Flows and logic connect the interior

ARTICLE Warm and cosy – but also practical. This holiday home in northern Finland, close to the ski slopes and forest, is designed for an active life where every function has its place and everything is linked by a natural flow that allows the family to both socialise and withdraw.

Light untreated walls and ceilings in Finnish spruce recur throughout the house, drawing you from one room to another in a welcoming flow. Elegant yet functional, every detail is designed for an active family looking for a warm and cosy retreat after a day on the slopes or on their bikes.

»The clients wanted a minimalist yet warm and inviting house. We chose wood for its local sustainability and left it untreated, as it’s better for the indoor climate to bring in the natural character of the forest, instead of boxing it all in. We then tried to find the details in the material that would enable us to create a unified whole,« says Elisa Ryhänen-Derrett.

An interior architect at Fyra Design, Elisa worked closely with Otso Virtanen, an architect at Ark Helsinki. They discussed various solutions and often merged their respective responsibilities, a way of working made possible because of the client’s clear brief from the start.

»It’s rare that you know what the interior will be like from the very first sketches of the house, but in this case we knew that everything would be built at the same time and that we needed to think it through from the inside out and work closely together to find the best solutions,« she says.

Wood is highlighted in every detail

The pared-back design highlights every bit of wood, every detail, which demands considerable skill from the architects. Since nothing is hidden behind paint or other materials, everything, including power sockets, must be planned and positioned in advance. One example is the spruce panels in the living room that run from the floor, up the wall and across the ceiling to the other side, where they go down the wall – a total of 14 metres where every joint has to be in the right place, all along the room.

But these are also the details that give the bare wood a considered elegance. In the hallway, built-in shelves and hooks make it easy for the family to store their leisure equipment – an important feature that greatly influenced the look of the interior. Nature and outdoor activities are the main attractions at the ski resort of Äkäslompolo in Finnish Lapland, which serves the family’s two main interests: downhill skiing and mountain biking. This has influenced the way the rooms are connected and how their different functions are distributed. Abundant storage by the entrance, plus a strategically placed washing machine, allow the family to leave the mud and dirt there when they return from a bike ride. Just inside the entrance there is a bathroom and sauna along with generous hanging space, all placed like small islands with access on several sides to ensure a good flow in the house.

»The design needs to take account of how people behave and act to make the different spaces work optimally. This is how form and function go hand in hand. When you come in, there’s really only one place to put your stuff, just off the entrance, and you can make a mess just in one corner,« says Elisa Ryhänen-Derrett.

The layout gives space for socialising and withdrawing

Beyond these small rooms with their basic functions, the home itself opens out, with 120 square metres of space for both socialising and withdrawing. A key part of the layout is therefore the separate, private spaces, with bedrooms clearly divided off from the communal areas.

»The upstairs has almost no views out, and is meant instead to have the feeling of an attic. You can’t see the neighbours or the car outside. What you can see, thanks to the rooflight, is mostly just sky, putting you inside your own private world. It’s important to be able to socialise in the house, but also to get away from the bustle of other people,« says Otso Virtanen.

In the bathrooms, the soft, tactile wood is offset by stone floors and details – two natural materials in balance. Wool carpet covers the floor upstairs, while the downstairs floor is concrete, because it was already the foundation of the building and they didn’t want to add yet another material.

»The thought was that the concrete was already there – so why not use it? Our philosophy was to use natural and sustainable materials whenever we could and only add others where necessary,« says Elisa Ryhänen-Derrett.

The veranda that runs along the exterior of the house has also been picked up internally through a corridor that ties the house together with its line of sight from the entrance to the living room at the far end. The entire western gable of the ground floor is glazed, forming a harmonious transition between the cosy home and the changing nature and pine trees outside. The scale and shape of the windows on the other sides have been kept to a minimum so they feel integrated with the walls, rather than like separate elements, thus adding to the sense of calm in the house.

»Especially with detached homes, large windows are a major feature of the architecture, and in the dark they often feel even bigger. Especially if you’re in a smaller room, the window becomes like a big mirror because it reflects the interior. That’s something we’ve tried to avoid,« explains Otso Virtanen.

Focusing on natural light

This also affected the lighting, which consists mainly of small LED strips and subtle spotlights. The discreet lamps are intended to provide light without grabbing attention.

»Above all, we want natural light. If the northern lights or something else exciting happens outside, you shouldn’t have to go around turning off the lights to see it. You should already be completely in symbiosis with nature, and the interior helps with that,« says Elisa Ryhänen-Derrett.

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