From doubts to success: the stunning transformation of an old Finnish wooden house

Janica Sandelin’s first impression of their future home in Maalahti was less than flattering. Her husband, Michael Sandelin had attended the viewing alone, and Janica saw the house for the first time only after they had won the bidding.

“Wow, what an ugly house,” she exclaimed when she finally saw it.

In the 1960s, a red-brick extension housing a sauna, bathroom, and entrance hall had been added to the side of the yellow-painted traditional Finnish wooden house.

“The single-story extension didn’t suit the house at all. What especially bothered me was that the entrance was awkwardly located on one side of the extension,” Janica explains.

Nearly three years later, Janica smiles as she recalls her initial thoughts about the house. Painted entirely red, including the eaves and corner trims, the wooden house looks completely rejuvenated.

Janica and Michael have settled well in Maalahti with their three children. The items on their wishlist for the kitchen, like the window seat and the pantry, were executed according to Janica’s designs. The old wooden door was stripped of paint.

This is how the house looked before the renovation:

The house received a new extension, adding 17.5 square meters to the upper floor. A balcony is also planned above the addition. The yellow doors were made by Kovjoen Puuveistämö.

Inside the blue kitchen, it’s still peaceful for a moment before the family’s 6-, 5-, and 2-year-old children are picked up from daycare. Janica and Michael sit at the kitchen table.

“Buying this house was a rational decision. We were looking for a new home specifically in this area. It’s a convenient distance to our parents in Närpiö and Vaasa,” Michael says.

The kitchen before renovation:

The illuminated glass cabinet creates a wonderful atmosphere in the kitchen. Formal dinnerware and beautiful glasses and pitchers are displayed behind the paneled glass doors. The lower section has space for everyday items. There is access to the living room on both sides of the cabinet.

The kitchen cabinets are made by Reno. The deep blue drawers are adorned with brass-colored handles.

The couple chose composite as the material for their countertops. The faucet is by Tapwell.

The couple, who moved back to Ostrobothnia from Espoo, first lived in an apartment in downtown Vaasa, and searched diligently for a home of their own for a year before they got lucky.

“We lost bidding wars on houses and, in desperation, even made offers on places that weren’t really what we wanted,” Michael continues.

They signed the purchase agreement just before Easter, and the renovation, carried out by a construction company, began in October 2020.

The living room before renovation:

The living room’s floral wallpaper has the same base color as the kitchen cabinets. The beautiful wallpaper is Emily 1855 by Boråstapeter. The modern sofa is the Shelton by Rowico.

The ambiance of the living room changed when a window was replaced with double glass doors. The delicate 1950s armchairs were a gift, and they were reupholstered by the couple with blue linen fabric.

Built in 1952, the wooden-framed house and its yard attracted multiple buyers. The house clearly had potential. It had a crawl space foundation, a 50-year-old metal roof, and wooden walls with sawdust insulation.

“Inside, the house was dark and a bit like a labyrinth. We both especially fell in love with the outbuilding, which has a brick barn section,” Janica explains.

The couple wasn’t intimidated by renovating an old house; Michael, who acted as the project supervisor, has a Master of Science in Engineering, while Janica is a construction engineer.

The house had good bones but, in their eyes, required a complete gutting, including a new floor plan. Much thought was given to what would be the most functional room layout for the 2020s. The family had experience living in a trendy open-concept home.

“Our children couldn’t stay at the dining table; they’d run off to the living room. For this home, we wanted clearly separate kitchen and living room spaces,” Janica says.

However, the location of the new kitchen was a concern.

“At first, Michael drew our bedroom in the current spot of the kitchen. His idea was to have direct access from the bedroom to the bathroom, which would have been nice.

But Janica had her doubts.

“I considered the placement of rooms based on the light. The kitchen is the heart of the home, and I wanted the evening sun to shine in there.

In the new layout, the kitchen now extends from the entrance hall and is the traffic hub of the home. It provides access to all the downstairs rooms as well as upstairs, where they eventually placed three bedrooms.

The upstairs bedrooms are about 10 square meters each. Enzio and Elwis’s bed got a new look when an IKEA Kura bunk bed was customized with slats and paint.

For Adeline’s desk, they came up with wall-mounted brackets topped with a custom-cut piece of glued laminated timber. The cute rainbow was painted with Tikkurila paint.

Midbec’s fresh Brittsommar wallpaper makes the hallway inviting. The built-in cabinets offer plenty of storage space for the family’s clothes and gear. The cabinets were made by Reno.

Everyday coats are on display on the open racks in the hallway. The wooden coat rack and shoe bench are from Rowico.

In this extensive project, all surfaces of the house were opened up. Nothing problematic was found in the structures; everything was dry and sound. The only concern was the moldiness of the cellar ceiling boards under the house.

“We investigated and concluded that the planks had gotten damp from condensation water. The issue was resolved with a new, tighter cellar door. This way, the moist and warm indoor air no longer leaks down,” Michael explains.

Access to the cellar remained in the same place, but a new window was opened in the dark stairwell to bring in light.

The house underwent an extensive energy renovation. Oil heating and water-circulating radiators were replaced with geothermal heating and water-based underfloor heating. The house was insulated with wood fiber insulation, which was added to the subfloor, walls, and roof.

The exterior cladding was also renewed with the addition of a ventilation gap. All interior and exterior doors and windows were replaced.

“We changed the window model to a slightly taller and narrower design. With the new window style, we wanted to bring a touch of country charm to the house.

The living room got an access to the garden, as one of the windows of the corner room was replaced with double glass doors.

“We’re planning to add a 35-square-meter terrace extending from the living room,” Janica mentions.

The stylish look of the sauna comes from the minimal material choices. The same terrazzo tile is used on the walls and floor. The paneling of the sauna room ceiling continues seamlessly into the bathroom. The sauna benches are heat-treated aspen and were made by Finnlaude. The glazing was acquired from Lasitehdas.

The dark wood surface pairs elegantly with the gray terrazzo tile. The vanity unit made by Reno has a laminate countertop. The vessel sinks are complemented by the matte black faucets from Gustavsberg. The mirrors were purchased from Lasitehdas.

The upstairs bathroom is located in the new extension. The dark terrazzo tile is paired with herringbone-laid tiles (10 × 20 cm) purchased from K-Rauta. The rain shower and the toilet are from Gustavsberg’s range.

The biggest individual change in the renovation was the demolition of the brick extension and replacing it with a new, partially taller addition.

“We wanted to eliminate the 1970s structures, so the old part was demolished down to the slab,” Michael says.

The central focus in designing the new addition’s layout was the location of the front door, as they wanted the entrance to be impressive. The yellow double doors were thus placed at the end of the extension. Along the hallway from the entrance are the utility room, washrooms, and sauna. The new and old parts were unified with a new seamed metal roof.

Janica and Michael are pleased with the outcome of the renovation. Their taste in style has remained consistent. The pantry built into the kitchen corner has proven to be a functional solution. The dark blue color of the kitchen cabinets still feels like the right choice. However, there’s still plenty to do, as the next project is already waiting in the yard.

“I knew that with renovation, this could become something great. I dream of renovating the old brick barn. It could become a wonderful yoga studio, with a small wood-burning stove to create atmosphere,” Janica muses.

Floor plan of the house:

The traditional Finnish wooden house, built in 1952, is located in Maalahti, Ostrobothnia. The house is 190 square meters and consists of the kitchen, living room, four bedrooms, office, sauna, washroom, utility room, and toilet. Additionally, the house has a basement.