Irene turned her home entirely blue: “My biggest fear is the ordinary”

“What I fear most in interior design is the ordinary. I can’t stand white walls at all. I purchased my former rental apartment in 2019 for myself and my daughter. I named it “Naakanpesä”, jackdaw's nest, and wanted to renovate it to reflect my own style, focusing on a unique color scheme.

I chose blue, even though I’d never used it in my homes before and it wasn’t my favorite color. I wanted something different yet tranquil.

Blue had also made a comeback from the 1990s around the time I renovated the apartment. I came across it, for instance, on Pinterest, and the Finnish paint brand Tikkurila chose shade Cumulus as the 2021 color of the year. I painted the kitchen and living room walls with it. The bedroom is blue all the way up to the ceiling, creating a calming, nest-like vibe.

Around the same time, I went through a strong retro phase and was into fiberglass furniture from the 1960s and 1970s. I had red plastic chairs, and I absolutely wanted them to fit in with the home. The color scheme began to come together as I browsed Facebook Marketplace and Tori, where I found suitable items. I paired blue with orange and red.

The kitchen cabinets are painted in Tikkurila’s Ara shade. “I always carry color charts with me,” Irene says.

Irene is delighted with her carefully curated tableware that match the interior design. “Typically, an Airbnb home might only have a couple of forks and a single wine glass, but I also have drink and cocktail glasses—all in blue or red.” The table is a DIY creation, made from three sand-filled casting tubes.

I don’t have an absolute color sense or training that would help me distinguish a cool shade from a warm one. I trust my own eye. Somehow it has always worked and received praise. Naakanpesä turned out lovely, and the beautiful surroundings also provided great photos for social media.

I will never live with the same interior design and colors for 20 years. I take the most pleasure in planning and decorating a home. I have ADHD and get dopamine from variety. Once I finish a design, I quickly grow bored.

Irene isn’t afraid that a certain color will start to feel dull. As a flea-market enthusiast, she has no qualms about passing items along. “My decorating enthusiasm runs in cycles, so styles and paints go through frequent changes.”

Irene was able to live in the home she dubbed Naakanpesä for a couple of years. Today, it is a popular Airbnb rental. “We hardly took any vacation in the summer, because I came here nearly every day to clean.”

The shade of the bookshelf Irene ordered happened to match the wall perfectly. Irene has bought books from flea markets with cover colors that complement one another. The shelf also holds glass fruit, which she collects as a hobby.

Two years ago I moved again, and Naakanpesä was first rented out and later became an Airbnb home. My current home also features blue, but now I’ve paired it with, for instance, yellow.

I still come by almost daily to clean Naakanpesä after visitors, but the home no longer thrills me. However, I know that for renters, the blue color scheme is something fresh and unusual. Many write in the guest book that they have never seen such a bizarre yet fabulous interior design.”