The owner of this old wooden house on the outskirts of Sipoo—a small town near Helsinki with a population of 22,000—is 80-year-old artist and former Marimekko (the iconic Finnish design brand) designer Kerstin Enbom. After her husband’s passing, she remained alone in the large, secluded house but never once considered selling the family estate or moving closer to her children.
For Kerstin Enbom, the house is a place of strength. Every corner is familiar, and every object has a story. The artist welcomed reporters from the Finnish interior project Meillakotona and showed them how and where she lives.
The home is filled with vintage items and family heirlooms. Discover more in today’s feature on HyggeMag.com.
Kerstin stands on the doorstep of her home.
“I can sleep through the day and be creative at night. Or I might spend the entire day by the fireplace with a book and a glass of wine,” Kerstin told Meillakotona in an interview. “In other words, I’m at a stage in life where I can do exactly what I want.”
In the 1960s and 70s, Kerstin Enbom worked as a designer for Marimekko. Later, she taught art in college. Since the early 2000s, she has run her own registered business.
Today, the 80-year-old artist occasionally crafts handmade items to order—mainly toys, curtains, and textiles. These can be bought through her website or the small shop next to her house in Sipoo.
Kerstin lives in a house built in the 1930s. From the outside, it looks like a fragile wooden cottage, but it’s nearly 150 square meters (about 1,615 square feet). It has five rooms, a modern bathroom, a traditional Finnish sauna, and a walk-in closet.
“The coziness here envelops visitors in a unique atmosphere. You get the sense that a happy person lives here,” wrote Meillakotona, describing Kerstin’s home.
You enter the house through an unheated and uninsulated porch. It’s cold in the winter but just right in the summer—cool and refreshing.
Old bird prints. Bookshelves just below the ceiling. A vintage bench with sky-blue cushions and mattress… The interior is simple in a country kind of way, but very homey.
The windows still have old glass—no modern insulated windows (double glazing)—and there’s a plain geranium on the windowsill. That’s the kind of atmosphere that fills Kerstin’s home.
Her husband’s parents bought the house in the 1930s. For many years, it served as a summer cottage. In 1987, Kerstin and her husband moved in full-time. They had run into financial trouble, sold their previous home to pay off debts, and thought they were relocating temporarily.
“Almost 40 years have passed. Deep down, I’m a country girl, so it wasn’t hard for me to settle here. I’ve had a wonderful time,” Kerstin says now, looking back.
In the foreground, the living room. There’s an old piano and a large table.
The chairs are carved in a late Baroque style. According to Kerstin, they were made by Finnish carpenters in the early 19th century.
The big farmhouse table dates back to the 1930s. Its history is unknown, but it spent time in the attic until the 1990s.
In the background, there’s a nearly 100-year-old wood-burning stove. To the right of it, a makeshift log holder. There’s a lot of wood—part of the house is still heated by stoves.
In front of the stove is an armchair converted from an old sled. Kerstin transformed it herself and decorated it with paint. It’s her favorite spot for reading or knitting.
She now lives alone in the large house. Her husband has passed away. Their two sons live far away, but they try to visit often with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The desk once stood in a Marimekko store. Kerstin brought it home while she was working there in the 1960s.
But her favorite seat is an armchair covered in white fabric. She finds it especially beautiful.
Her workspace also has a corner with the couple’s lifelong book collection.
“My mornings begin with making coffee, turning on the TV, and 30 minutes on the exercise bike. Then I head to my studio and can spend hours making collages. Sometimes I get so excited and impatient that I get up at 3 a.m., turn on classical music, and start creating,” says Kerstin.
One room is set aside as a dining area. It used to host big family gatherings, but now Kerstin prefers to eat in the living room.
There’s a charming detail in the dining room—a small side table and chairs from IKEA for her great-grandchildren.
Another curious object: a soup tureen on the windowsill. Kerstin and her husband received it as a wedding gift in the 1950s, and it’s still here.
The kitchen was last renovated in the 1980s. Her husband did all the work himself, even making the cabinets by hand.
Above, there’s a collection of copper pots. Kerstin doesn’t use them, but she polishes them once a year using citric acid solution, a traditional method for cleaning copper.
There’s nothing random in this interior—every object has a history. Her family has lived here for nearly a century.
The bedroom is the most atmospheric room in the house. It perfectly reflects the personality of its owner. A large canopy bed and hand-painted wardrobes—all made by the couple.
The wall above the bed is accented with a simple fabric panel. The wall sconces are mounted directly into the curtain.
Over fifty years ago, Kerstin designed prints for Marimekko. She still keeps a collection of the brand’s clothing. All the dresses and blouses in her wardrobe date back to the 1960s and 70s.
On the shelves in front of the bedroom window is a miniature model of a sailboat, which the 80-year-old found at a flea market. She treasures it dearly, so it sits protected in a glass aquarium.
“People sometimes ask how I live alone in such an old house, especially at 80. Well, let me tell you. In the coldest weather, I close off some rooms and keep them just warm enough. I live in the living room and sleep on a warm sofa by the fireplace. In summer, I’m mostly working in the garden,” she told a Finnish magazine.
“You know, I have no business being in a nursing home. I just can’t picture myself there. I need all of this around me. I just hope to stay healthy enough to keep living this way.”
Photos: Frida Steiner
