Behind the scenes

Related to the previous post referring to last summer's as labor camp we thought it might be fun to post a few quick and dirty behind the scenes photos (non-styled, non-edited) including some of the key characters (non-styled, non-edited) during the last few, perhaps the most intense weeks.

Pekka, Sofi and Urho witnessing arrival of Tosca slates for the front entrance

The best thing in a big project is that everyone, irrespective of what their skills are (or are not), can make themselves useful. It does not matter if you are a generalist or a more detail oriented person, a perfect task to flatter your strengths can easily be identified.

Pekka's father Kari was responsible for priming and painting the door frames

Pekka's mother Merja finished a huge number of different assignments ranging from child care to painting

If you really are a pro, your skills will not remain unutilized to their fullest potential. In these cases, the bar is set really high and tolerances at minimum. And you need to deliver. It is a family business, and no such thing as truly constructive criticism exists. Needless to say, not very many team members meet the criteria to be included in this high-class worker group.  

Pekka's sister Irmeli preparing a complicated diffuser

And then there are those tasks which are too dirty to assign to a non-resident. Tasks which still need to be done, and they will, because it is yours, and no one else (but an overly committed resident) would take responsibility. Fortunately in a high-performing team the value of this kind of work is also acknowledged and thus completed with class (at least without audible complaints).

Minna washing a big and dusty rock in the bunker

And what do the minors do in the meantime? Let's be honest - at the age of 4 and 1 they were still a bit young to be included in the actual work force. Thus, their key task was to adjust in the constantly changing conditions, by finding a quiet corner or a place to play and avoiding the most intense eye of the renovation storm. And since they are both born in the middle of it, they simply don't know any other way and fit in just perfectly.

Sofi watching her favourite kids' show comfortably in our bed

Eino relaxing at the backyard terrace after being kept out from harm's way in an inflatable pool

So, by trial and error, everyone making the best use of their skills, whatever they may be. Accepting detours as a part of creative and operative process.

Just pick up a hammer and do it!

Bedroom colors

Let's be optimistic - it will be spring soon! Greyness will be replaced by colors. More light to take decent photos again. Nature will wake up. On that note, our bedroom has been in need of - well, something bright. We'd also need a new bed cover, the current one is simply boring (black), not very good quality and Urho's hair just gets stuck in it. While trying to decide on the cover (AVA room covers seem interesting and practical, experiences anyone?), wonderfully bright bed linen by Lemon Deco work beautifully to add some zest!

Summer

Summer

The world is full of bed linen, but each one of the Four Seasons pillow / duvet cover combinations is so surprisingly unique it is difficult to decide which ones not to want. For spring time and energy-craving state of mind, however, it is Summer and Autumn which are are screaming colour and thus hitting us home the hardest.

Autumn

Autumn

The design and photos of Finnish nature used in the bed linen are the work of Minna's friend Make, the man behind Lemon Deco (and Lemon Gay). Designing bed linen and other textiles is just one of his many talents, and in addition, Make is a great character to hang out with. He actually dropped by for a visit the other day and took all of the photos in this blog post. It was a fun few hours, spiked up with some great gossip, a lot of swearing on some unresolved mysteries of a new camera and deep discussions of dachshund's amazing life. Thank you Make, for the photos and especially for get company!

His Sausageness on Autumn

Being a fan of Urho Make could not miss the opportunity to have His Sausageness posing for a few shots. And as always, Urho collaborated eagerly knowing we would not hold on the treats afterwards.

Make from Lemon Deco

If you are in need of your favourite Lemon Deco season, you can contact Make directly via make.janhunen@kolumbus.fi. He will be delighted to help! 

And by the way, inspired by the colors and energy of Spring and Autumn, we are currently thinking mustard yellow or olive green (!) for the bed cover. Urho can have the old black one to replace one of his worn out sleeping blankets. 

Most Beautiful Home in Finland?

Why did we go on a crazy renovation frenzy last summer?

