Devoted city dwellers found their dream home on the outskirts of Helsinki—it was definitely worth listening to Mom!
Your side and my side. The home of an illustrator and a graphic designer in Helsinki’s Kannelmäki neighborhood has enough room for both to have their own workspaces decorated with design finds. “It’s easy to shout comments to each other across the living room.”
If this were just a typical Monday at around eleven o’clock instead of a home photoshoot, Marina Veziko and Robert Lönnqvist would likely have just woken up. They would have made breakfast together and then retreated to their own workspaces.
Marina is a graphic designer and art director who focuses on brand design. The reason for their leisurely mornings lies in her American clients, whose meetings often stretch to midnight because of the time difference. Robert is an illustrator, known for his sense of humor, who creates brand illustrations, art, ceramics, and children’s books, and hosts his own Luxus Radio podcast. He doesn’t draw a line between work and free time.
“It makes me feel out of breath just watching him,” says Marina. “Robert is so enthusiastic about everything.”
residents Graphic designer and art director, Marina Veziko, 36, and illustrator, Robert Lönnqvist, 37. Instagram: @veziko and @rakastaja_robert.
home An apartment in a 1960s building designed by the architectural duo Tarja and Esko Toiviainen in Helsinki’s Kannelmäki. There are 87 m² (about 936 ft²).
The couple’s workrooms are located at opposite ends of the apartment. Marina works at a computer, and her room is always neat and tidy because she finds it leaves more room for creative thinking. Robert, on the other hand, works also by hand, so his desks are usually piled with pastel chalks, pencils, or watercolors.
Between the two workrooms is a large, bright living room. It’s easy to shout comments to each other across the space or just stay in touch.
“When I start to miss you, I’ll come bother you for a bit,” Robert jokes to Marina.
The couple lives in Kannelmäki in western Helsinki. Before buying this, their first owner-occupied home four years ago, they moved from place to place frequently. Their most recent stop was a small one-bedroom apartment in Helsinki’s Toukola district. But then the pandemic struck, and the cramped space started to feel suffocating.
Robert’s mother encouraged the couple to look into buying a place. She sent them links to listings and showings across the Helsinki region.
“She probably figured we’d been renting for such a long time that she found every possible apartment without any filter,” Robert says.
An open-minded approach paid off. One candidate was an 87 m² (about 936 ft²) apartment in a 1960s building. It had two separate workrooms, and you could reach downtown in under fifteen minutes by train. The drawback was that it was still in its original condition. Even so, the showing drew a crowd of interested viewers, and competition was fierce. The couple won the bidding war by going over the asking price.
The home’s interior has an airy lightness but also something calm and grounding. The furnishings combine black leather armchairs, low teak credenzas, glossy glass and mirror surfaces, and gleaming metal structures.
The color palette is kept minimal. Different brownish tones, wood, glass, and chrome take center stage, while the sky-blue sofa in the living room serves as a bright accent.
Marina and Robert think carefully about every interior purchase. They are willing to wait years until they find something that truly resonates with them. One of their favorite finds is the 1970s ceiling lamp by Harvey Guzzini in the living room, showcasing delightfully layered shapes.
Robert’s ceramic pieces are also on display. Their expressive shapes and details bring a smile, but otherwise his humorous outlook on life doesn’t strongly influence the interior style.
“I feel like both of us have an internal struggle between really liking a minimalist Japanese aesthetic and also loving the full-on Space Age style, which is playful and colorful,” Marina says.
Marina is originally from Ukraine and moved to Finland with her parents when she was four years old. She shows a decorative soup bowl from a large dinnerware set in a lower kitchen drawer. It’s brought out for special occasions. Marina also has hand-painted wooden spoons and Easter eggs from Ukraine, though they’re not displayed alongside Finnish design pieces like Domus chairs or Humppila glass vases.
“I haven’t yet figured out how to combine these two worlds,” she says.
Marina recalls her childhood homes in Ukraine filled with lace curtains, oriental rugs, and gold-toned dishware sparkling behind glass doors. She only became truly familiar with the restrained, modern Artek sensibility while studying at the Lahti Institute of Design in Finland.
“I had to learn from behind the scenes, whereas for all my classmates, Finnish design was second nature. For a long time, I found it strange that the same pieces of furniture and tableware you’d see in schools, offices, and workplaces would also be found at home. On the other hand, it’s wonderful that design in Finland is so democratic and found in every home.”
Marina loves the view of the old trees from their apartment’s windows, and Robert appreciates the jogging trails in Helsinki’s Central Park. On workdays, they always cook at home together and enjoy having a shopping center within walking distance.
Marina thinks it was a good call to listen to Robert’s mother back then. But is there something they miss about their old life? Maybe being able to walk home from a night out downtown? No, Robert has already gotten used to living without that.
They both agree that they miss the sea view they once had from a window in their old place in the Kruununhaka district.
