Déjà vu - painting

So a little while back we decided to start reorganizing one of the rooms upstairs for the baby. Up until now, it has only been in occasional use, mostly for storing and office purposes. Honestly, not much though has been invested in this room...

Can you sense my reluctancy to pose?

But finally, the growing family served as the perfect excuse to take the first step. The string bookshelf and desk moved downstairs, and after a bit of persuasion, Sofi agreed to give up her Muurame drawer units as an exchange to another drawer. We actually quite like the new location of the String shelf - not quite sure if it will be the final destination, but seems to be working quite well for now.

New temp location for the String shelf

Clearly, Pekka has been a bit short on projects lately and was eager to get down and dirty with some very basic renovation. On Saturday night, after all the furniture shuffling, he suddenly proposed we should repaint the walls. And to make a long story short, on Sunday afternoon, the task was completed.

Sofi checking out the equipment

It is funny how time flies. In September 2012, when Minna was in charge of the painting of this particular room, baby Sofi was sitting in a bouncer chair and observing. Now, she loudly and persistently demanded to have a brush on her own to be able to participate. And of course, Pekka could not wish for a better assistant! And when one basically lives in the middle of a continuous renovation, one of the benefits is that all tools are readily available. Just like this time - no need to run out to get brushes our paint, or anything else for that matter - it took only a few minutes to fetch everything from the bunker.

Set - ready!

It was a fun weekend - our idea of "family quality time". And the walls, of course, look so much better. The after pictures will follow, once we get the furniture in place...

Master and apprentice

Pallo door knobs by Timo Sarpaneva

Our recent stories have been appearing a bit sporadically, and in all fairness, we'd like to tell you why. No, it is not because we'd be in the middle of some laborious renovation project. Quite the contrary, nearly all projects are temporarily on hold, as other things in life seem to require much of our focus at the moment. Together with some business partners, Pekka just started his third company in addition to the two existing ones - perhaps a word or two more about that later. Minna, on the other hand, is finishing things at the office and preparing to switch gears for a while to focus on a very specific personnel development project of the soon-to-be-growing Team Olive Green. Summing it all up - quite exciting!

But we are, and never will be too busy to miss an opportunity to visit local auctions when something interesting strikes our interest. A little while back Pekka spotted some familiar looking door knobs while browsing through items to be auctioned here in Helsinki - fours sets of Pallo door handles (1964) by Timo Sarpaneva for Finnish manufacturer Primo.

Four sets for four doors. A perfect match

Timo Sarpaneva (1926-2006) was one of the most celebrated Finnish designers of all time, and one of those talented individuals whose work established Finland on the global map of design. Today, Sarpaneva's designs can be found both in homes and museums around the world, extending from utility glassware and art glass to textiles and graphics. While working for Iittala glass factory he also created Iittala's "i" logo, which still serves as the symbol of the company. Iittala's selection also includes a cast iron pot designed by Sarpaneva, which has become an internationally recognised design icon.

But back to the Pallo door knobs. Yes, as the set of four was clearly perfect for the four doors downstairs, Pekka just had to have them, end of discussion. And only a few hours later after his first bid, he was already in the bunker greeting the knobs with a warm bubble bath, as he does with most of the incoming old things covered with dirt and dust.

Restoring shine!

Just to be sure they were clean enough, he left the pieces in the warm water for some time.

Underwater view

After the bath the door knobs were rinsed and ready for a closer inspection to determine their current condition.

All washed and good to go

Once again, Pekka's sixth sense did not let us down. Apparently there were a few of the smaller parts missing, but for his DIY personality, this would be nothing to worry about. Those replacement parts can either be made or sourced. Either way, he would not mind at all!

Nearly complete set

So now, the first Pallo door knob has already been installed to the bunker door and it looks and feels fantastic! Incidentally, the door handles were launched the same year when our home was build in 1964. Also, there were exactly four sets for the four doors downstairs (although three of the doors are actually still missing). So call it a luck, or whatever, we may have once again found another match made in MCM heaven!

One down, three to go