Bit surprisingly, sometimes during Spring 2016 we got committed to a Finnish TV show called Suomen Kaunein Koti (the Most Beautiful Home in Finland). Inevitably, this lead to an assessment of all the unfinished projects we wanted to complete before "going live". As the list grew quite long, not everything got finalised but having a crystal clear deadline definitely speeded up things a lot.

Guess how it look around here today?

In Suomen Kaunein Koti, the most beautiful home is selected among 30 homes. First, in each episode focusing on different category, a group of judges selects their favourite out of three homes. After 10 episodes, the Finns get to choose the winner by voting among the top 10 homes.

Filming took place last summer, and since then we have been waiting. We only knew that the show would most likely air sometimes during the first half of 2017, but nothing else. No idea how our interviews went, did we succeed in telling our story the way we have felt and experienced it. No idea of the outcome, did the judges enjoy visiting our home. And quite honestly, only vaguely remembering how everything here looked like back then, as we were pretty exhausted after such an intensive summer.

So, the wait is finally over. The season started on January 9th. Next week, on Monday January 23rd, our home will be competing against all the other beautiful Finnish homes (channel MTV3 at 20 pm). If you have access to Finnish TV, tune in and please let us know how did you like it!

The game is on. May the most beautiful home win!

Relax. What's so great about TV anyway?

Merry Christmas!

It's been a crazy year. We had no idea that things can get so mad with kids, work and home. The blog has been rather quiet, even if our project has taken a giant leap forward. But if you need to choose between some precious hours of sleep and writing, the choice is easy.

But we made it. In one piece and relatively sane. Now, it is time to relax and do nothing. Just like Urho, the dog who knows the art of relaxing much better than any of us humans. And then, energy for fun things will return. 

Wishing you all Merry Christmas & Energetic New Year!!

Photo by Nani Annette & Alice Pittacolo

And as the tradition is - for our Finnish readers:

Sofin, Einon & Urhon jouluruno

Taas joulu on tullut, katseet piparipurkkiin

suuntaa kolmikko tämä, vaikka tontut ne urkkii.

Isin kanssa me pian mennään noutamaan kuusi

toiveissa luistimet, sukset, lumilapio uusi.

Sofi on jo niin iso, ihan kohta jo viisi

sujuu aakkoset, lorut ja se Frozenin biisi.

Kiehtoo seinällä kiipeily, prinsessaleikit

räpyläuinti sekä korut ja meikit.

Pieni Eikka on tiukkaakin tiukempi jätkä

niin vahva on tahto vaik on mitaltaan pätkä.

Kun vuosi on mittariin kertynyt lisää

alkaa muistuttaa hän yhä enemmän isää.

Remppaa tehtiin taas täysillä kevät ja kesä

nyt alkaa jo kunnossa olla tää pesä.

Vihdoin malttavat aikuiset hetken vaan olla

niin ei kiristy pinna tai kuormitu polla.

Kohta laskeutuu kaikille jouluinen rauha

vaik ois siivoukset kesken, puuttuis kuusesta nauha. 

Ei haittaa, on tärkeintä vain että relaat

ja parhaita juttuja mielessä kelaat!

Iloista joulua & onnea uudelle vuodelle toivottavat,

Minna, Pekka, Sofi, Eino & Urho

Red Zipper

At some point when the downstairs was still a mess, we wondered how much time we'd actually spend there when finished. After all, the living room upstairs is perfectly functional, and it is not really we needed more space.

But then, Zipper arrived. We had contemplated several options in terms of couch based on quite a few criteria. First and foremost, only bright red would do. Also, it needed to endure two termites and a dachshund, and have enough room for the five of us - and definitely be a corner sofa to assume a prominent role in the room. Finally, we were looking for a very relaxed look and feel.

Eventually, the answer (i.e. a couch that met our requests) was found much closer than expected, just literally around the corner. Annaleena Hämäläinen, who is the creative director of Hakola, a Finnish furniture company, also happens to be our neighbour. She listened to our wishes and presented a perfect solution - a Red Zipper by Hakola. 

Don't you dare waking me up!

