Plenty of space and ample seating. You’ll find all this in the house built for the Tähtinen couple’s future together.
A dining table for 12 and a four-metre-long sofa fit comfortably into the living room of Melina and Tino Tähtinen’s home. The 174 square metres of floor space provide plenty of room, and as it has been used thoughtfully, the home not only looks but also feels spacious. The couple, who married last summer, are living as a couple for the time being. The household will grow in June when their baby boy is born. They are thinking of expanding the family further after their first son. There are certainly enough children’s rooms.
Tino hails from a quiet hamlet in Mynämäki. Melina, who grew up in Raisio, found it easy to fall in love with the rural idyll there. They decided to build their shared home for the rest of their lives there, as they easily found a plot through a friend. The couple were ready for the house-building project whilst still young, well under thirty. The house was completed last Midsummer, and now that the sounds from the building site have faded away, the plot is almost silent. Sitting on the terrace, not even the faintest sounds of traffic reach your ears. Occasionally, a villager might drive along the sandy track winding around the edge of the large plot.
Melina and Tino had shared expectations for their new home. They were absolutely determined to build a log house. Both practical and emotional reasons influenced this choice. A log house built from Finnish timber is eco-friendly, and the breathable walls make living there healthy and pleasant. Both Melina and Tino feel that the appearance of a log house is stylish, even beautiful. Log houses are also familiar to Tino through his work. His company, Rakennuspalvelu Tähtinen, mainly builds log-built detached houses.
Kuusamo Log Houses was selected as the timber supplier for the project. The walls are made of 202 modern-style laminated logs. The basic idea for a single-storey L-shaped house was found in the Kuusamo’s catalogue, but the couple designed the floor plan themselves down to the last detail. Living in the house has already proven to be practical, and the large kitchen-living room is spacious enough. Many of Melina and Tino’s relatives and friends live in Mynämäki. They keep in close contact with them, and by the weekend at the latest, all 12 chairs around the dining table are in use. The corner sofa was also sized with large groups of guests in mind.
The interior features a soothing colour scheme
The house has four spacious bedrooms. Adjacent to the master bedroom is a walk-in wardrobe of almost 8 square metres. The sauna wing also features a separate room, which was originally designed as a fireplace room. However, the fireplace was built into the corner of the living room and the fireplace room was designated as a relaxation area. In winter, people enjoy spending the rest of the evening there after a sauna session. On summer evenings, you can just as easily step out of the sauna onto the terrace via the utility room. There is plenty of space there for both dining and relaxing, as well as for a soak in the hot tub. The water in the tub is heated using geothermal energy.
Making interior design choices for a large house has been a labour-intensive task. All purchases were put out to tender, which in turn increased the workload. The end result is a harmonious whole with a warm colour scheme.
A dark colour was chosen for the exterior of the house. The shade selected was a dark grey wood stain. Black was not shunned in the interior design, even though the overall look is light – though not white. Black kitchen units were purchased from a kitchen furniture shop. The kitchen is spacious, and the long island serves entirely as a preparation and work area. The sink and hob are positioned along the wall. The long dining table is Tino’s own design, as no suitable, sufficiently large piece of furniture could be found in the shops.
The log walls have been waxed on the inside to a soft, light colour. The wall in the utility room features log-coloured glued log panelling. The floors are medium-brown vinyl planks. The sloping ceiling in the living room is always a striking feature. The ceilings in the other rooms have white MDF panelling.
The furnishings are cosy. The floors are covered with homespun rugs. A large macramé piece hangs above Melina and Tino’s bed. The first pieces of furniture have already been placed in the future room of the baby due in June. The loveliest of these is a beautifully weathered armchair that belonged to Tino’s grandfather.
This article was first published in Uusi Koti magazine, issue 3/2023. The article was written by Jorma Välimaa and photographed by Hans Koistinen.
