While others head to the sandy beach to relax and admire the blue water, Sirpa and Pasi have built their own little paradise.
Sirpa and Pasi’s paradise lies right by the main road in the Juva area. Passing motorists take their foot off the accelerator and hit the brakes when they spot the house. The boldest stop to admire what they see. Some, perhaps, to envy it.
Everything in the setting is just right. The lake’s surface is a beautiful blue, Juva Church rises on the opposite shore, the beach is of pale sand, and the shape of the house is far from ordinary. The inverted pent roof is a distinctive feature of the Saapunki house model from Kuusamo Log Houses.
The house was completed last spring. Construction began when a generational handover took place on the family farm. One of Sirpa and Pasi’s sons took the lead and moved with his family into the farm’s main building, a log house built over 100 years ago. Sirpa and Pasi needed a new home for the rest of their lives.
The family has owned a cottage on an 8,000-square-metre lakeside plot for some twenty years. They had been thinking of extending it and turning it into a permanent home. When they asked the building inspector about it, the idea didn’t sound promising. – You’d be better off building a new house on the plot, the official remarked in his calm South Savonian manner. The suggestion was welcome news for Sirpa and Pasi. They might not have dared to apply for planning permission for a new house themselves.
Houses are built from logs
There was no need to think twice about the house’s structure. In Sirpa and Pasi’s view, proper houses are built from logs. Kuusamo Log Houses’ Saapunki looked just right in the photos – modern and intriguing, with its high-ceilinged living areas and large windows. From there, you could see the lights of the village centre clearly even on dark winter evenings. At the same time, a carport was designed to follow the contours of the house, which has proved particularly necessary for the family’s young dog, Casmir. The Newfoundland, the size of a small bear with his thick coat, needs a shady spot on summer days. The young gentleman fits comfortably in the carport.
The room layout was tailored to the needs of two adults. A play area for the grandchildren was created on the open-plan loft. No more than two bedrooms were required. The biggest headache was how to arrange the utility rooms so that Sirpa and Pasi’s bedroom leads directly to the utility room and from there to the sauna. After mulling over various options for a while, the pieces fell into place. The route now runs through the WC and walk-in wardrobe to the utility room, from which there is access to both the outdoor terrace and the washroom and sauna. The best thing about this route is the lake view from the bedroom window and the wood-fired sauna waiting at the other end. There, you can enjoy a proper sauna session, after which you can walk to the end of the long jetty and dive into the blue water.
Naturalness and harmony
They wanted their home to be natural, harmonious and timeless. Sirpa has always been interested in interior design and, before the house project began, she wanted to deepen her passion by studying to become an interior designer at Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences. For a “professional”, designing her own home was a challenging and interesting project.
The log walls were lightened slightly with Colorian oil wax, the window shutters were painted white, and the kitchen was fitted with white A la Carte cabinets. As the round dining table is also white, this provided a light contrast to the large log surfaces. The floors are Timberwise oak parquet, even at the risk of Casmir, who roams around indoors, leaving his paw prints on the surface. For the loft, Sirpa found an easy-care fitted carpet. It feels pleasant under the children’s feet and absorbs sound nicely.
The biggest challenge was choosing wallpapers bold enough for the hallway and bedrooms. While leafing through Maricken’s wallpaper books, Sirpa was most surprised by a pattern featuring large dragonflies. She fell in love with it, even though she has hated all kinds of insects her whole life. It ended up on the wall of the guest room. After all, there have to be insects in paradise too.
Log Home Saapunki 149
A log villa dream on the sandy shore – the article was first published in the magazine Uusi Koti, issue 4/2020. The article was written by Jorma Välimaa and photographed by Hans Koistinen.