We will be return to the Red Zipper soon, when showing you more of our favourite room in the entire apartment. Funny to even think we were doubting if this room would be used. Now we are wondering how we ever survived without it...

Front terrace

Up until last July, the entrance to our home has not been very inviting. Once we stopped piling renovation junk on the terrace, it got a bit better. Just a bit though. On the scale from disaster to perfection, we were definitely way closer to the former.

Perhaps the biggest problem was with the old tiles. They were ugly, completely misaligned, very difficult to clean and had no decline for water to drain away (actually the level of the terrace was lower than the highest step).

Old terrace slates

Our first thought was just to reuse the old tiles. However, few more tiles would have been needed and finding similar ones both in terms of size and design proved unsuccessful. In the end, the only sensible option was to replace them all. So one by one, in one day, Pekka carried away 50 tiles each weighing about 60 kg. After that, he was able to start working with the foundation. First, organic matter was removed. Then the foundation was levelled with stone ash and pressed tightly.

Preparing the foundation

Digging worms?

At the same time we went back and forth on deciding which tiles to choose. After some consideration we finally set our minds with the Tosca by Rudus. Somehow it was modest but modern,  and allowed creativity in terms of terrace assembly.

Terrace slate map

Then the assembly work begun. First Pekka stretched a couple of lines across the terrace area to indicate correct level and decline. After that he laid the tiles one by one according to the map he made before.

In comparison to the natural slate he had been working on the backyard, using square or rectangle tiles really was a walk in the park. Also Urho was happy. Sunbathing on a sandy surface was not quite appropriate for his high standards. Cool tiles would be much nicer.

Could someone bring my sunglasses?

When all the tiles were in place, Pekka seamed them first with light sand (as it is a bit more inexpensive) and finalized with black seaming sand to achieve a more defined look.

First layer of seam

Second layer of seam

Four days later we had a new entrance. The visual improvement is of course tremendous, but it is also very nice that the water can actually flow to the direction it should be flowing - away from the walls of the building.

Tosca by Rudus

And what does Urho think? Well, if you are to do some watching out for unwanted visitors, be the true guardian of your realm, you need to do it with style. Who cares about watchtowers, low and levelled works perfectly for a long and lazy sausage in duty. Approved.

On duty

Slate stairs

Just very briefly - a shot of Urho on the newly finished slate stairs. The rocks on the side are those dug out of the underground when emptying it nearly three years ago. Very practical hiding rain water tubing. And not so bad visually either.

A middle aged dog on the new stairs

Slate terrace - grand finale

Last weekend was a remarkable milestone - finishing one of the longest projects we ever launched, the slate terrace. Had we known when removing the old concrete slates and starting preparing the foundation how long the road will be, we might have considered wood instead of natural slate. Fortunately we had no idea.

The first thing to do was to sand the entire area to smooth the surface. For that, we rented a big sanding machine.

Heavy duty sanding machine

Once all sharpness was gone Pekka continued to remove all smudges of concrete and other dirt. For that, a smaller sanding machines were perfect. However, it quite quickly become evident that a very humble attitude and hours of manual labor down one's knees was required to clean the stones completely, irrespective of the machinery he was using.

Focus on the details

After cleaning the slates one by one Pekka proceeded in the washing phase. Still some pretty extensive rubbing was needed to get the area completely clean.

Manual junk removal

But when cleaned and washed, it was evident that Pekka's careful work was certainly worth every minute and effort invested in this project. It would look great.

Sanded and washed

Dry and ready for the final coat

Pekka used the same protective coating (Lantania Avo) than for the floor inside. It turns the tone of a slate slightly darker vs. the original, but does not result in a "wet-look". Also, Avo seems to have a bonus effect: it hides away tiny little grains of dirt from the stone surface (something which seems to be characteristic to this type of slate) resulting in visually more homogenous look.

Applying protective coating

A few more hours of kneeling and rubbing, and the final slates had received a protective coating. And the end result - almost too good to be true. And almost unrealistic, that it is finally ready. Patience and persistence truly do pay off.

Smooth and shiny terrace surface

Patience and persistence. Yes, I know all about that, says Urho. Two fundamental elements of begging. Just look at this face - how could you resist?

