From dream house into a home: “Every day I feel grateful and happy for all of this”

I grew up in a 60s suburb, but from a young age, I dreamt of living in an old wooden house. When I first ascended the steps of what would become my home, guided by the realtor, I touched the log wall with one hand and the carved wooden railing with the other. It was like stepping into a dream—my dream house.

Our home is nearing its 100th birthday. Initially built as a shop, it served the lively village until the 1970s before becoming a summer residence for many years.

The property, constructed in 1925, also features a storage barn and a sauna in the yard.

The urban couple turned country dwellers, Arja and Ilkka, delight in tinkering around the house and yard, savoring the serene peace of nature.

Initially, the house was my summer retreat, but three years ago, I decided to settle here permanently. The dark winters almost drove this city girl crazy, and I would have fled south for central heating if not for my neighbors, who have been my saving grace in daily challenges.

When Ilkka and I found each other, bright stars began to appear in the pitch black darkness. Light seeped into the winter.

The division of labor in the family is clear: Ilkka handles the heating, while Arja focuses on decorating and cleaning. Whoever feels inspired takes on the cooking. Each room features a tiled stove and numerous doors; in the living room alone, there are doors in four directions, often leaving guests initially confused by the layout.

Napping isn’t typically Arja’s thing, but sometimes, with the dog and cat lounging on her belly, she might drift off. The chest used as a table was discovered beneath the yard barn. Arja painted it black and adorned it with acrylic paints. From one wall, Arja and a friend tore off thick cardboard, revealing beautiful logs underneath.

Decorating is a way of life for me. Each day, I look around, thinking about what I could tweak, paint, or rearrange. Fortunately, there’s always a corner that can be refreshed.

I admire furniture with dents, scratches, and layers of peeling paint. I’ve hardly purchased anything new for my home, except for plumbing fixtures and appliances. The older and more worn the furniture, the better. Dishes, rugs, beds, sofas, and tables are all from flea markets. I love breathing new life into someone else’s discarded items and finding new purposes for old objects.

The table is made from a door and trestle table legs. Architect Kalle Nurminen gifted the table to Arja. A large table is essential: friends are always welcome to her home. The ‘Kiurujen yö’ wallpaper is from Tapettitalo.

The woman’s head was purchased at Wanha Kammari in Vääksy. It stands atop a CD cabinet storing Icelandic wool yarns. The red cabinet has followed Arja through many moves to Kuhmoinen and is filled with wool yarns. Yarn stashes are scattered throughout the house, as knitting is one of Arja’s passions.

The guiding principle of my decorating is that there must be red. A red object ignites a flame within me. Red insists on coming along, and I try to limit its use to one room, though I don’t always succeed. Fortunately, I also enjoy other colors. Overflowing is allowed in this house, but each room has its main color.

I also overflow with the amount of stuff, but I can’t help my love for old objects. Laune in Lahti is a hub for flea markets. Fida, the Finnish Red Cross’ Kontti, the Salvation Army’s flea market, and Laune’s large flea market are inexhaustible treasure troves. In the other direction, the town of Jämsä also offers a good selection of flea markets. My finds must meet my aesthetic criteria, whether decorative or necessary.

The pink fridge was a joint choice and purchase by Arja and their daughter. Additional cold storage and a freezer are in the cellar.

A few years ago, Arja and Ilkka undertook a water connection renovation in the house. Life is now easier, with water running in and out. Arja often ponders how daily life and the shop operated without electricity and running water. The house was bustling even then. The wall tiles in the dish corner are from K-rauta, and the wooden countertop is from Bauhaus. The sink and Grana’s brass faucet are from Netrauta. The old storage shelves were repainted and installed as upper cabinets.

A rusty iron rake from the wood shed serves as a quirky glass rack. Once, the cat managed to knock down a glass from it, but fortunately, it didn’t become a habit.

The dish shelf was left by the previous owner. It likely once displayed items for sale in the store. The shelf has moved from wall to wall as the kitchen evolved, now showcasing beautiful dishes.

