Ryijy rugs and a perfect pantry: how Kaisa turned her post-war house into a dream home

A red cottage and a potato patch—that’s paradise for Isokyrö resident Kaisa Havina. She relied on her vivid imagination and knack for craftsmanship to decorate her post-war home.

“I remember this house from my childhood school commutes. Beyond the spruce hedge, I could see a well-tended post-war home with a backyard brimming with crops. The people living there were Martti and Martta. The place was called Toivola.”

I’m a returning resident to Isokyrö. During the pandemic in 2020, I was looking for a new home for me and my then six-year-old son, Wilho. I wanted an old house because it has a soul. After all, how can someone who goes to traditional dance halls, decorates with old items and Finnish ryijy rugs, and sometimes wears folk costumes for fun live anywhere but an old house?

The foyer wallpaper is Sametti by Pihlgren and Ritola. The umbrella is a vintage Dior that was nearly thrown away. The silk scarf was a Mother’s Day gift from Wilho and Kaisa’s sister. The floor lamp, made from an old Arabia heater, now adds warmth to the decor.

Keinumorsian, by the sculptor Väinö Aaltonen, was manufactured by Kupittaan Savi.

On the stairs hangs Tietäjät, a ryijy rug designed by Margareta Ahlstedt-Willandt. Kaisa is especially drawn to national romantic and traditional ryijy patterns. Another of her passions is folk costumes, which she believes capture the beauty of bygone days.

I dreamed of a house with a wood-burning stove, a bread oven, and a round tile stove. Now I have all that and so much more, including an old farmyard and a milk cart I found in the barn. The cart is amazing, and I couldn’t live without it now. I’ve found many other essentials in that barn too, and I often smile thinking Martti must have left these things here just for me, as if waiting for the right moment.

I never worried about buying or owning an older house. I’ve been renovating it myself, and my family’s help has been invaluable. The skill and passion for hands-on work run in my family. Everyone joined in, first with surface renovations and later with building out the attic as living space.

In Kaisa’s living room, two reupholstered 1950s armchairs steal the show. They came from her grandmother’s neighbor. Kaisa had them upholstered in a tiger-patterned fabric by an old auto upholsterer when she moved to her first home. The ryijy is a one-horse variation of Impi Sotavalla’s Valkoiset hevoset design.

The coffee table is from the 1950s. The two-seater sofa, found via a Facebook recycling group, fits anywhere. The wallpaper is Dahlia Garden by Boråstapeter.

Before moving in, we tore off and scraped away the ’90s embossed vinyl wallpaper. Steam and water made removal easier. I kept the plastic flooring and simply painted it. Four years on, I can say the floors have held up surprisingly well. In both renovations and daily life, my rule is that if it’s still usable, there’s no need to replace it. There’s usually a creative way to make less appealing elements fit the space. I painted the ’90s pine stairs pink—a shade I jokingly call sausage pink.

The cast-iron Högfors stove only needed a touch of stove black.

We painted the ceiling with a high-gloss furniture paint that reflects light and makes the room feel taller. The kitchen cabinets are from Ikea. The backsplash is a hexagonal tile by Pukkila that ends with a playful lace-like edge. The chandelier is by Markslöjd.

Kaisa’s sister found the pantry doors in a dumpster in Vaasa. The glass in the top section came from the barn. The top shelf of the pantry has the Big Dipper constellation drilled into it, letting display light shine through. The Big Dipper has always been important to Kaisa.

Part of the kitchen walls was paneled with boards from the barn, and more were custom-made by a carpenter. We painted them with Tikkurila’s Helmi furniture paint in shade F486. The floor is Tarkett vinyl plank. The old copper coal bucket was saved from the trash. The vintage wall lamp is a 1950s Finnish design by Valinten. The faucet and porcelain sink are from Ikea.

The countertop is a DIY project. Kaisa glued a 9-millimeter teak sheet onto plywood and then applied three coats of marine varnish. A brass L-profile completes the look. The lower cabinets have brass bar pulls, and the upper cabinets have wooden handles made from leftover sauna paneling. The wallpaper is Kvitten in Midnight Blue by Sandberg.

Not everything went as planned. I wanted an old-fashioned cork floor, but the recommended varnish caused the cork to swell overnight into Sahara-like dunes. Once it dried, the glue and cork had to be scraped off piece by piece. Now, there’s vinyl plank on the kitchen floor.

We overhauled the kitchen completely, but reused the old cabinets in the utility room. The countertops are teak veneer with a brass strip—something I once saw in a dream. I made them with my dad. There was a perfect nook in the kitchen for a pantry, another dream of mine. My sister, mother, and I built it together. My nieces and nephews already know that’s where to look for treats.

Kaisa’s dream was to have her own workspace for sewing and crafting. She restyles used wedding dresses and sells them on. Much of what Kaisa does involves updating and recycling. She loves traditional dance halls and often dances at home, too. The grand jukebox only plays classic Finnish hits. One of her favorites is Topi Sorsakoski’s “Tuo onneton.”

When Kaisa bought the house, the attic was unheated, so converting it was a long process. Both upstairs bedrooms have tall ceilings. The old headboards, bought from a coworker, were transformed into one double-bed headboard. A yard-sale serving cart functions as a nightstand and side table. Kaisa mixed the wall color herself. The pine plank floor is painted with Tikkurila 255L.

The floor lamp is from Isokyrö’s Meijerikirppis flea market. Kaisa loves it because it’s a nod to a completely different era than the rest of the decor. The Peacock rattan armchair from Parolan rottinki really makes a statement. She saved it from a bonfire, and it creaks just when you walk by.

The cast-iron stove is by Jotul, found at the Wanha Pokki flea market in Peräseinäjoki. The wall was left with a raw plaster finish.

We have lots of wallpaper and ryijy rugs on our walls. I love patterns, textures, and colors. Some wallpaper designs are new, some are old. I’ve loved ryijy rugs since childhood; my grandmother had the Maamiehen ryijy, and my godfather gave me the Huurre ryijy. Later, encouraged by my mother’s enthusiasm, I fell in love with ryijys from a particular era. They’re true masterpieces of handicraft.

Living in an old house teaches you to tolerate and accept what you can’t change. You can absolutely hang a painting a bit crooked if it makes the corner look straight.”

Wilho got a leather TV chair from his godfather. The wall features the Ketunleipä ryijy by Satu Peura, which Wilho spotted at a thrift store and insisted on buying. At home, they realized it was in pristine condition and quite rare.

There’s plenty of open floor space in Wilho’s room. The Unipuu bed originally belonged to Kaisa and her siblings. Kaisa built a recessed bookshelf in the doorway between the rooms. On Kaisa’s side, the opening is covered by old double doors. The shelves are fixed, and the entire built-in is painted with Tikkurila F485 Damasti, the same shade as the walls.

Just a few small updates made the bathroom feel luxurious. Kaisa added a new tub and plush textiles that complement the 1990s marble-look tiles.