The Helenius family’s Ibiza is just over half an hour’s drive from their home. The beach at their holiday home in Somero, which was completed last summer, is as warm as the sunny shores of the south, and the light-filled cottage is, to quote the lady herself, absolutely brilliant.
On the shore of the lake’s shallow bay, the grass is always green – even on the coldest days of midwinter. The lawn on the slope of the Helenius family’s holiday home is made of artificial turf, which the owner of the house, J-P Helenius, sells and installs in the gardens of homes and businesses. This low-maintenance artificial turf holds up perfectly well even in Finland’s changeable weather conditions.
The large Helenius family spends more time at their holiday home in the summer than in their actual home. Even the eldest of the four children are still happy to head to the warm beach for a swim and a sauna, even though at their age there are plenty of other activities competing for their free time. The family’s furry representatives, Kyösti and Kimmo – large but gentle-natured Leonberg dogs – cool off frequently in the lake and lounge around the yard. They are happy to spend the whole day in the yard; the dogs don’t come inside.
A clean-lined and light-filled log cabin
When it was time to start building, Reetta and J-P had a clear vision of a log building with clean lines and plenty of light. The choice was easy once the couple saw the Log Cabin Piste 50 from Kuusamo Log Houses’ range.
The building, with its pent roof and clearly rectangular shape, features a high wall consisting mainly of glass. Behind the large windows lie the open-plan living area and a second bedroom. The 50-square-metre floor area accommodates two bedrooms as well as an elongated bathroom. At the entrance end of the house is a 15-square-metre covered terrace.
The Helenius family’s delight in their choice only grew during the construction period. The cottage package, which came from Kuusamo, was astonishingly complete. They only needed to visit the hardware store once to buy galvanised nails for the roof. Everything else they needed was included in the package put together by the team in Kuusamo. Now in their second summer at the cottage, the Helenius family are completely satisfied with their holiday home. In Reetta’s words, the cottage is absolutely brilliant.
The cottage walls are made of 135-millimetre laminated logs. The house was fitted with 40-centimetre extra insulation and the interior surfaces are log panelling. The cottage, with its large windows, is well-insulated even as summer turns to winter.
Foundations in the autumn – log delivery in the spring
Construction went smoothly once the foundations were laid in November 2020, ready for the log package. The timber delivery arrived on site as winter turned to spring, and we were able to start holidaying there by Midsummer. Miracles happened in just three months.
J-P was involved in the building work, but a large part of the work was done by a pair of brothers he already knew. They got the job done despite being in their 70s. The electrical and plumbing work was carried out by professional tradesmen they knew.
The cottage does not have a sauna. It was purchased separately from an old acquaintance of J-P’s. It arrived in Somero well before the cottage was completed and was initially taken to Reetta’s parents’ cottage to await the site’s preparation. The wall of the sauna building, which consists solely of the steam room, facing the shore is entirely made of glass. The steam is excellent and the view is impeccable.
Space for six people to relax
The kitchen was the key purchase during the interior design phase. It was bought from Ikea. Reetta and J-P reckon they got a functional cooking area at a reasonable price. The kitchen backsplash, like the cottage floor, is made of concrete.
Not much furniture was needed. The most important thing when buying it was to leave space for six people to relax. Everyone can sit on the sofa and around the yellow, round dining table.
All the work, including the garden, was completed in one go. Now the family can focus on enjoying their free time and designing and planning a new project. If they do go ahead with that, the 50-square-metre, light-filled cottage with its evergreen garden will probably be put up for sale.
This article was first published in the magazine Uusi Koti, issue 4/2022. The article was written by Jorma Välimaa and photographed by Hans Koistinen.
Find out more about the log cabin
The modern log cabin Piste’s impressively large windows open onto two sides, bringing nature close. This brightness and spaciousness also charmed the Helenius family. The family, who had been looking for a log cabin with clean lines and plenty of light, fell in love with the Piste 50 model the moment they saw it.
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Holiday homes
