’s top is made from an old nautical chart, most likely salvaged from a ship that once sailed in the Kvarken region of the Gulf of Bothnia.

Art brings color and variety into our home. I work as a graphic designer, and many of our friends are visual and creative people. Most of the pieces on our walls were done by friends and acquaintances. Finnish artists Pauliina Mäkelä, Jenni Rope and Kati Rapia are longtime friends of ours, and it means a lot to have their work in our home.

The bedroom’s head wall is lined with bookshelves. Jussi designs many book covers, so the shelves hold quite a few of his projects. His desk is another repurposed find: it used to serve as the dining table in their previous home. Jussi’s mother bought it at a flea market for him and Maija. He would love to have a glass desk, but that’s one style choice on which he and Maija disagree. The IKEA office chair came from a recycling center.

Jussi and Maija looked high and low for a beautiful bedspread until Maija found a floral one at a thrift shop.

Veikko, who plays soccer, has covered his walls with football posters. One wall is painted with chalkboard paint.

When Anja got her own room, she turned her walls into collage space, with her own drawings, other people’s illustrations, fashion magazine clippings, and even a ticket from a concert by The Cure. Her guiding principle is that there can’t be too many colors or images.

The bathroom still has its original 1974 tiling, the same bright yellow used on the building’s façade and in its stairwells. A plumbing renovation is on the horizon, and Jussi and Maija hope they can find similar tiles for the new bathroom.

The Merihaka district stirs mixed opinions. Built in the 1970s and ’80s, it isn’t everyone’s favorite. The idea was to provide an affordable downtown Helsinki address for residents of different income levels, right by the sea. The roads and parking garage are tucked beneath the courtyard deck, so there are no cars in sight. It’s especially convenient for children.

In Merihaka, cars stay under the courtyard deck, leaving the courtyards and parks for pedestrians and bikes.

The view captured the family’s attention the moment they first walked in. You can see all the way to Korkeasaari from the balcony. In this photo, you can spot Katajanokka’s old buildings, the Tervasaari island, and the Pohjoisranta marina.

We can go for a swim right outside the building. We also picked up a kayak for paddling trips. The same view that amazed us on our first visit still leaves us speechless. We don’t have a traditional TV, and why would we, when our living room has a huge screen that’s always showing an ever-changing sea vista?