“Welcome to Granny’s house,” Jenni says cheerfully as she welcomes me and the photographer into her home in Hyvinkää.

Interior decorating has been part of her life for as long as she can remember – and it certainly shows.

“I’ve been working since I was 15, mostly in roles related to interior design.”

At the moment, Jenni is waiting for back surgery and has had to step away from working life for an extended period. Moving around is difficult and painful.

“I’ve been slowly fixing up our home, as there hasn’t really been much else I could do. It’s been a lifeline that’s kept me going.”

Back to “Granny’s house” for a moment. Jenni explains that her current home contains many things she wouldn’t have imagined having just a few years ago. But things turned out differently.

“I’m completely in love with lace and really old pieces. Suddenly it all feels authentic and truly mine.”

Ninety per cent of her belongings are second-hand. The nostalgic home is still elegant – a kind of personalised maximalism.

“I didn’t want exactly the same things everyone else has in their homes,” Jenni explains.

Her ideas come from her own imagination.

“Our home is quite unique. It’s not very trend-driven,” she reflects. “I do look at Pinterest and similar platforms now and then, but the interior design comes from my own head. It’s also really important for me to stick to a budget.”

Before moving, she had a lot of designer items in her owner-occupied flat, which she decided to sell.

“I didn’t want them anymore. I wanted something completely different.”

Jenni moved with her partner from Vantaa to Hyvinkää – into their first shared home – in December 2025. Lumo was the first option that came to mind when they were looking for a rental during a transitional phase in their lives. Hyvinkää was something of an experiment: what would it feel like to live outside the Helsinki metropolitan area?

“We were thinking about where we want to settle. Lumo also had good benefits – for example, no rental deposit. And Hyvinkää has turned out to be a really lovely area. I’ve experienced a kind of mental recovery here, because large crowds make me anxious.”

Her first impression of the flat was immediate: “We’ll take this one!” Jenni laughs.

Her partner was more cautious.

“He said we should take our time and think it through. But I could instantly see where everything would go and which tones would work in each space.”

Jenni says she has a strong sense of spatial awareness – she doesn’t need to take measurements, as her eye tells her what will fit where.

“Before, I couldn’t have imagined living anywhere other than a new-build. We were a bit nervous about an older building at first, but everything has worked perfectly. I absolutely love living here.”

“My favourite moment at home is when my partner comes back and I run to greet him in the hallway. We catch up on our day, eat together, and watch our favourite series.”

And the living room is perfect for lounging. In the middle of the room sits a large sofa by Bellus.

“An absolutely incredible find. I’ve actually sold these products myself in the past. New, this costs thousands of euros – and I found it on Tori for 150 euros. No bedbugs!” Jenni jokes.

When her back allows it, Jenni loves learning new skills and making things by hand. On the windowsills are “cocktail candles” she’s crafted herself using old glasses. She’s also restored the dining chairs herself.

“I bought them second-hand, and they were in terrible condition. Five weeks of absolute hell,” she laughs. The project turned out to be far more demanding than she had expected. “Sanding off the old paint was the hardest part, because furniture used to be painted properly and in multiple layers. I sanded them all by hand.”

But now the home is nearly finished.

“Home is one of the most important things in the world to me. Now it’s time to focus on simply being and living,” Jenni sums up.

Has the meaning of home changed over the years?

“As you get older, the importance of home just keeps growing. It’s a place I’m happy to stay in, even though I’ve never really been a party person. I’m perfectly happy curled up on the sofa with a tub of ice cream in my hands – everything is just right.”