Second time’s the charm! After her break-up, Jaana moved into a small semi-detached home she once rejected—and soon the whole family was together again

The small semi-detached house caught the eye of Jaana and Markus several times before the timing finally was right.

“Markus and I once saw a listing for this house. I remember being drawn to the beautiful kitchen, but with just over 70 square meters of living space, it felt far too small for all of us, so we let it go,” Jaana recalls.

“What interests me most in decorating is layering and the views between different spaces,” Jaana describes her style. The home is filled with the scent of freshly baked cardamom buns and coffee. The generously sized dining table was made by a friend of Jaana’s, and the chairs were purchased from Kodin1.

Not long after, Jaana and Markus went their separate ways, which meant browsing property listings once again. Jaana asked a realtor friend if they knew of any really nice homes that were available. And indeed they did! A small place—the very same one they had looked at before. Now the timing was right. Jaana moved into the semi-detached house built in 1958 with her two children, a cat, and a dog.

The kitchen island brings the family together for breakfasts and treats. The light fixture above it is a memento from Jaana’s previous workplace, Tiirinkosken tehdas. Jaana and Venla work on small home improvement projects together.

The kitchen was renovated by the previous residents, and Jaana saw no reason to change the functional setup.

Jaana thinks the kitchen done by the former residents suits the home perfectly, even though she might have chosen a few elements differently.

At first, Jaana looked for doors for the narrow shelves, but ultimately decided they’d be better left open. The shelves became home to a recycling station at an ergonomic height. Empty jars and cans are easy to slip into the handy Helsinki jute bags by Everyday Design.

Now, a few years later, the whole family is together again.

“In the end, everything worked out the way it was meant to. We got back together, and now all of us live here,” Jaana says.

Built in 1958, the semi-detached house was once home to members of the same family. The living quarters were separate, but the washing facilities were shared. The basement has small storage rooms that likely connected to the other side.

The gray sofa was purchased from Masku. The painting on the wall is Venla’s rendition of Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. The small wooden shelf was found during a walk in the woods. The living room rug is from Rusta, the curtains are by Vallila, and the light fixture is by By Rydens.

The coffee table used to be outdoor furniture. Jaana gave it a fresh coat of paint.

Jaana loves thrift stores and recycled finds. The old white Ikea cabinet was found secondhand online. Jaana’s favorite thrift stores in Hämeenlinna are Kantolan kellari and Fida in the city center. From looking at the floor, you can tell a large dog lives in the home. “I don’t feel the need to repaint the floors. They’re beautiful just as they are, with the colors of life.”

Originally trained as an interior designer, Jaana took on the renovation of the home with expertise but also a lot of heart. The previous residents had done solid, functional updates to the house. The biggest transformation happened in the washing area, where renovation was most needed.

Jaana remembers dreaming about this beautiful mirror since childhood—it belonged to her grandmother. The mirror has accompanied her through many homes over the years.

The bed is from Isku and the headboard from Ellos. The bedroom’s ceiling lamp is from Ikea, and Jaana found the floor lamp at a thrift store.

The tray is from Sarustiikka in Joensuu, Jaana’s former hometown. The candlesticks came from a thrift store.

The family enjoys living in Hämeenlinna. The charm of the neighborhood is apparent even to outsiders: neighbors greet one another, a dog park is right next door, the kids’ schools are practically within sight, and it’s about a ten-minute walk to the Tavastia Castle.

Venla’s room used to be upstairs, too, but now that she’s a teenager, she appreciates her own space downstairs. “I notice similar traits in Venla as I had at her age—I also liked a tidy and beautiful environment even then,” Jaana reflects.

In the upstairs hallway, there’s a sofa bed for guests. The small space in the back is Jaana’s makeup spot.

“Here, everything is the perfect distance away. Hämeenlinna Theater, where I work, is just a couple of kilometers away. We play basketball and ice hockey, so having practice facilities nearby is also a huge plus,” Jaana says.

Venla’s room also features bold exposed brick walls.

A door that used to serve as an interior door in the basement was painted black and repurposed as the bathroom door using a sliding door mechanism.

Brick surfaces were discovered beneath the basement wall materials and were left exposed in the laundry room and the sauna. The wall shelves are from Jysk.

The biggest renovation in the house was done to the basement bathroom and sauna.

The family’s previous homes were larger and more modern than the current one, but Jaana says she has always longed for an old house. You might even say that this house patiently waited for just the right people to come home.

Over the years, Jaana and her family have lived in various houses, but it wasn’t until this small 1950s semi-detached house that they truly felt at home.