Second home in a boathouse—“The roof makes this space special”
A Japanese-style sauna, walls painted with black earth, and an upstairs floor perfect for weddings and yoga classes! This boathouse in Åland, Finland, is Benita and Peo’s unique vacation home, where they strive to gather everything they need from nature or make it themselves.
Apple orchards line the road. A few kilometers before the village center, the gravel road veers right and continues toward the shore. Geta is the northernmost municipality of the island of Åland, Finland, and is located about a half-hour drive from the island’s capital, Mariehamn.
There, by the sea, stands a more than 400-square-meter boathouse painted in traditional red ocher. It is owned by Benita and Peo Björke, a pair of retired entrepreneurs in their seventies, and is a peculiar little world of their making. Benita Björke loves her canoe, which she received years ago as a birthday present from her husband. The canoe was acquired in Canada.
Beni opens the door to the boathouse. The downstairs area includes a minimalist sauna and bathroom, along with an open, Japanese-inspired living space where you can sit by the fireplace. The walls are painted with black ocher.
Large windows overlook the sea, where the reeds along the shoreline are multiplied by the reflections on the water’s surface. Fish are splashing in the water. The couple often sets nets near the dock, as whitefish and pike can be caught year-round here.
Benita Björke loves her canoe, which she received years ago as a birthday present from her husband. The canoe was acquired in Canada.
In the boathouse’s interior, soft and hard materials meet to create a surprisingly harmonious combination. Hard materials are abundant, including concrete and natural stone. The couple discovered their concrete furniture at the Stockholm Furniture Fair.
“I fell in love with their simple shape, and we bought everything they had on display,” Benita says.
Carefully chosen textiles such as rugs, pillows, and sheepskins soften the look. On the concrete floor are rugs woven by Benita. Almost all the pillows are her handiwork, too, many sewn from recycled materials.
The upstairs is the opposite of the shadowy downstairs, with light playing a key role in the second-floor interior. The marine environment also adds its own dimension.
Light sparkles in the prisms of the chandelier. The ceiling, open to the ridge, creates an almost reverent feel. The space can be adapted for many purposes, from wedding receptions to yoga retreats. The exposed beams play a key role in shaping the atmosphere.
“The roof makes this space special,” Benita says.
The upstairs can be adapted for many purposes, from parties to yoga retreats. At their daughter’s wedding, one hundred guests celebrated in the boathouse.
However, the breathtaking spaciousness of the upstairs came about largely by chance. The architect Folke Wickström had originally planned a typical flat ceiling, but a trip to California changed Peo’s mind. He fell in love with an open-to-the-ridge ceiling with rustic beams in a shopping mall. Indeed, inspiration can come from anywhere—an American shopping paradise, for example.
The long table is perfect for get-togethers. At the couple’s daughter Lina’s wedding, a hundred guests gathered in the boathouse, and sometimes the space hosts yoga or photography classes. White textiles partition the area, creating spaces that feel intimate.
The kitchen furnishings are entirely recycled, and every detail is carefully considered. Benita has made their potholders by hand, as well as the wooden spoons she has set on the table for afternoon coffee, served with the house specialty—a porridge bread topped with butter and syrup plus a hint of cardamom.
Benita’s table setting reflects the boathouse’s rustic style. Hard and soft materials converge, and the surrounding nature is always present. The black mugs are by local ceramicist Judy Bradley.
Benita harvests as much as she can from nature, making colorful, edible decorations from dried flowers that she loves to sprinkle on food and cakes.
For Benita, nature is her main source of inspiration. It’s where she gathers energy, ideas, and materials for her crafts and interior decorating.
She says she can find almost everything she needs in the surrounding nature. She bakes crispbread from dried pine bark, collects and dries flowers for edible cake decorations, and starts her day with a homemade sea buckthorn shot.
“In autumn, I gather rose hips, which I dry and grind into a powder. You can use rose hip powder in almost anything, from overnight oats to smoothies.”
Benita is an aesthete but in no way a design snob. The simple sofa and large armchair, perfect for lounging, were purchased long ago from IKEA and were originally turquoise. The furniture traveled to Åland with them when the couple returned home after six working years in Singapore.
“I no longer long for traveling abroad. I’ve traveled a lot, and I don’t feel like consuming anymore. Now, if I want something, I try to make it myself with my own hands.”
Benita is constantly coming up with new handicraft ideas.
“I’ve signed up for a woodworking class. I want to make a Greenlandic drum. I’d need one cow stomach, or preferably reindeer stomach.”
Because this is a boathouse, there are naturally some boats here too. The most eye-catching is a wooden canoe—a birthday present Benita received from Peo years ago. The canoe was brought all the way from Canada.
The reeds along the shore rustle in the wind. A white-tailed eagle soars overhead. In Benita and Peo’s hideaway, the mind grows remarkably calm. It’s easy to see how a place like this provides everything a person might need.
