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It's all about attitude

Step inside Alaska: the punk-inspired home where the residents can “make a racket”

Nuusa and Niku Niskala named their Northern Finland house Alaska because it's so remote. Renaissance art, the cozy style of the 1970s, and a punk spirit combine to create a strong ambiance at home. “White has been overshadowed by color and patterns.”

September 30, 2025Lue suomeksi

The road meanders through flat farmland. Soon, asphalt gives way to a gravel road. In the yard of a yellow detached house, the last blooms of autumn still shine. Inside, it’s warm and cozy in Nuusa and Niku Niskala’s home. Plush velvet and a rya rug pair with deep green, brown, and gold tones. Could autumn be Nuusa’s favorite season?

For Nuusa, home is a place where you can be exactly who you want to be. On the wall hangs a tapestry with a danse macabre motif, popularized in the 1400s. The couple collects vinyl records together. The armchair is an Easy sleeper chair by Ahti Taskinen, found on the Tori marketplace.
On the wall of the study-library is a photo wallpaper made by Photowall, depicting the Ecstasy of Mary Magdalene. A mid-century brass wall lamp complements the Neo-Rococo sofa. The bookcase holds a broad range of literature, from theology and philosophy to comics and classics.
In the study’s cabinet, there is a glass display case where Nuusa has gathered her own small Wunderkammer collection, including travel souvenirs and quirky flea market finds. Wunderkammers originated in Europe during the Renaissance and were an early form of museum showcasing unusual or rare objects. On top of the cabinet sit old Kodak brand cameras as well as newer Diana cameras, all still in use. The wall sconce was found at close-by antique shop.

“I was born in mid-August. As the evenings grow darker, they bring a sense of mystique, and that’s when our home is at its most beautiful. Home is an important place for us.

We live in Kello, on the border between city and countryside in Oulu. From here, you can reach downtown Oulu by bus in 30 minutes or take a walk in the woods in just a few minutes. We’re surrounded by old farmhouses and relatively new detached houses. Our house was built in the late 1950s and expanded later.

Home: Built in 1959 and expanded over time, a post-war home in Kello with kitchen + living room + 2 bedrooms + study + 2 × wc + bathroom + sauna, 100 square meters (about 1,080 square feet).

Residents: Nuusa and Niku Niskala, a doctoral researcher and an installer.

Follow on social media: @alaska90820

The dining table was found on Tori and painted with Tikkurila’s L396 shade. The swivel chairs are Amigo by Asko. In addition to white, the series was also produced in yellow, brown, and orange. The Swedish milkmaid pitcher was purchased from close-by antique shop. These days, the impressive oil lamp is lit by LED and candlelight.
Only the bar handles were replaced on the Puustelli cabinets. The wall color is Tikkurila’s X457. Nuusa tiled the backsplash herself with tiles from the K-rauta hardware store. Part of her coffee cup collection is displayed on the open shelf. The painting of Mary Magdalene was found on Tori.
The enamel Ritari collection is by Finel.
Nuusa praises the pleasantly soft sound of the old tube radio. The side wall of the kitchen is papered with Mindthegap’s Le Jardin wallpaper. The glass cabinet is a place for glassware, such as Wirkkala’s Briljant glasses.

Moving into this post-war home was an accident. I had wanted an old log house, but I fell in love with the sense of spaciousness downstairs. The previous residents removed the wall between the living room and kitchen and replaced it with a louvered wall that fits the house’s style.

We call our house Alaska. There’s a fun story behind the name. We were thinking about a place that would be as far away from everything as possible, and we came up with Alaska. It’s so remote that you can hide away from the world there. Home is our place of peace and relaxation. As a child, I lived in a row house and later in a detached house. For the two of us, a detached house is the best form of living. We wanted a place where we could live and make a racket.

