Akseli Aro works as a tattoo artist and Piia Keto as an illustrator. Auku is also interested in drawing. The family’s home is in a 1950s apartment building in Hermanni, Helsinki. It is 71.5 square meters, with three rooms and a kitchen.
Piia, you’ve painted murals in the children’s room and the bedroom. How did they come about?
For quite a while, our homes were rather cautious, with monochrome walls. We were thinking it would be easier to sell the home if needed. But then I thought, what am I thinking—if I want to do something to my home, I will. A mural is easy to paint over, and every resident makes their home their own anyway.
Where do you get your inspiration for drawing?
Many of my ideas come from the subconscious. My childhood has a significant influence on what I draw. I had the opportunity to grow up in Verla, an environment that fostered imagination. It’s a mill village with an old cardboard factory. There was an abundance of stories, ghost tales, a magnificent garden, and history.
Piia drew the checkered pattern on the wall with a paint marker freehand, giving the lines a lively character. The base color is white with a hint of mauve. The reversible bedspread is from Hay. Erik Bruun’s ‘Head of Eagle Owl’ poster, which they bought together a decade ago, was their first shared artwork.
Piia made the ceramic hands and eye herself. She believes that hands reveal a person’s character—what they do with their hands and what they take hold of. The theme also connects to tattoos. The lamp on the stool is a recycled find by Akseli’s mother.
Piia painted the mural in Auku’s room directly onto the wall with a brush. She found it liberating to work on such a large surface. The orange polka-dot sheets are from H&M.
The dining set, designed by Kerstin Hörlin-Holmquist for Asko, is from Piia’s childhood home. Piia sanded the table down to bare wood and reupholstered the chairs with fabric found at a flea market. The wool rug is inherited from Akseli’s grandparents. The Habitat sofa was bought from a friend and is in constant use. The family dreams of a sofa bed that could accommodate overnight guests.
Piia assembled the bookshelf from parts she found at flea markets. Not all the parts necessarily even belong to the same series, but the similarly toned wood and the black frame make the ensemble cohesive.
The armchair was purchased from Vintage Rosalita in Kouvola. It was meant for the workroom but ended up staying in the living room. The large artwork by Anneli Qveflander was inherited. The basket contains Sarwa Yoga products featuring a pattern designed by Piia and Akseli.
Are you and Akseli similar or different in your approach to decorating?
Our home is a combination of both of us. But perhaps I’m a bit more interested in how our home looks, and I make our interior purchases. Akseli likes the same kind of furniture as I do and voices his opinion when something doesn’t please his eye.
The dish cabinet is an old piece of children’s furniture from Akseli’s mother’s childhood home. On the shelf, there are plates from the Piilopaikka tableware series, which Piia designed for Arabia. The coffee cups in the corner of the shelf are ceramics made by Piia.
The kitchen was acquired entirely secondhand and modified to suit the family’s needs. Piia found a yellow stool in a dumpster to accompany the red one, and it awaits a makeover. The artwork on the wall is a painting by Olli Kilpi.
Piia fell in love with the glass partition between the hallway and living room. Furniture that they’ve had for a long time brings a sense of home. On the end wall hangs a work by Anneli Qveflander.
Piia, what kind of items do you like?
I like the vintage vibe. Most of our furniture has been bought or received secondhand. They already have marks and dents. It feels like the furniture had a life before us, and now they’re continuing it with us, which is wonderful.
Where do you find your items?
Flea markets are my hobby. We all like them, but Akseli and Auku browse quickly, whereas I like to dig around. Recently, I found a beautiful wooden candlestick which, based on pencil markings, is homemade. Old handicrafts often have inscriptions that tell where, in what year, and by whom they were made.
Almost all the home’s furniture and objects were acquired secondhand.
Auku has also become enthusiastic about drawing and has found his own style. His other hobbies include ball games, and basketball has captured his heart in particular. The animal-themed artworks on the wall are souvenirs.
Piia, why do you prefer to buy old things?
There’s plenty of stuff in the world, so you can find everything secondhand. Acquiring them is affordable, and the items have stories and ambiance. Living with secondhand objects is also more carefree—you don’t have to constantly worry about them. I think it’s nice if I can upholster the chairs myself or fix a broken leg. I’m a handywoman and want to put my own soul into things by making them myself.
The home of Piia, Akseli, and Auku is protected by the Finnish Heritage Agency. The apartment is on the first floor, and when he was younger, Auku would go to the courtyard through the living room window. Nowadays, friends come to get him by knocking on the window. It reminds Piia of Pippi Longstocking’s carefree way of life.
