Siblings’ cherished 1860s cottage: “We wanted to find a shared place where we could spend time together with our families”

The Lindroos siblings run a joint business and love spending their free time at their cottage. Astrid’s family dog, Belka, also enjoys being in the countryside.

Beneath the apple tree is a lovely place to enjoy some coffee.

Time seems to have stood still inside this small, old wooden house for ages. The beautiful, wide floorboards creak cozily, the wood-burning stove radiates warmth, and the furniture looks as if it has always belonged here.

In this cottage built in the 1860s, the past has been preserved almost perfectly.

“We’ve wanted to keep the surroundings as authentic as possible. The cottage is like a living museum,” Karin Lindroos admits in the atmospheric surroundings.

The siblings who own the building have hardly touched the interior, which includes an abundance of various heirlooms. Most of them have belonged to the Lindroos family for a long time.

Because nothing new or modern has been added, the interior forms a harmonious, carefully considered whole.

“We haven’t been short on stuff—in fact, quite the opposite,” says Karin’s brother Erik Lindroos with a laugh.

“We’ve had to clear out quite a bit, but we’ve kept what’s most useful and brings us the most joy. The bed is really the only new acquisition,” he says.

“And we found that secondhand on the Tori marketplace as well,” Karin adds.

Beautiful inherited furniture creates an appropriately museum-like atmosphere in the living room.

For the Lindroos family the place is familiar and beloved across many generations, as the former farm has belonged to them since the early 1900s. It was originally acquired by the ancestors of the current owners, Karin, Astrid and Erik Lindroos—their grandmother’s parents.

Four years ago, the siblings had the opportunity to buy the farm from their grandparents. They decided to acquire it under joint ownership.

“Ever since our childhood home in Karjaa was sold, we’ve wanted to find a shared place where we can all spend time together with our families,” Karin explains.

The Lindroos family purchased the entire property, which includes eight hectares of land—forest and fields. Near the cottage are a main house built in 1947, a woodshed, and a cowshed. It’s in the cute little cottage that Karin, Astrid, and Erik spend their leisure time.

The living room walls are adorned with splatter-printed wallpaper and a border.

The spacious living room also has room for a desk and a wooden sofa. On a rainy summer day, someone is often found reading on the sofa.

The cozy kitchen is the heart of the cottage. The siblings’ father, Urban, built both the countertop and the shelf. The well-preserved old wood-burning stove is in frequent use.

The siblings’ red cottage stands along a lush tree-lined path in the village of Kåddöbel in Kemiönsaari, Finland. Even in the yard, it feels like stepping back in time: the atmosphere is just as idyllic as the illustrations in the classic Swedish children’s books by Elsa Beskow and Ilon Wikland. The noise and bustle of the city are just distant memories here.

The “generation shift” went smoothly because the buildings are in good condition. The siblings’ grandfather Nisse Lindroos and their father Urban Lindroos began renovating the buildings in the 1980s, and they did such a thorough job that the current generation has barely had to fix anything at all.

“We’re in the fortunate position of really just needing to maintain our father’s and grandfather’s work,” Astrid says.

The trio forms a close-knit group that enjoys each other’s company. Even their work connects them, as they run a creative agency in Helsinki called Studio Familjen.

Astrid works in image editing and often does remote work from the cottage, which also gives her the chance to tend the garden. Karin, on the other hand, spends a few weekends every summer at the cottage with her husband and two young children. Erik dreams of staying at the cottage for an entire winter someday.

A small bedroom is accessed through the kitchen. Belka is taking a nap on a sheepskin rug.

An old photograph of the cottage hangs on the bedroom wall.

The cottage holds many stories, one of which is about its floorboards. Years ago, the siblings’ grandfather acquired the boards at an auction of an old school.

“Nisse dragged the boards in through the west-facing window of the cottage,” Astrid says.

Moving and installing the boards was a task that surely took a lot of work.

Once Grandfather had finished everything, he supposedly lay down on his back on the floor and sighed with satisfaction.

The 19th-century spirit is also apparent in the building’s layout, which is traditionally designed for its time: the main room also serves as the kitchen, and a small entryway has stairs leading up to the attic.

In addition to these rooms, the cottage has a bedroom. The walls of the main room are traditionally decorated with splatter wallpaper and a matching border strip.

Old glass objects have been collected on the windowsill of the entryway. The bench also serves as storage.

A photo of Grandfather Nisse is kept on the desk. Nisse did much of the cottage’s restoration work, and the siblings want to honor his memory.

Because the buildings haven’t needed renovating, the siblings have spent their time restoring the surrounding garden. The lot is ten hectares (25 acres), so there’s plenty of upkeep to do for years to come.

Among the yard’s most valuable treasures is an apple tree over a hundred years old that still manages to bear fruit.

Over the years, Erik has limed the mossy lawns, and Astrid has added gravel to the yard. The siblings still have all sorts of plans for the coming years. They’ve only owned the property for four years, so the garden design is moving along at a leisurely pace.

“We dream of a larger flower bed and a bountiful berry patch. We plan to make some gentle changes inside, too. It would be wonderful to make the attic livable someday,” Erik says.

They have no reason to rush, and the atmosphere of the cottage ensures it. It practically compels anyone who steps inside to slow down. The log walls are so thick that even cell phones fall silent within them.

The cottage was once used as living quarters for a farmhand. The garden has apple trees over a hundred years old that still produce plenty of apples.