A boho factory conversion in Finland

By Christianne Raymer

Published: Saturday, 07 May 2022 at 12:00 am

Even from the outside, Anna Piiroinen and Tomi Parkkonen’s home in the small coastal town of Hanko in southern Finland is the picture of bohemian romance. The two-storey whitewashed building still features many of the charming architectural details common to the elaborate properties built in the late 19th century, when Hanko was a well-to-do spa town popular with Russian nobility.

With its original wrought-iron balcony, matching lantern and large arch-shaped windows, it’s no wonder the intriguing, wedge-shaped building caught the eye of writer Anna and her husband Tomi, a photographer. They first spotted the building while on a romantic getaway many years ago, and learned that it had once been a factory producing tins for Hanko, an iconic brand of Finnish biscuits.

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The building left a deep impression on the couple and, some years later in 2005 when it came up for sale, they jumped at the chance to buy it. Living in Helsinki at the time, they saw it as an opportunity to relocate their young family to the seaside.

Transforming the old factory into a home presented an exciting challenge and the couple were determined to honour the building’s industrial mood and ruggedness, says Anna. ‘A factory is a factory regardless of how many layers of paint you add. At the same time, we wanted our home to be relaxed and cosy.’

Although the building was in a dire state, the couple approached the renovation with a light touch, removing problems rather than restructuring. Down came a false ceiling to reveal dramatic brickwork, out went the rotten floor, which was replaced with simple floorboards.

Once the dirty work had been completed, walls were whitewashed and the couple began the process of putting their own stamp on the building. They chose simple furniture – a mix of antiques and flea-market finds, along with pieces passed down from friends and family, as well as unfussy contemporary designs.

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Stepping through the large double doors today, the building’s industrial heritage is immediately apparent: the large entrance hall leads into a huge room with a dramatic vaulted brick ceiling. Filled with natural daylight, which pours through the arched window that dominates one wall, it was obvious to Anna and Tomi that this space would be best used as a kitchen-cum-dining room.

They chose vintage furniture with a hint of the factory floor about it, such as the Tolix stools and the large pendant light hanging over the dining table. The black Smeg cooker, open metal shelves and vintage ladders that lean against various walls are also clear nods to the building’s history. Colourful rugs, pretty vintage tableware and, in the L-shaped living room at the far end of the living space, squashy sofas and shelves filled with quirky flea-market finds complete the ‘comfortable industrial’ look that Anna and Tomi were determined to create.

This combination of vintage and modern continues throughout the house. Anna traces her love of what she describes as a ‘relaxed boho look’ to school days spent in France, and so it’s no surprise that French antiques have worked their way into the mix, most notably the large mirror in the hall.

Upstairs, in another mostly open-plan space, two sleeping areas and a bathroom are separated by screens and simple curtains. In keeping with the factory aesthetic, the furniture is minimal. Twin metal beds remain in what was once their children’s ‘room’ and in what is now the master bedroom clothes are stored in an old haberdasher’s cupboard and on open clothes rails.

Pops of emerald green and bright blue enliven the almost monochrome decor. In winter, warmth comes from a woodburner in the corner, ensuring that the building feels cosy, despite the industrial aesthetic.

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The main whitewashed façade of Anna and Tomi’s house, with its front double doors, original wrought-iron features and distinctive arched window, faces on to the street.
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The back door leads out to a courtyard where the couple like to entertain friends on summer evenings.
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The exposed brickwork adds to its rustic charm.
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The kitchen-dining room takes up most of the ground floor and is dominated by the impressive raw brick factory ceiling. The dining table was inherited from Anna’s parents. The Heteka Finland chairs around it were bought from a friend, as was the metal shelving unit, which was originally from Ikea. The turquoise chest of drawers was found at a flea market.
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Anna is a wizard in the kitchen and has her own food blog. There are always fresh flowers on the table and artistically styled table settings, which she photographs for her blog.
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The centrepiece of the kitchen is an enormous arched window that floods the room with light. The large pendant lampshade over the dining table gives a nod to the building’s factory origins. Anna found it in a local interiors and photography shop in Hanko. The wooden floors throughout the ground floor are strewn with oriental rugs.
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Anna chose to have long open shelves above the kitchen cabinets, rather than wall cupboards. The framed photographs above are by Tomi. The black cooker and hood are by Smeg.
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The couple spent several years looking for the right sofas for the living room. They finally found these ones in the perfect shade of blue by chance in Ikea. In the corner is a retro record player and on the walls a collection of the couple’s art
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The blue ceramic lamp base was found at a flea market and is a perfect colour match for the sofas.
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Anna has styled up the living room shelves with books and trinkets.
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Anna is a Francophile and went to a French school. Within her vinyl collection are readings of French poetry.
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The raw brick ceiling is a striking feature that perfectly offsets the couple’s blue fabric furniture. All the interior walls are painted white. The photographic artwork behind the sofa is by Tomi. The velvet cushions came from Moko Market in Helsinki.
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Anna buys most of her furniture from flea markets and from friends and relatives who want to get rid of things. The mirror in the entrance hall came from France.
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Like the ground floor, the first floor is mainly open plan. The main sleeping area is large and bright. Throughout the winter a woodburner in the corner heats the room. The bathroom is separated from the main bedroom by a curtain
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The main bedroom has a monochrome colour scheme enlivened with splashes of emerald green and blue. The bed linen is from Finnish textile store Langø and the blue table came from a local antiques store.
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Next to the main bedroom is a sleeping area where Anna and Tomi’s eldest daughter sleeps when she visits. Anna bought the floral rug at Hanko’s Night Market. The old metal bed came from Anna’s childhood home.
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Upstairs there is also a large room, which used to be shared by the couple’s younger children. The old-fashioned iron beds came from Anna’s parents’ storage, and one of them was Anna’s when she was a child.
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The first floor landing looks out over the courtyard. The stool was a present to Anna from Tomi.
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The stairs from the living room to the upper floor are wide, in keeping with the scale of the old factory. On the wall at the top of the stairs is one of Tomi’s photographic artworks.