A dream house by the lake – Fall in love with the unique Villa Valo

Almost every window of the house gives a stunning view of the nearby lake. Water and nature are constant companions at Villa Valo, where the atmosphere changes with the weather and seasons. Take a home tour with Design Stories!

WATERSIDE LOT and proximity to nature were the most important criteria when Heli and Janne Ylönen were looking for a place for the home of their dreams. At some point, Janne happened to come by an ad for a spacious hillside lot on sale by Lake Vesijärvi in southern Finland – at a suitable distance from the workshop and store of Fasetti, a Finnish furniture company run by the couple.

As fate would have it, another interested party managed to snatch the lot before them, but through a series of coincidences, Heli and Janne ended up owning it a few years later, anyway.

As it usually is with good things, finding the right lot took time. Dreaming up a perfect home is no quick feat, either, as reconciling preferences, habits and eventually available square footage is something that should be done without rushing. Heli and Janne had been thinking about their dream home for a long time, learning all kinds of things about themselves, spaces and house building by living in many different homes.

“We’d already been testing our ideas and ideals in practice – and even learned something. We wanted, for example, a sufficiently large and functional kitchen and utility room that would be easy to care for. We also wanted a kitchen island with two water outlets as well as a sauna with a view of the lake and benches wide enough for lying down while bathing,” describes Janne.

WHILE LIVING in their previous homes, Heli and Janne had learned what they needed space for and what was not that important to them. Friend of the family, architect Irmeli Kujala, worked closely with the couple to transform their wishes into a timber-clad hillside house that blends in with its surroundings. The house was given the name Villa Valo.

The two-story house is spacious, and the rooms seem to be both connected and separated by different functions. The kitchen is large, as is the bright utility room downstairs. There are no spaces without purpose or use.

The family designed their dream house based on their needs, preferences and values.

The bedrooms in the house, designed for a family of five, are also spacious. Even though two of the three children have already moved out on their own, Heli and Janne do not feel that the house is too big. When the children visit with their partners, there is plenty of room for everyone. The house has ‘space for being social’, as the architect has put it.

This lakefront home in the countryside is a dream come true in many ways. It offers a peaceful place for spending time as a family, counterbalancing the couple’s challenging, busy and interesting work that is highly demanding yet extremely rewarding.

BACK IN THE DAY, Fasetti, the company run by Heli and Janne, was established out of love for Nordic vintage design. In addition to the store, a workshop was established for repairing and refurbishing furniture and lamps in need of a revamp. It has become Fasetti’s mission to make sure that Finnish design history remains versatile and to keep Finnish furniture production and expertise alive and well.

Over the years, the business has evolved and the company, owned by Janne, his brother Samuli and their spouses, has become an interesting pioneer in the industry, bringing forgotten Finnish design classics back into production.

The furniture designed by Hiort af Ornäs laid the foundation for the company’s own collection, which now also includes furniture designed by Olof Ottelin and Ahti Taskinen. Fasetti has also opened a showroom in Helsinki, on Bulevardi at the corner of Erottaja.

The development of Fasetti’s own collection, the store in Hollola and the showroom in Helsinki, keep Heli and Janne’s days full and social. The extensive refurbishment projects at the workshop, many of which involve prestigious sites owned by the state and municipalities, also keep the couple busy.

Having a home in the countryside has become increasingly important, as it acts as a counterbalance to the hectic work. Relaxing in a peaceful natural environment is just what the couple needs. Spending a moment at the end of the jetty or taking a cooling dip in the lake are ideal for calming an overactive mind. And, even though Janne as a salesperson thinks that almost everything is for sale, he agrees with Heli on that they will probably never sell the place. It is where they feel good and have put their roots down.

See also:

• All products by Fasetti >
• All products by Ornäs >

Text: Ulla Koskinen Images: Sameli Rantanen

The story was previously published in Asun magazine 45.