From old school to dream horse farm: step into Viivi and Petri’s enchanting home
Viivi and Petri dreamed of a horse farm with a striking old main building. Their dream came true when a 100-year-old former elementary school was looking for new owners.
Viivi Lukkala and her partner Petri say say it was fate that they ended up living on this horse farm. When the couple was still living in a small rental home, they dreamed of more space and a yard with a stable for their horses.
“We wanted an old house, but not even those built in the 1940s felt exciting enough. Because we couldn’t find anything suitable for us and the horses in the area, we expanded our search,” Viivi says.
In 2014, Viivi and Petri Lukkala bought an old elementary school. In earlier years, the school had served as a blacksmith’s workshop, municipal rental housing, and a family group home. Rumor has it that at one point, there was even a pig living in the attic.
The kitchen island was made from an old pot cupboard. Viivi sanded, filled, and painted it. Petri attached wheels underneath so it can be moved around.
The kitchen had two faucets that remained in use throughout the renovation. In addition to the two porcelain sinks, there is a small washbasin on the other side of the kitchen.
The kitchen was ordered from Ikea. One of the best spots is the bench built under the window, giving a direct view of the stable and horse enclosure.
Major plumbing work and restoration of the base floor were done in the 1980s, allowing Viivi and Petri to focus on refinishing surfaces. They compromised by installing laminate flooring in the great hall because their two large dogs quickly scuffed up the old pine floors.
“We took on owning a big house with a bit of bravado, trusting it was in good condition. Fortunately, the structure was solid, and we began by tearing down unnecessary partition walls,” Petri says.
The house already had plumbing and base-floor renovations done in the 1980s, so Viivi and Petri focused on the middle floor. They wanted to preserve the home’s old spirit. The log walls had been paneled over, and they decided not to remove the paneling. In the future, when they renovate the upper floor, they plan to leave the logs exposed.
“Renovating is a way of life for us. We love planning new projects. I share any ideas that come to me at night with Petri first thing in the morning.”
The large hall is divided into a dining area and a living room. The couple found their secondhand dining table online. The tabletop is next on their renovation list.
Next summer, they plan a big window restoration. Viivi has already taken a course to feel more confident in restoring those 78 frames.
“We love planning new projects. I share any ideas that come to me at night with Petri first thing in the morning.”
The former classroom is now the family’s spacious living room, wrapped by the other rooms. During renovations, Viivi and Petri removed two smaller rooms built into that space. They disguised the TV as a painting with a carefully chosen image.
Vivana is already used to playing tunes on the home piano. The new piano stool was a flea-market find.
The piano room wallpaper is Boråstapeter’s Nocturne.
A large house calls for a lot of furniture, and it’s impossible to acquire it all at once. Viivi hunts for pieces on online flea markets, and Petri picks them up. He always asks the previous owners about each item’s history.
“The layers of décor don’t come from browsing stores; they evolve as we live here. We restore old furniture: Petri tackles the bigger woodworking, and I focus on painting and filling.”
Life in the countryside in an old house is just what Viivi and Petri envisioned. Mornings start with stable chores, and weekends involve horses, heating up the yard sauna, renovating, and gathering around the communal dining table.
“I’m grateful that I can live my dream,” Viivi says.
The Lukkala family includes Viivi and Petri, their children Nuuti (5), Vivana (4), and Luana (1), plus Neva, a Pyrenean Mountain Dog. The playroom rules are straightforward: toys must be put away before new ones come out.
It’s always summer in the children’s playroom. The wallpaper is Boråstapeter’s Blomsterhav.
Petri picks up Viivi’s online flea market finds and persistently asks the former owners about each piece’s story.
The bunk bed is a perfect play spot. The lower bed extends into a double for guests. The rings were a gift from grandma and grandpa.
Besides the bed, the wall bars—remnants from the school—are the most fun feature in the playroom.
In the sleeping room, Nuuti and Vivana have extendable farmhouse beds with canopies from Ellos. The paper wallpaper is Vanaja by Pihlgren & Ritola. Petri and Viivi painted the plank floors with Tikkurila’s durable Betolux floor paint.
Two of the home’s three tiled stoves are still in working order. One refurbished stove in winter use is in Nuuti and Vivana’s sleeping room. The paper wallpaper is from the Pihlgren & Ritola wallpaper factory.
“The layers of décor don’t come from store hopping; they build up gradually as we live in the house.”
The family’s youngest, Luana, also has her own room. The Mama’s & Papa’s bed converts into a junior bed. Viivi bought a mirror frame from a Facebook flea market, painted it white, and cut a piece of mirror to match.
Viivi and Petri make final decisions about wallpaper and paint together, although Viivi chooses the initial options. Petri measures the intended spots to be sure everything fits.
The large bookshelf in Luana’s room went through a makeover. It used to be a brown veneer shelf, which Viivi painted white with chalk paint. She covered the back panels with a soft bluish wallpaper. The entire project was finished in one day. The dollhouse Viivi’s mother made for her sits proudly on one of the shelves.
“Renovating is a way of life for us, since there’s always something to do in an old house.”
From Viivi and Petri’s bedroom, you can see into Luana’s room. Stories say this bedroom used to be part of the teacher’s residence.
The bed in Viivi and Petri’s bedroom was custom-made by a carpenter, inspired by a 19th-century design but with extra length and width.
The glassed-in porch is kept as a cool entry area. With Viivi’s decorative touches, its look shifts with the seasons. Viivi created the potted spruces using fish trap wire, newspaper, and moss, attaching the moss with wire or string. When they moved in, there were no crossbars on the porch. Petri installed them based on Viivi’s wishes.
The Lukkalas’ home is a 1921 log house, featuring six rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a porch. It totals 450 square meters (4,840 square feet), of which 225 square meters (2,420 square feet) are in use. Viivi fell in love with the decorative exterior, which looks different from every corner. While touring the property with the real estate agent, she whispered to Petri that she wanted to make an offer—even before seeing the interior.
Most of horse ownership revolves around care and upkeep. The one-hectare (2.47-acre) wooded paddock encourages the horses to roam actively. Whenever she can, Viivi rides her Icelandic horse through the woods. Follow Viivi and the family’s adventures on Instagram @vanhassakansakoulussa.
The stable is home to Prudi, an Icelandic horse, and Iiris, a Shetland pony. Viivi yearned for life in the countryside, with space and horses. She has spent more than ten years with her Icelandic horse, Prudi, who is now a respectable 20 years old.