The baking oven is an excellent heat source. Arja has learned to use it for cooking as well. The oven chamber is small, but a small pot fits in to simmer. The wood stove is rarely used because the cat tends to burn its paws on it.

I have given myself the freedom to collect. I run my own yard flea market in the summer and also sell my items.

I love my house and the joy of tinkering within it. I also love hosting friends and guest groups. My children, their partners, and friends are always welcome here. I also hold yoga retreats, art therapy, and SUP courses here. In the summer, we host our own music festivals in the yard barn.

Every day, I feel grateful and happy for all of this.

The shop space easily transforms from a gym to a music room. If needed, it can also accommodate a large group of overnight guests. Arja bought two rolls of Boråstapeter’s Hoppmosse wallpaper from Femmatori in the town of Tuusula without knowing where to place them. A suitable wall was found at the end of the shop.

Once a shop assistant’s room, it is now a guest room. The room is kept cold in winter if there are no visitors, but it can be quickly heated if needed. The old wallpaper initially looked dull paired with brown linoleum.

The house features three floors and two entrances. In the winter cold, summer guests are accommodated in the attic, where Pilates and aerial yoga classes are held. Hanna Werning’s Svanpark wallpaper adorns the stairs.

Arja’s father’s, grandfather’s, and great-grandfather’s old suitcases have survived to this day. Stacked on top of each other, they form a sort of chest of drawers that conceals papers and craft supplies.

Arja’s children collected Gogo figures as kids. She has now found a perfect compartment unit for storage. Arja’s mother, while working at a printing house, saved discarded letterpress drawers from the trash, two of which ended up here. Collectors run in the family, both before and after Arja.

On winter weekends, Ilkka lights a fire in the stove first thing in the morning. Lazing in bed, watching and listening to the fire, provides a calming start to the day.

The blue wallpaper from the shop days defines the bedroom’s color scheme. Blue isn’t Arja’s favorite, but as turquoise, it appeals to her. The headboard is an old door found in the attic, painted with chalk paint.

The flush toilet was installed three years ago. It was made in a windowed dish closet, which was insulated. A new, tight window was ordered from the local carpenter from Ruokolan puu for the outer wall. The pipes run along with the kitchen pipes on the other side of the wall. Yellow Holden Decor’s Utopia wallpaper is from Kotitapetti.

An old van, gifted by a neighbor, is decorated in a hippie style. During the summer, it serves as a kissing booth.

In the past, the village men would gather on these shop steps to chat. There was once a gas pump by the road. “Nowadays, locals share their memories of the shop days with me. It’s delightful to listen to them,” says Arja.

Though officially called Iglu, the Estonian-made sauna is affectionately named Käpy (“cone”) by the family due to its appearance. Delivered by the Iglu importer, a neighbor lifted it into place. Käpy heats up quickly and offers wonderful sauna heat. It is used almost daily.

It’s a short walk from the yard to the beach. Arja and Ilkka swim from the neighbor’s pier in all weather conditions, throughout both summer and winter.

The house’s charm continues to captivate Arja. The absence of poor renovations has preserved its integrity. While the electricity and water connection renovations have been completed, the long list of other renovations progresses gradually.

Arja’s tips for creative decorating

• Use your imagination to repurpose old items. Uniqueness needn’t be the sole aim, but by breaking away from conventional rules, you can create intriguing pieces to admire.
• Consider what you can make from, say, old tar boards. A ski might serve as a flower shelf for a window.

Arja crafted a shelf in front of the window from an old ski.

• In old houses, walls are often not straight. So why should the shelves be? A delightful shelf unit can be created from boxes of varying sizes.

Old wooden boxes from the yard barn, once used to store rusty nails and machine parts, were repurposed into a functional kitchen shelf after sorting through the barn’s junk for treasures.

• Arja has converted picture tube TVs into beds for cats. A tube radio works just as well.
• A metal tray serves as an excellent magnetic board. Paint your favorite color onto the tray’s surface and attach magnets to charming objects.

To the right of the kitchen wall is a magnetic board made from a metal tray.