Dachshund approved

Slate terrace

Last year when we kicked off the terrace project in July, Sofi announced that next summer, she would like to host her fourth birthday party out on the backyard terrace. Foolishly, we promised: "Oh yes, darling, what a great idea - we can definitely do that!" So when winter yielded Pekka kicked off the final stages of the terrace project - seaming, sanding and protecting. And finalising the stairs. What better activity to take on when you have all that free time while on parental leave. Yeah, right.

Cleaning the in between spaces for concrete

But there are the moments when the baby is sleeping. And then there are late nights. And weekends. So one stone after another, Pekka has been working around the slates. Just like for the slate floor downstairs, he used similarly stained concrete to seam the slates outside (1.6% titanium oxide). The more area gets covered, the better it looks.

The first corner - checked.

So after a long and silent winter, be prepared to terrace posts (and others) to come! We are back on track, and if not ready for the celebration in early June, August is quite realistic. Perhaps this summer, we can finally start enjoying our lovely little yard...

One lazy dachshund - checked.

A few shots of coffee

Last December, a Finnish coffee company Paulig did a photoshoot for one of their key brands, Presidentti, in our home. It was a busy but surprisingly smooth day, and we thought it would be nice to share a few photos taken during the day with you. Some of them professional ones by photographer Rami Hanafi for Paulig and others perhaps a bit less professional, behind the scenes shots - often featured by a dachshund.

Morning coffee (photo provided by Paulig)

Urho overseeing artistic details

As Minna and Eino stayed home for the day they of course tried to stay out of everyone's way as much as possible. Urho, of course, had a very different approach. The more "on the way" the better. The photo above is just one example of many situations.

December in Finland is dark and depressing. But if your theme is "morning coffee", sunlight is a must. Before we knew it, the atrium terrace hosted quite an extensive lighting set up, which created a perfect illusion of a morning sun. And the best thing was it lasted the entire day.

Beautiful morning sun lighting a coffee moment (photo provided by Paulig)

Sun-supporting set up at the atrium terrace

The coffee smelled great, team seemed to work very seamlessly and efficiently together. During the day Urho managed to melt many hearts, and even made his way in some of the photos.

Wonder who is found in the far end of the sofa? (photo provided by Paulig)

Yes, who else?

So, last but not least: Silja & Anneli Maatraiva from Summerhill, photographer Rami Hanafi and Mikko Poutanen from Paulig and the rest of the team - thank you for the sun, lunch and great company!! It is always a pleasure to see professionals at work. And we like the pictures a lot - you can almost smell and taste good coffee in them!

A sausage under the coffee table

Urho's Holidays

So how were my Holidays? Of course you all are eager to hear about it!

First, it has to be stated. I had only minor successes with the divine Ibérico Bellota. Not even nearly enough to be happy. So let's not rub it in any more than necessary.

Thus, to other topics. Snow finally covered the ground and messed up my exercise routine. Or have you ever tried walking in snow so deep that it reaches the family jewels? Exactly, I didn't think so. In addition, what is it with these clothes? Can't blame me for being a bit annoyed!

Urho's winter attire

Fortunately it is warm and relaxing inside. The only added distraction was the fact that the smaller one of the little humans have started moving. He tries climbing on things, the Paolo Piva table being a favourite target at the moment. And the interest on Yours Truly is growing. They are training him, but those humans are such slow learners. Very different from us dachshunds.

"Just watch him fall soon!"

I also went ice fishing. It was quite cool, to have an eye to eye with a zander. They took the fish fillets home - taped on the roof-rack of the car! Simply, once again the human mind works the strangest ways!

Sniffing the fish

Couple of fillets attached to the roof-rack

Just that I don't give a wrong impression - most of the time I spent relaxing in bed, under as many blankets as possible. One could tell everyone were on a Holiday mood: it was much easier than usually for me to sneak in their bed and to stay there.

Aaah, the bliss of long, undistracted naps. The second best thing in the world, after that Ibérico Bellota of course.

Airing the brain