Akiko and Simon want their home to feature the original architecture of Raili and Reima Pietilä

A walk along a rocky seashore made the Japanese-Swiss couple see Finland in a different light. The vintage classics in their home in Suvikumpu, Espoo, are not only a passion but also an investment. Akiko and Simon see beauty in pebbles and whiskers alike.

Residents:

Ceramic artist Akiko Mori, 47, game designer Simon Rozner, 42, elementary school-aged Etienne and their cat Maitake. The home includes three bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen, with a total floor area of 78.5 square meters. It is located in an apartment building designed by the Finnish architect couple Raili and Reima Pietilä, completed in Suvikumpu, Espoo, in 1969.

THE FAMILY HAS a whole host of collections in their home: numerous baskets and bins on the floors and shelves, stones picked up by Etienne along the route between home and school, arranged on the balcony table, and no fewer than 33 different chairs. Japanese ceramic artist Akiko Mori confesses to being a bit of a collector. Her spouse Simon Rozner and elementary school-aged son Etienne are also interested in collecting objects.

Perhaps the most surprising of their collections is that of cat whiskers. For years now, Akiko has been saving the white ten-centimeter-long tactile hairs, dropped by their cat Maitake, in a small bottle. Now there is already a bundle of them as thick as an index finger, and they are like thin, precious string. ”Every time I find whiskers, I pick them up for safekeeping,” says Akiko.

AKIKO KEEPS A RECORD of the history of the objects in her home. She has put a small note under the wooden doll, designed by architect-designer Alexander Girard, standing in the bookshelf. Although, she would probably remember the story of that particular doll anyway. Akiko got it as a gift when Etienne was born, and the family had already moved from Switzerland to Finland.

It was Simon’s job as a game designer that brought the family to Finland, as a friend had passed along a work offer from Rovio, involving Angry Birds. At first, Simon was not at all enthusiastic about moving, because he is an avid mountain climber and Finland is too flat for that purpose. The couple did, however, decide to visit Finland, and a walk along the rocky seashore made them change their mind. The scenery was beautiful and the people friendly.

“We spent a long weekend in Finland and really liked it here.”

“We spent a long weekend in Finland and really liked it here,” says Simon. After that, Akiko started to look for a home for them to rent. The requirement was that the building be completed before the 1980s. Soon, something interesting caught her eye in the housing ads: the Suvikumpu apartment block in Tapiola, Espoo, designed by Raili and Reima Pietilä.

Akiko liked the unusual placement of windows and the clerestory window around the dining area, as well as the wooden beams. They made her think of Japan. There was also something else that made her feel right at home: a bathtub. “Bathtubs are really important to us Japanese.”

THE FAMILY IS STILL living in the same building, although in another apartment with a similar floorplan. Nowadays, Akiko and Simon are homeowners, and they had a real stroke of luck just when planning to buy a home of their own.

Simon bumped into a real estate agent he knew in the front yard, and learned about at first-floor apartment recently put on sale in the next stairwell. The timing could not have been better. At that point, the family had been living in Finland for two years, which is the prerequisite for getting a bank loan in Finland according to Akiko.

IN MANY PLACES, the apartment still looks the way the Pietiläs designed it, with the exception that the couple converted the dining room into a room for Etienne. As a reminder of the room’s previous purpose, there is a small interior window facing the kitchen. The bathroom was renovated during plumbing replacement, but the couple sought to preserve the room’s original look and fixtures.

The home is furnished in a way that looks just like Akiko and Simon. They have collected vintage furniture and lamps from across the world, mostly from Denmark, Germany and Japan. When they were living in Singapore, they found Aalto stools at a really affordable price. Akiko and Simon say that at the time, the Aaltos and mid-century Nordic furniture were neither well-known nor popular there.

When Akiko and Simon were living in Singapore, they found Aalto stools at a really affordable price.

The couple primarily buys furniture based on how it looks. Buying design classics is also an investment. When it is time to move again, they can easily sell the items they no longer need. Over the years, classics often increase in value – sometimes even overnight.

And sometimes something valuable can be found at a bargain price, which is what happened with the Uchiwa lamp designed by Ingo Maurer, adorning a wall in the hallway. Akiko spotted it at a flea market in Vantaa, and the asking price was unbelievable. “Ten euros!” exclaims Akiko.

THE FAMILY HAS been living in Finland for nine years. Akiko and Simon have been invited to the annual spring and fall yard clean-up events organized by the housing company, bathing in the building’s sauna during the common sauna slots for men and women has become part of their everyday life and they only have good things to say about central heating. Having central heating is rare in both Switzerland and Japan, where everybody is usually responsible for arranging the heating for their home.

The couple also commends the reliable and, when necessary, sometimes even surprisingly flexible bureaucracy of Finland. On the other hand, they recognize that their integration in the Finnish society has been facilitated by the expert help they have received for it. Without it, the move would have been more difficult.

The decor is a harmonious combination of different cultures.

The decor is a harmonious combination of different cultures. The elegant Danish bookshelf houses Simon’s beloved mountaineering books that remind him of Switzerland. The teapot by Finnish Ulla Procopé and the ceramic tangerine by Japanese Fujiwo Ishimoto stand side by side in perfect unison. Ishimoto moved to Finland in the 1970s and ended up living in the country for fifty years.

Akiko is particularly fascinated by the interpretations that foreign designers, and Japanese designers who have lived abroad, have on traditional Japanese design. She does not like mass-produced products or excessive consumption. Shopping at flea markets, on the other hand, is a beloved hobby for Akiko, and she does it for an obvious reason: “To find wonderful things from the past.”

See also:

• New arrivals at Finnish Design Shop >

Text: Anna Varakas Images: Antti Rintala

Featured products may not be available worldwide. The story was previously published in Avotakka magazine 8/2024.