The Nautilus armchair was manufactured by Isku in the 1960s and designed by Kari-Pekka Valorinta. Its frame is made of fiberglass and aluminum. Nuusa fell in love with it for its brown hue. She found the Nautilus through the Fintage.fi website. She isn’t particularly interested in matching furniture sets—instead, she ties pieces together with a cohesive color palette.
The living room is furnished with a secondhand sectional sofa, a 1960s rotating Nautilus chair, and an ’80s coffee table. The stool is from an antique shop in Oulu. The rug was designed by Marie Olsson Nylander for Ellos.
“We're are both punks. I love the punk attitude, where the main thing is having the courage to do the things you like and that matter to you.”
The marble tray was purchased at a flea market. On top of it sit a small pink sculpture by Laura Nevanperä and a ceramic skull brought back from travels. The brown tealight and candle lantern were designed by Heikki Orvola. The Kaamoskivi candleholder by designer Anu Pentik and a brown vase were found on the same flea market trip.

We make the most noise at our annual summer party, when the carport becomes a stage for alternative and punk bands.

We're are both punks. I love the punk attitude, where the main thing is having the courage to do the things you like and that matter to you. It doesn’t matter if you do something perfectly. I’m proud of the kitchen backsplash that I tiled myself—my first time doing tiling. I dared to do it, and I managed!

You can also see the punk mindset in our home in that it’s an ongoing work in progress. It’s unlikely we’ll ever be completely finished, and we’ve done some things two or three times over. I’ve learned to tolerate the unfinished state of things.

The entryway wallpaper features an enlarged detail from Sandro Botticelli’s Compianto sul Cristo morto. The wallpaper was ordered from the Photowall online store. The rya rug is a piece of Finnish design from the 1970s.
“Here, we have the things we love. This home reflects who we are.”
The beautiful brass candle sconce was acquired from a flea market. Nuusa loves it because it reminds her of the radiant light in old churches. The entryway walls are still white. Painting the entire staircase would be a huge undertaking.
On the walls of the staircase are pictures brought home from trips and art exhibitions, as well as art by Tiina Wallin, Hanna Hyytiäinen, Ruth Moran, and Laurence Philomène. The painting in the yellow frame is by Pertti Ohtonen.
At the end of the upstairs hallway is a gilded mirror with plaster decorations, which Nuusa got from close-by antique shop.. Beneath the mirror stands a ceramic statue of Gene Simmons from the band Kiss, made by Nuusa. It was inspired by an old Japanese spirit statue.

Our home doesn’t follow any single style, but the 1970s have started creeping into our décor. I also really love Italian Renaissance art, Bach’s cantatas, and old horror films. They evoke all sorts of emotions and vibes in me. I’ve wanted to bring that same atmosphere here, too.

The house was originally renovated to be white and minimalist inside. Now, white has been overshadowed by color and patterns.

In Nuusa and Niku’s bedroom, the Mindthegap Journey to Eden wallpaper hangs like a canopy above the bed. Nuusa fell in love with the wallpaper’s mythological theme. There’s always some new detail to discover in it. The bedside table is from a flea market. The lamp is from the 1960s.
In the corner of the bedroom is a delicate yet comfortable armchair, which Nuusa got from a friend. Sometimes furniture searches a while for the right spot. She is drawn to the ornamentation of oriental rugs.
Nuusa bought the claw-foot tub as a birthday present for herself. The look of the bathroom is enhanced by a print of “Harmony 5,” created by Chad Wys.

I’ve also studied art history, and my admiration for the Renaissance can be seen, for instance, in the entryway photo wallpaper, which is an enlargement of a Renaissance-era superstar, Sandro Botticelli’s late-15th-century painting. There’s also a photo wallpaper in the study-library made from an old painting. Both wallpapers share that same sense of rapture; you can see a touch of the sacred in them, something that reaches beyond the everyday.

Here, we have the things we love. This home reflects who we are.”

This atmospheric table lamp is made of copper and glass. It was a prize awarded to Nuusa’s grandpa at a ski competition in the 1970s. The walls are painted with Tikkurila’s dark brown Coffee in China shade. On the wall hang old punk posters.
The bedroom’s wall shelf was found at a close-by antique shop. The richly carved Neo-Renaissance shelf was originally a coat rack.
The attic room has space for a guest bed. Nuusa and Niku are intrigued by the aesthetics of horror films from the 1960s and ’70s.
In front of the house is a large, covered porch. The old wooden sofa was a Tori find from a nearby farmhouse. Nuusa enjoys gardening but doesn’t put pressure on herself about it.
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