From an old barn into a unique backyard sauna: “We had to invent our own approach”

In an Ostrobothnian field stood an old, weathered barn, long past its prime. However, the partially collapsed structure still had usable timber. Päivi and Raine Färm decided to tear down the barn and reuse its materials for a summer kitchen.

Once the summer kitchen made from the barn’s boards was finished five years ago, Raine and Päivi vowed not to start any more building projects.

But they soon had to go back on their promise. Before long, they realized they’d built something they didn’t really need. What they truly wanted was a new sauna that would heat up quickly. Päivi and Raine decided to convert the summer kitchen into a backyard sauna, soon forgetting their promise never to tackle another building project.

In the yard, there’s an old smoke sauna, a sauna built from the barn, and an outbuilding. In the renovation, the hot tub side of the sauna got several windows. They also upgraded the yard area and planted arborvitae.

Raine says they first boarded up the large window openings in the summer kitchen.

“A completely conventional solution doesn’t really work for us Koskenkorva folks. We had to invent our own approach,” he chuckles, explaining that the design took shape as they went along.

Although they cut back on windows, the new sauna still has several. Päivi says one is known as the “landscape window.”

During the renovation, they reinforced the building’s frame and insulated the ceiling and walls of the space that would become the sauna room.

Päivi and Raine Färm pose with their dogs Nökö, Nuppu, and Laalaa. Päivi and Raine run their own company, Korvan monitoimiapu, which provides help with small renovations and other projects.

During the summer, the hot tub features a shower.

The entire project cost roughly one hundred euros. The couple had building supplies on hand and salvaged roofing sheets from a demolished building.

“We only bought the insulation at a clearance price from the local hardware store,” Raine says.

The only real challenge was finding wood for the sauna benches and the interior paneling. Raine had envisioned using live edge boards—preferably huge ones—and knew such gems aren’t typically stocked in hardware stores.

“Luckily, I told my brother about our sauna plans,” Päivi says.

“He happened to have live edge birch boards that had lain idly in storage for decades. It felt almost like winning the lottery!”

Raine built the sauna benches with a simple design.

“The finishing touch is a handrail made from a gnarled weeping mountain ash branch that our neighbor gave us,” Raine says.

The sauna elf on the bench was brought by visitors. A cozy LED strip lighting was chosen for the sauna. The birch boards haven’t been treated yet, but they will probably be finished with a clear protective treatment meant for saunas.

Päivi painted stripes on the walls of the hot tub room, adding a playful contrast to the otherwise gray boards.

In the same yard stands a smoke sauna that Päivi’s father built from old logs in 2016.

“According to the markings, the logs date back to 1900,” Päivi says.

It takes six to eight hours to heat up the smoke sauna, so they mostly save it for special occasions. Their friends and other visitors often ask for the gentle steams of the smoke sauna.

“We host long sauna sessions, but now we can also do shorter ones. The new sauna heats to a comfortable 70 degrees Celsius in about an hour,” Raine says.

“The smoke sauna has a timeless atmosphere, largely thanks to its dirt floor,” Raine says.

The small outbuilding, used as a guest house, is charmingly askew. Guests are always welcome here.

The adorable stool in the guest cottage was included in the purchase.

Overnight guests stay in the small outbuilding, which was purchased as a finished unit from Tuuri in Western Finland.

“It’s fully insulated and is kept warm even during winter. Behind it, discreetly, is a private outhouse for guests,” Päivi says.

There's a group of travelers who tour every Finnish municipality in alphabetical order, and they have also stayed in the guest house.

Turning the summer kitchen into a sauna set off a chain of events—and that’s apparently how things often go in the Koskenkorva village. They had a sauna in a hut in the yard, and they moved its stove to the new barn sauna and turned the hut into storage.

Mari Immonen, Johanna Santaharju, Päivi, Kirsi Rajakorpi, and Raine are part of the group that meets at the new sauna in Koskenkorva.

A photo backdrop from Päivi and Raine’s wedding waited in storage for another use. Now, it serves as a privacy screen between their and the neighbors' yards.

As many as eight people have relaxed in the hot tub at once. Päivi’s friends Johanna, Kirsi, and Mari have already tried out the tub before.

More ideas bubbled up. They built a new terrace in front of the sauna with access to the smoke sauna. During an ice cream run, they had the idea of adding a hot tub.

“The old expo carpet under the hot tub was found on a Facebook giveaway group,” Päivi says.

With the hot tub in place, they had to install a sliding door for the sauna, since there wasn't enough space for a regular door to open.

Along with the inflatable hot tub, they also enjoy warm soaks in a barrel hot tub purchased in 2019 and later moved to the new “spa area.” The air is fresh inside the barn sauna and the smoke sauna as well; in the smoke sauna, the dirt floor guarantees that.

“Our latest addition also provides moist steam, as the old lower logs and floor gaps let in plenty of fresh air,” Raine says.