Poet’s paradise

Poet Heli Laaksonen on living without modern comforts: “Nothing is changed unless it’s broken”

Poet Heli Laaksonen and her partner, Miikka Lappalainen, live in a 140-year-old farmhouse in Rauma, Finland, embracing a lifestyle with few modern conveniences. They have preserved the original character of the house as much as possible because, to them, the atmosphere and beauty of the old home are the most valuable thing.

Author Reija Ypyä

Images Mikko Kaaresmaa

January 7, 2025Lue suomeksi

Poet Heli Laaksonen is captivated by the creaking floorboards of the main room, the walls that have witnessed different lives, and the tranquility of southwestern Finland. For eight years, she has lived in the 140-year-old Perävainio farmhouse on the edge of a fertile field with her partner, Miikka Lappalainen. The house is filled with old items they both cherish. Miikka had been collecting them for years before the couple moved in together.

In winter, there’s always a fire burning in the Reino wood stove, and often in the baking oven as well. The large red and yellow pots filled with water help to store heat. A painting of the Aurajoki River by Leonardo Nieva, painted on metal and acquired in Turku, hangs on the wall.

The kitchen nook is original, but Heli replaced the beige tones with Uula paints: old-fashioned green, oxblood red, and Russian blue. The rose-patterned tray protects the wall from splashes. The microwave is concealed in the lower cabinet. Above the stove hangs a spice cabinet painted by Heli and a still-life painting purchased from a warehouse sale at an art school in Tallinn.

The chairs around this old folding table are not only mismatched but also uncomfortable in various ways, yet they have great character. Above the pull-out sofa bed hangs Miikka Lappalainen’s Kalevala-themed photograph of cranes during their autumn migration on a foggy morning. The archive shelf is part of the remains of the ship Bore, found at a shop called Pimee vintti.

How did you end up in a farmhouse in Kodiksami village?

When we were searching for a home together, we visited thirty houses. We love old settings, which are now very rare. Either they have rotted away, or the atmosphere of the house has been ruined by over-renovation. This one had been well maintained, and not too many changes had been made. The previous owners were a frugal couple in their nineties who found such things as early 1900s windows perfectly adequate.

The thresholds have worn smooth and exude character.

What amenities are there in the house?

As a concession to comfort, we had a drilled well installed, which provides hot water to the kitchen tap via a boiler. Heating washing water in a pot would feel too romantic. The house has two taps, in the kitchen and in the tooth-brushing closet, but the shower and washing machine are in the garden sauna. It would feel silly to bathe indoors. We only have an outhouse, but you get used to it easily.

”There’s no television in Heli’s home, and even the radio is turned on only when they’re listening to it.”

Heli arranges beautiful objects, like horse harnesses and rope clusters, on the porch. Her artwork *Modern Madonna*, made from a rusty ditch shovel, has been sold and is awaiting pickup.

In the attic of his late mother, ceramicist Raija Tuumi, Miikka found the linoleum blocks she made during her studies at Ateneum. Heli used them to make graphic prints for her poetry book *Aurinko. Porkkana. Vesi.*

”The floor had been covered fibreboard and vinyl flooring to reduce drafts, but for us, aesthetics are more important than a bit of draft.”

What renovations has house Perävainio undergone?

Nothing is changed unless it’s broken. The exterior cladding was patched, and parts of the roof were replaced. We’ve done a bit of painting and wallpapering in a few rooms. We bought wallpaper from Pihlgren & Ritola, who offer paper wallpapers with a vintage feel.

We removed the cardboard sheet from the ceiling of my study and revealed the beautiful ceiling underneath. The floor had been covered fibreboard and vinyl flooring to reduce drafts, but for us, aesthetics are more important than a bit of draft. We’re still deciding what to do about it. Currently, one side of the room has a beautiful but cold plank floor, and the other side has an ugly but warmer combination of vinyl flooring over fibreboard.

There’s still some stragula floor covering, a rare 1920s cork floor substitute, left on the library floor. The worn thresholds have a soulful appearance.

”You get used to it and grow a winter coat, and you can always move to a warmer spot in the house.”

The summer hall was originally built for religious meetings, and even nowadays the couple only visits it to admire it. The previous owners had boarded up the door. Heli and Miikka found a suitable, possibly original, door lintel under the house. Miikka planed the side boards using an old molding plane. The color is Uula’s ‘Myrsky,’ and the door is in the shade ‘Tähkä.’

You don’t complain about cold floors and drafty corners. How do you get used to them?

It feels natural to get firewood in winter and plan the right clothing for the weather. You get used to it and grow a winter coat, and you can always move to a warmer spot in the house. After a long cold spell, the thought fleetingly crosses my mind that someone might have it easier. We heat the house with wood and a couple of electric heaters, but in winter we only keep the main room and two other rooms warm.

Miikka’s photography room features a servant’s cabinet bought at Hento flea market in Laitila. There are old cold glue jars on top of it. The wall was painted yellow in the 1970s.

This large birch-bark basket is filled with wool socks sent by readers. Guests can choose a pair they like. In winter, it’s best to wear three pairs of socks on top of each other.

What does home mean to you, and where do you feel most comfortable there?

The kitchen-living room is my favorite place. The nearly three-meter-long dining table is my place to read magazines, write, paint, do my makeup, and eat. When the world gets me down, I curl up at home. Here, I don’t have to put on a cheerful face for anyone. Even our mobile internet is appropriately slow. I appreciate that it’s beautiful and that the soundscape is pleasantly peaceful: no humming heat pumps or blaring TVs. Even the radio is only turned on when we listen to it. Art is important to me, and there could be more of it at home. If I manage to sell two thousand poetry books, I’ll buy a painting by Kati Mikola.

House Perävainio, built in the 1870s, is located in the village of Kodiksami in Rauma. The property includes ten buildings, from a pig house to a machine hall.

The shower and washing machine are in the garden sauna. The dustpan hanging on the beam is part of the *Rikkala* series: items on which Heli has painted weeds on one side and lines of poetry on the other. The homemade twig broom was given to the couple by a neighbor.

Miikka has made these impressive iron moose attached to the trunks of the garden birches, which even the neighbor’s elk hounds have gotten used to. The porch of house Perävainio was built after World War II. The doors and porch were painted a few years ago, and the couple is planning to reapply the red ochre paint in the coming years.

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