During tough times, the island house was Nina’s only refuge—“The family home’s role as my spiritual home has only grown stronger”

Villa Nordbergs has stood amidst a half-hectare garden in the outer Åland archipelago for over a century. In 2006, Nina Kiuru inherited the family estate. Together with her husband Kim, she carried out an extensive renovation of the log house.

“I love everything old. As history teachers, we are both interested in a house’s past as well. That’s why the island house is a dream come true for me,” Nina says.

Nina’s family has lived in the village of Torsholma in Brändö since the 1500s—or at least that’s when the church records begin. They made their living as farmers, sailors, and fishermen.

“In the outer archipelago, you had to be entirely self-sufficient, and during the seasons when neither boats nor the ice could take you anywhere, the villagers had to depend on each other,” Nina explains.

Nina and Kim Kiuru visit their vacation home whenever possible. They are often accompanied by Kasimir, 22, and their dogs Kaarlo, Martti, and Veijo.

It makes Nina happy to be able to preserve her family’s history through Villa Nordbergs. The box with the red cross is her great-grandmother’s first-aid kit; she attended a nursing school for a year.

On chilly autumn days, the Tulikivi wood-burning stove is also used for cooking. The playful calendar tea towels are flea market finds. Some of the butter tubs on top of the cabinet were found in the house, and some bought at flea markets. The juice jugs are from Kim’s grandmother.

Jani Peltonen, who carried out the house’s renovation, made the table from old birch planks according to Nina’s vision. The dish shelf gifted by Aunt Margit was carved by the village carpenter and still has its original paint. The deep red of the rose hips collected in the glass jar is echoed in the cushion covers on the wooden sofa. The floral cover is a souvenir that Nina’s mother brought from Saaremaa.

Kalle, a retired maritime pilot living in the village, made the kitchen shelves by sawing from old planks. Nina ordered the iron brackets from Estonia. Dry goods are stored in old glass jars, protected from the humidity of the archipelago. The labels were made by cutting pieces out of chalkboard sticker.

The berries of the barberry bush are like rubies hanging from the branches. The bowl is made by Nina, and the bench was found in the barn. The brick surface of the wall was left exposed intentionally.

The house had been in the possession of a blind great-uncle until the 1990s and had fallen into a sad state. Some of the windows of the house, clad with fiber cement panels, had been covered, the floors had plastic carpets, and the bathroom wall was moldy. However, the roof had been replaced, and the log frame was in good condition. As a first step, Nina and Kim tore out the plastic carpets, allowing the old wooden floors to breathe again. They also removed the fiber cement panels, and the exterior walls received a coating of homemade yellow paint, prepared in the same way as the traditional Falu red.

Later, the couple hired a professional reconstruction specialist who insulated the house. At the same time, window openings that were revealed from inside the walls were put back into use.

“We made the upstairs a heated space and installed air-source heat pumps on both floors. Now the house is better equipped for year-round use.”

Villa Nordbergs holds significant importance for the family in many ways. When Nina suffered from severe depression for years, the island house was the only place where she could breathe.

“Now that I’m healthier, the family home’s role as my favorite place and spiritual home has only grown stronger. I love the quiet moments in the mornings here, when I’m lighting the fire in the main room hearth.”

The stair rail carved by Great-grandfather has worn beautifully over the decades. The family’s dogs Martti and Veijo enjoy the archipelago.

During the renovation, the upstairs was turned into a unified heated space. The sofa serves as a guest bed for their son and his girlfriend when they stay at the house. The bottle and skis are original to the house. The crow lamp is by Seletti. Nina brought the large seashell back from Greece as a child. The old storm lantern is dear to Nina; according to her, it has an almost magical presence.

The painting on the wall depicts Great-grandfather’s boat Svea. The wooden sofa and chairs have always been in the house. The rag rugs were found at a yard sale on the island.

Neighbor Roger sawed the candle holder at Nina’s request.

The sturdy dish cabinet is part of the house’s original furnishings. The dishes are inherited from the house and Kim’s grandmother. Nina has made the ceramic pieces.

Nina makes her purchases for the vacation home at flea markets. She listens to her intuition and combines different colors and styles. Here, Nina also gets inspired to do handicrafts, and she paints, crafts, makes ceramics and prepares soaps and facial creams.

