The working days of an entrepreneurial family are long and demanding. The reward for their hard work is a new and magnificent home that truly rises above the everyday routine.
An eagle’s nest in the middle of the village. That is how one might describe Mari and Jari-Jukka Kallung’s black log house in Salo, which is just a few months old. The impressive building is visible from afar, and the views from it are far-reaching. The house was chosen primarily for its appearance. Kuusamo Log Houses’ latest house model, Log Home Hiisi, captivated them at first sight. The idea of building a log house only added to the appeal, even though Mari and Jari-Jukka hadn’t initially envisaged a house with thick wooden walls as their new home.
The deals were quickly finalised and Sauli Saarinen, a carpenter they knew from Perniö, set to work. His company, Rakennus Saarinen, managed the construction so that the family was able to move into their new home on the first working day immediately after Christmas. Due to the busy work schedule, the move was not rushed for Christmas; instead, they settled down to spend the festive season in the family’s previous house.
The plot was purchased in autumn 2020. Sirkkula is a fully built-up residential area located five kilometres from the centre of Salo. All the plots in the town have been sold out, but the family was lucky enough to spot a 1,500-square-metre rocky plot that had come up for sale. It had been carved out of the large garden area of an old detached house plot. The site can be considered a real find.
There was no need to even blast the site. A little quarrying was sufficient before the block foundations were laid. The house sits firmly against the rock. This large, massive building, constructed with natural materials, will stand on this site for the foreseeable future. And it will remain the family’s home for a long time to come. The investment in the interior speaks volumes about the fact that the house was not built with the intention of selling it. It has been crafted into a flawless whole, tailored precisely to the tastes of Mari and Jari-Jukka, as well as their daughters Nea and Nella. The surface materials are of the highest quality and the colour choices are bold.
An exceptionally light-filled home
The house has a floor area of over 200 square metres. The net floor area of this three-bedroom house is 185 square metres. Downstairs, in addition to the living areas and sauna facilities, there is a study. The passageways are spacious and there is so much glazing that the home is extremely light and airy. Upstairs there is also an open-plan living area, with a double-height living room visible behind the glass balustrade. The master bedroom has a balcony, and there are three terraces around the house – next to the kitchen, at the end of the sauna and by the entrance.
The house has two full floors. The gently sloping roof has a broken gable shape. Appearance is always a matter of taste, but everyone would surely describe the house as striking. After all, that’s what got Mari and Jari-Jukka excited about building it.
Timber is a versatile interior design element
The couple share a similar, refined taste in interior design. As the interior work approached, they delved into what the interior design market had to offer. The idea was not simply to pop into the nearest DIY store to choose tiles and other materials.
The most striking feature of the home is the wall colour. With the exception of the girls’ rooms, the interior log surfaces have been treated twice with Uula’s plastic-free Ilona translucent paint in a warm brown shade. The shade is Tatti from the Tikkurila colour chart. The dark wooden surfaces simply exude warmth and cosiness. Alongside them, the black window frames and interior doors look perfectly stylish.
Black was also the obvious choice for the kitchen units. The kitchen is an important part of the home for the family. Good food is eaten and enjoyed at the table. It is therefore worth investing in the functionality of the kitchen, both in terms of the layout and the fittings.
A breakfast cupboard with double doors that slide into the frame has been incorporated into the tall wall unit in the kitchen. A BORA hob was chosen for the island, featuring a round extractor fan in the centre. A gold-toned tap was chosen for the water point. It is Tapwell’s Honey Gold. The showers in the sauna facilities also feature the same range of taps.
A section of the brown log wall peeks out from between the kitchen cupboards on the back wall. It was not deemed necessary to protect it separately. The thick log wall can certainly withstand small splashes of water. The complete furniture scheme was designed by Tiina Tuovinen at the Noblessa store in Salo. The transaction was not limited to just purchasing furniture, nor was it one-sided. Tiina and her husband bought the old Kallunki’s house. The arrangement went smoothly, and the builder family did not need to find temporary accommodation whilst waiting for the house to be completed.
Initially, a concrete floor was planned for the ground floor. This idea was abandoned, and instead, very large grey tiles were chosen. They measure 120 x 240 mm. The same giant size is also found on the walls of the wet rooms. The patterns on the tiles are particularly striking. The most eye-catching piece of furniture is the giant lounge sofa in the living room. This golden, invitingly soft beauty has also helped the family’s dog, Jeppe, settle into his new home. Mari and Jari-Jukka found the sofa in the shop at the interior design tent at last summer’s Housing Fair.
Above the everyday – this article was first published in the magazine Uusi Koti, issue 2/2022. The article was written by Jorma Välimaa and photographed by Hans Koistinen.
See also:
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Log houses
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Virtual house showing
