W
ithitswhitewashedwalls,
thoughtfullychosen
designclassicsand
carefullyconsidered
storage,anairoftranquillitypervades
KatjaVirtanenandVesaHeikkilä ’selegant
Helsinkiapartment.Butit wasn’talwaysso.
Theirperiodhome,withitshighceilings
andoriginaldoubledoors,hasbeen
reimaginedformodernfamilyliving
andtherenovationinvolvedcameata
particularlybusytimeinthecouple’slives.
‘Wewerelivingnearbyina one-bedroom
apartmentwithourson,Noel,’saysKatja.
‘I wasexpectingoursecondchildand we
knewwehadtomove– andfast.’
KatjaandVesafoundthisspacious,
turn-of-the-centuryapartmentincentral
Helsinki,butit neededa significant
overhaul.‘Wewerebothbusyworking,’says
Katja,anentrepreneur,‘butwehada good
ideaofwhatwewantedtodoandasked
designerSusannaLundéntohelpusrealise
ourvision,whichthankfullyeasedthestress.’
Theprojectinvolvedremovingwallsto
createa large,open-plankitchenanddining
area.Theoriginalkitchenwasturnedinto
a study,a utilityareawassitedina discreet
spaceoffthenewsittingroomandallofthe
parquetfloorsandthewallswerepainted
whitetomaximiselight.Thecouplealso
madethedecisiontoturnthemastersuite
intoa bedroomandplayroomfortheir
children,NoelandbabySienna.‘Itmade
perfectsensebecausetheroomconnects
directlytoourlivingspace,’explainsKatja.
‘Eventually,we’llreturnit toa mastersuite,
butfornowit worksbrilliantly, as I can
easilykeepaneyeonthem.’
ItwasinthisroomthatKatjamadeone
ofherboldestdesigndecisions:shepapered
thefacingwallwitha dramaticforestprint
wallpaper, an archive classic reworked by
SITTINgROOm
DETaIL
Katjadesignedthis
usefulstoragewith
interiorsspecialist
SusannaLundénand
thenhadit builtby
a localcarpenter.
Fora vintageMoroccan
boucherouiteragrug,
from£150,tryetsy
STUDY
Thekitchenwas
previouslylocatedin
thispracticalspace.
‘It’sperfect,aswe
bothsometimeswork
from home,’ explains
Katja.‘Italsodoubles
asa sparebedroom.’
hay’sPyramidtable01,
£659,is similar.Louis
ghostarmchair,£520
fortwo,heal’s
cHILDREN’S
BEDROOm
Avintagedaybed
paintedturquoise
andvibrantbedlinen
echothewallpaper.
FôretNoirewallpaper
byDomestic,£422a
roll,MadeinDesign.La
Volièrependantlamp
byMathieuChallières,
£395, the Conran Shop
44 | 25bhJuNe 2019