An ’80s charmer: archways, paned windows, and bay windows steal the show in this renovation
Finnish Sanja and Heikki’s brick home reminds Sanja of her father’s homeland, the Netherlands. The renovation and interior design highlight the best features of the 1980s and a Central European flair.
As a child, Sanja van Rij drew her dream home on paper: paned windows, bay windows, and a manor-house vibe.
“It was like my aunt’s home in the Netherlands, where my father is from. I still remember running around that garden as a child,” Sanja says.
Now, when she looks around her home in Espoo, Southern Finland, she sees something reminiscent of her aunt’s house.
“Besides the paned windows and the bay window, I fell in love with the large entryway, the expansive garden, and the brass details. There’s something very Central European about this place,” Sanja says.
Sanja, Heikki, Sofie, and their dog James have lived in the house throughout the renovation. After these photos were taken, their second child, Alexia, was born. The wall hanging is by Urban Cotton, and the sofa is from Hemtex.
Home: A detached single-family home built in 1983 in Espoo—5 rooms + kitchen + utility room + 2 baths + sauna + restroom + storage space, 154 m² (1,658 sq ft).
Who lives here: Sanja van Rij, spouse Heikki, children Sofie, 4, and Alexia, 10 months, plus their golden retriever James.
Follow on social media: @villarivin
Over the years, the house had been well maintained. The roof and some of the windows had been replaced, and additional air vents had been installed. All maintenance work had also been meticulously documented.
“There’s something very Central European about this.”
A mirror on the windowless wall brings light and a sense of spaciousness. From the very first walkthrough, Sanja knew she wanted to place a round table under the stairs. The marble table used to sit in the family’s previous home kitchen. On the table, there’s always a seasonal silk flower arrangement.
Sanja and her spouse Heikki bought the single-family home built in the 1980s in 2023. Inside, it was still in its original condition: the kitchen had dark brown cabinets and red tiled floors, the bathroom walls were green, and the floors were covered in brown tile. That didn’t scare Sanja and Heikki—in fact, quite the opposite.
Their plan was to renovate the house to reflect their own style, so they only kept the ’80s elements they truly liked: the home’s arched doorways and interior doors with brass handles.
“We repeated these details throughout the interior design. We chose brass for the kitchen cabinet pulls and all the faucets in the house. We incorporated curved shapes into the sauna benches and recessed bathroom shelves. I also added an arch to the kitchen doorway because it looked silly to have a traditional opening right beside an arched one,” Sanja says.
Sanja transformed a standard kitchen doorway into an arched one so it would better match the home’s style and the adjacent living room doorway. The mirror on the windowless wall adds light and openness to the space.
When the kitchen wall was moved, Sanja decided to recess shelves into the wall. “Shelves that stick out would take up space and could get in the way. Now they’re perfectly suited for my displays,” Sanja says. The back wall of the shelves was papered in a similar pattern to what’s in the living room and the parents’ bedroom.
At the back of the kitchen, through an interior door, there’s a combined utility room and prep kitchen where the family keeps things like their multifunction cooker and juicer. They’re conveniently accessible but kept out of sight. The freezer was also placed in the prep kitchen. During the renovation, they moved the back wall slightly toward the kitchen so the cabinets and appliances could be recessed into the wall.
The kitchen cabinets are from Ikea, and the pulls are from Sisustusliike KaunisKoti. The countertop is birch plywood treated with Osmo Color wood wax in the shade Silkki. “Plywood was an affordable alternative compared to a custom-made countertop,” Heikki says. The sink is by Savo and the faucet is by Grohe.
The family moved in and started renovations at the end of November, planning to spend Christmas in the new home with relatives—and they did.
“We made it happen with good planning. On Christmas Eve, there were enough guys around to lift the fridge into place,” Sanja recalls.
The dining table is actually garden furniture. “We figured that if we ever grow tired of it, we can move it outside,” Sanja explains. The chairs are by House Nordic, and the lighting fixture came from the family’s previous home.
The house had a beautiful mosaic parquet floor, but because they have a dog, Sanja and Heikki decided to install a durable vinyl plank floor by Karitma called Nordic Pallas 4006. The original flooring was left underneath so it can be uncovered later if they choose. The sofa is by Woood, the side table is from House Nordic, and the throw pillow is from H & M Home.
After a whirlwind start to the renovation, they’ve proceeded more gradually.
“We want to think carefully about what we need and how solutions will work, instead of rushing and finding out we don’t like the result,” Heikki says.
Sanja and Heikki wanted to continue the home’s Central European vibe in the interior design as well.
“Finnish minimalism, like Artek, doesn’t appeal to us. We like a classic style, but it needs a bit of an edge. We’ve brought in furniture and silk flowers from the Netherlands,” Sanja says.
They plan to replace the living room fireplace’s doors with glass ones. “Many would probably tear out that massive fireplace because it doesn’t look modern, but we think it’s great and suits the house’s style,” Sanja says.
Sanja and her daughter Sofie painted the artwork next to the fireplace together using acrylic paints. Sanja finished the piece with plaster.
The wall next to the fireplace is covered in the same wallpaper as the parents’ bedroom, creating continuity in the design. Sanja dreams of installing doors from the living room to the outside someday. The console is by Wood, and the bench under the window is from Jysk.
“Finnish minimalism, like Artek, doesn’t appeal to us.”
Sanja decorated the walls with wallpaper framed by decorative moldings. “I mixed the wall color from leftover paints, which is never recommended,” Sanja says. The couple made the artwork above the bed themselves using leveling compound. You can see both of their handiwork in it.
Some of the bathroom walls were finished with Basebeton’s matte microcement. “It calms the space. For me, it was important that the surface be specifically matte,” Sanja says. The tiles are from Laattapiste, and the faucet is from Byggmax. Sanja and Heikki initially considered installing two showers, but then realized there wasn’t enough room.
The hanging light in the restroom was crafted by Sanja’s grandfather. Sanja built the vanity herself out of shelf boards. She glued paint stir sticks to the drawer fronts as decoration. The surface is treated with sauna wax. The faucet is from Byggmax and the sink is from Rörfokus.
A decorative molding runs along the restroom walls. “It instantly creates a feeling of luxury, even though it’s just a piece of molding,” Heikki notes. LED lights run beneath the vanity and atop the enclosure built for the wall-mounted toilet.
The sauna benches are made of heat-treated aspen and echo the home’s typical curved shape. They’re from Bauhaus. The tiles on the back wall are from Laattapiste. Sanja and Heikki did all the tiling themselves.
Sanja and Heikki fell for the look of their home from the very first viewing. “It’s a distinctive, well-built home. We wanted to renovate in a way that lets its style and era shine through while mixing in some modern elements,” Heikki says. The 1,000-square-meter (10,764 sq ft) sloped lot is terraced with stone walls that the couple has been gradually restoring.
Sanja and Heikki are drawn to ’80s homes because of their large windows, architectural details, and spacious floor plans. Two of their previous renovation projects were also 1980s properties.