“I love rag rugs! I finally got a loom for myself, and next summer I plan to weave a few rugs from weft threads I dyed with plant-based dyes. I always have a few projects underway, like making rose jams, rowanberry mead, and juniper berry candles. We smoke a lot of fish, and in autumn I make venison stew on the wood stove.”

The Kiurus have inherited many old pieces of furniture and items from their family, and many of them have ended up here.

“I love thinking that many generations have already leaned on the railing carved by my great-grandfather, or that I bake Karelian pies and hemvete—the traditional Åland bread—in my great-grandmother’s wood-burning oven.”

Nina doesn’t shy away from modern furniture, but glossy surfaces and fiddling with small trinkets don’t belong in this house, in her opinion. Sturdy furniture and worn surfaces, on the other hand, appeal to Nina. She enjoys repurposing items, and is no stranger to using the paint brush.

“I don’t paint just anything, but if a chair already has two layers of paint, a third won’t hurt.”

The embroidered blanket and the headboard were found on second-hand online store Tori.fi. Nina has a weakness for wool embroidery. Old classroom posters are hung on the wall.

The chamber window was found without glass under the wall panels. The chair and wooden box were found in the barn attic. The wallpaper is ‘Metsäpolku’ by Sandudd.

The plywood ceiling dates back to Great-grandmother’s time in the 1950s.

The heavy iron bed in the guest room was found in the barn attic. Kasimir and his girlfriend found the mushroom painting at a flea market in Tampere.

The lamp was purchased from PR Home, and the wallpaper is by Pip Studio.

The teddy bear is a flea market find from 20 years ago. The chair is an old children’s chair that belonged to Grandfather.

The Dala horses have been bought secondhand.

In Nina’s great-grandmother’s time, the garden was full of floral splendor but had over the years become overgrown. Nina has uncovered the huge terraces made by her great-grandmother, and next it’s time to plant. In addition to apple and plum trees and lilac bushes, old-time plants like soapwort, roses, poppies, and mallows have persisted in the yard. Nina has had a large vegetable garden for years.

In the summer, Nina and Kim chug from island to island in a small boat with their three dogs, but winter brings to mind the perseverance of past generations from hundreds of years ago.

“Nature is quite merciless here, and the storms can be intense at times. The sea wind at its worst is damp and cold, and in winter the archipelago is quiet. From last January to May, I was here alone with the dogs, and despite the heat pumps, we had to heat the house quite extensively. Walking to the seashore, I could almost swear I heard and saw the mothers and wives of past centuries on the shores, crying for their loved ones lost to the sea. To quote an old folk poem: ‘the moon shines brightly, the dead ride lightly, don’t you, the living, fear?’ Despite the difficult moments and challenges, the hardest thing here is leaving. Maybe once we retire, we’ll be able to stay on the island for longer periods.”

Nina collects original movie posters. In the staircase, there is a Seacrow Island poster. The lanterns and the old telephone are original to the house. Sitting on the chair are Marttamolla and Rauhamolla, acquired from Kuovi. They are friends of Annamolla, originally designed by Birger Kaipiainen for readers of Anna magazine in 1967.

This fly agaric has an especially beautiful cap! Nina’s grandfather used to play with the wooden horse, possibly even his father before him.

Nina has inherited from her mother the skill and desire to use nature’s offerings in vases and beautiful arrangements.

Nina and Kim’s island house was built in 1900 and is located in Brändö, Åland. It has three rooms and a kitchen-living room, totaling 130 m². Additionally, there’s a barn that includes, among other things, a baking room and a sauna. Nina painted the door in her favorite color. The table, already painted multiple times, was found in the house and received yet another new color. The candles arranged on the metal tray rest on a bed of lichen decorated with dried tansy blossoms and barberry branches.

In the gazebo, the inner child has been allowed to run free. The shelves are lined with toys, porcelain items, jars, and knickknacks, as Nina says. The tablecloth is made from retro curtains bought at the island’s yard sale. The chairs have been acquired inexpensively from here and there and customized with different colors.

In Åland, you can own property only through consanguinity or regional citizenship. This island house could tell many stories of life surrounded by the sea with all its hardships.