Back in Finland

This Australian family’s Artek table has crossed continents: “For family life, Finland is the best”

Hannah and Andy like Finland so much that they moved here twice. Art and a surfboard remind them of their homeland on the other side of the globe.

Author Anna Varakas

Images Anna Riikonen

January 26, 2026Lue suomeksi

This table has seen the world! Alvar Aalto was familiar to Hannah from her childhood home, and the couple bought an Artek table during their first stint living in Finland. The extendable table has since traveled with them from one continent to another. “This will remain our family dining table no matter where we live,” Hannah says.

Our home: A rental in a 1911 Art Nouveau building in Töölö, Helsinki. Open-plan kitchen + dining area + living room; 2 bedrooms + a study/walk-in closet; 117 m² (1,260 square feet).

Who lives here: Innovation designer, influencer Hannah Lewis, start-up entrepreneur Andy Farquharson and children Winnie and Fred.

Follow on social: @hannahisinhelsinki

How did you end up in Finland?

Hannah: We moved to Helsinki in 2024. We had actually lived here once before, when I worked at Finnair. Then we moved to the United States, but there we realized just how much we liked Finland and came back. Andy wanted to start his own company and applied for a start-up visa.

We already knew Töölö, but this apartment wasn’t at the top of our wish list at first. The listing photos were poor, and there wasn’t even a floor plan, but we went to see it anyway. We fell for the old building’s atmosphere, the ceiling height, and the light.

Hannah and Andy fell for the home’s light and the sightlines that flow from one room to the next. Beside the sofa is a surfboard painted with chalkboard paint for writing messages. Hannah and Andy began building a shared art collection early in their relationship.

What do you think of the lifestyle here?

Hannah: I love it! But I think we also had the right mindset. We wanted to settle in here, and it’s paid off. Andy has even taken part in the Finlandia Ski Marathon, and our friends say he’s more Finnish than they are.

For family life, I think Finland is the best place. In Australia, as a mother you’re expected to perform at your job as if you didn’t have children. In Finland, family and work life are in balance. Thanks to the welfare-state safety net, poverty, crime, and homelessness aren’t as big issues as in the United States.

“Andy has even taken part in the Finlandia Ski Marathon, and our friends say he’s more Finnish than they are.”

Andy: We go to the cottage in summer and skiing in winter. Most of our friends are Finnish. I value the safety and quality of life here. Housing and eating out are expensive, but museums are inexpensive, and nature is easy to reach. Here you can enjoy life to the fullest without paying a fortune for it. Once you get a social security number and a bank account, everything works!

The sauna whisk-themed piece by CJ Hendry was a gift from the grandparents to Fred, who was born in Finland. The photograph shows Bondi Beach, where Hannah and Andy celebrated their wedding. The couple bought the sofa set in the United States, and the orange armchairs were originally purchased secondhand.

Three identical wheeled Ikea carts serve as the kitchen’s work surface. Hannah spotted the colorful painting on the wall, by the Spanish artist Albert Madaula, on Instagram. “The piece divides opinion—people either like it or hate it,” Hannah says. Hannah bought the wooden kuksa cups for outdoors-loving Andy as a Father’s Day gift, and they go along on the family’s outings.

What have you noticed about Finnish homes?

Andy: The first difference shows up right in the entryway. In Finland you take off your shoes, and you need a place to hang your coat. The bathrooms are completely different, too. Here, the whole room is a wet space, and the shower isn’t necessarily separated much from the rest of the room. In Australia, the shower area is its own room. We’re not as bad as the Brits, though, who put wall-to-wall carpet in the bathroom.

Hannah: In Australia, it’s common for families with children to get a big house and a backyard and move far from the city center. In Finland, families are much more creative in their solutions. Every child doesn’t necessarily need their own room, and sometimes even a corner of a room is enough.

The kids share one big room. The 2CV painting was done by Hannah’s father. The ride-on car is by the French toy maker Vilac. Fred is excited about cars, bikes, and trucks.

What role does art play in your home?

Hannah: Even though the walls and the countries we’ve lived in have changed, the feeling of home has stayed the same because we’ve carried our belongings and artworks with us. Instead of more typical souvenir purchases, we buy art, and many pieces come with a story or a memory.

Andy: I believe art inspires children. They see colors, different ways of expressing things, and something playful that makes them laugh. I like Aboriginal art from Australia. The use of color and small dots creates striking contrasts.