Seaside villa

This gingerbread villa was supposed to need only minor cosmetic work: “At times it has pushed our financial and mental resources almost to the limit”

When the protected Villa Tallbo needed a massive renovation, Turku-based Jenna and Aapo decided to turn the summer villa into a year-round home for their family. “Colorless, minimalist decorating would be my nightmare.”

Author Anna-Kaisa Melvas

Images Viola Virtamo

January 27, 2026Lue suomeksi

The gingerbread villa’s awe-inspiring renovation is finished indoors. Next summer, the hope is to get the yard and facade into shape. Painting the facade has already begun on the forest side, but the sea side still shows the old color. The addition is indistinguishable from the original.

Decorating the veranda is still a work in progress, but the first wicker chairs are already in.

We have the pandemic spring to thank—or blame—for the fact that Villa Tallbo has now been restored without compromise. In spring 2021, Jenna and Aapo were living carefree in a rental in Turku, Finland, searching for a detached house for their family. The market was overheated, and after losing a few bids they quickly made an offer on a summer villa that was advertised as being in good condition—without a clear understanding, as Jenna notes in hindsight.

Residents Jenna works as a store manager and Aapo as a researcher. Their children are Inkeri, 6, and Väinö, 4.

Home Villa Tallbo, envelope manufacturer Evert Nylund’s gingerbread villa in Turku, Finland, commissioned in 1894. Floor area is 250 square meters (about 2,690 ft²).

From the large veranda there’s a stunning view of the sea and the opposite shore. The old table is original to the house.

The planned small cosmetic refresh very quickly turned into a total overhaul. The subfloor had to be dismantled, and in parts of the house only the shell remained. Restoring the old is always more expensive than building new, but new was neither wanted nor even possible under the protection of the Finnish Heritage Agency.

The idea had been to buy a city apartment in addition to the seaside villa, but as the project grew the couple decided to make the villa a year-round home. This is how Jenna talks about their home:

To me, home means…

a safe place where you’re allowed to hide away from other people. We’re living outside a town for the first time—practically in the countryside. There are no drop-in visitors out here.

My home says…

about me that I can’t stand ascetic Finnish decorating. Colorless, black-and-white, minimalist interiors are my nightmare. In Oulu we lived in a brand-new home fresh out of the box. The vibe was like a sugar cube or a plastic bag—so impersonal, dreary, and airless. Our current home is the perfect opposite of that style.

The living room’s symmetrical layout follows the window and door openings. The open shelves use Ikea wood brackets and laminated wood panels that a carpenter painted. The shelf corners are rounded to make it feel homier. The sofas are from Kuusilinna, the wool rug from Carpetvista, and the coffee table from the Tori marketplace. The pendant is a Nelson Saucer Bubble. The marble countertop was won at Bukowskis.

If your home has sightlines through multiple rooms, keep the finishes—and especially the wall colors—in harmony.

From the living room there’s a grand view along the sea-facing side of the house. The crystal chandelier is from Bukowskis. The round table is original to the house.

The dining room has a harmonious, symmetrical feel. The china cabinets and rattan chairs are from Ikea. The white pleated lamps are by Le Klint, and the rug is from Nordic Knots.

As a decorator…

I know what I want and what I don’t. I have a strong visual sense, but as the renovation piled on more options and choices, I realized I needed a professional to help keep the whole coherent.

I chose interior designer Anna-Kaisa Melvas because, to us, her style stands apart from the mainstream. We wanted color and layering, and a design that respects the home’s original atmosphere without looking like a museum.

The kitchen was designed by Jenna. The scarcity of upper cabinets brings the airy feeling they wanted. The doors were hand-painted on site, and the hood ordered from a tinsmith was installed around the range fan. The counters are limestone. The white wall lights were ordered from Artilleriet, and the Ton chairs from the Tambur store in Stockholm. The tablecloth is from Granit.

The hood was ordered from Pa specialist in nearby Salo and fitted around the range fan.

They managed to keep the old baking oven in place, even though quite a lot around it had to be reworked.

A particularly successful choice is…

the room layout. Architect Eero Lundén had a very clear vision for the floor plan and the addition. No walls were taken down, but door openings and how spaces function were changed. There used to be a bathroom and a sauna where the current kitchen sits. In the somewhat narrow addition, we managed to fit a bathroom and both a family entry and a guest entry.

The everyday entry gained structure with a checkerboard pattern. The checkerboard theme made from Pukkila’s Natura series tiles continues into the bathroom and the guest WC. The cabinetry, painted to match the wall color, was custom-made by a carpenter in Salo.

With the benefit of hindsight, I would have rethought…

the execution of the bedroom windows. The sleeping area is wonderfully bright, but I don’t always want to sleep in eternal summer. The room should have been thought through for everyday living, with at least some possibility for curtains.

Also, we should have put in a door between the kitchen and dining area. In a family with kids, doors have their place—especially in rooms with appliances and pots.

Big picture, I don’t think we would have embarked on the renovation if we’d known its full scope in advance. While the house is gorgeous and unique, at times it has pushed both our finances and our mental resources almost to the breaking point.

From the parents’ bedroom there’s a breathtaking view toward the Ruissalo island. The headboard and bedspread are by Matri, and the wall lights by Fritz Hansen.

When a bedroom has an unusually shaped window that no curtain solution suits nicely, tackle the blackout challenge with a sleep mask.

Aapo’s study is his realm, where bookcases were built exactly to his wishes and measurements. The desk is from Bukowskis and the rug from Carpetvista.

The tiled stove, in good condition, is a striking focal point in the living room, with passages on both sides leading to the study and the staircase.

A narrow but bright staircase leads to the upstairs bedrooms. The guest WC under the stairs is small but essential.

Moving here has affected me…

with a touch of wistfulness. I’m from Helsinki, and I still haven’t quite made peace with being a Turku resident. I know I’m privileged to even fret and ache about it, but we now have this paradise here that we’ve committed to—very far from home.

Inkeri’s room is like every little girl’s dream. Though Inkeri at first dreamed of flamingo wallpaper, she shifted to a more restrained tone. As Jenna puts it, Inkeri’s room ended up just a touch *sad beige*.

The canopy curtain and the wall light are from Jollyroom.

Väinö’s unusually shaped room has just the best atmosphere, says Jenna. The wall’s loose shelves are from Bauhaus; the desk and little chair from Tori. The small table lamp is a &Tradition Flowerpot and the large rice paper light is by Hay.

The finest moments here…

we experienced when we paid the last plumber’s bill and running water flowed from the kitchen tap. Restoring a place like this is basically a full-time job—the paycheck just has a minus sign.

Few would guess this, but…

despite our home’s beautiful outcome, I’m a major ditherer, and that’s exactly why bringing a decisive professional into the project mattered. I can easily lose sleep over where a picture should hang, but with Anna-Kaisa we hammered almost all our home’s art into place in under half an hour.

The utility room countertops are genuine marble and the pulls are from Domus Classica. Ironing has its own little sanctuary in front of the window. The drying racks on the wall are in daily use.

The laundry/utility space is ideally on the same floor as the bedrooms. The wash cycle is easier to spin when clothing storage and care are in the same room.

The utility room has meters upon meters of countertop space for folding laundry.

When there’s extra time…

I have a glass of wine and cook in peace. Our kitchen is one of my favorite spaces. On weekends I go all in on breakfast. We linger over it together as a family.

I’ve been happiest…

at Christmas, when we managed to fit all our close relatives around the same holiday table. The house was full, even though we didn’t have proper beds for everyone. On Christmas Eve I genuinely felt that this is what this house was built for—and thankfully it’s ours.