My kind of life

Saija Hakoniemi, editor-in-chief of Deko magazine, searched for her current home based on a dream landscape. We met Saija in the new premises of her office, with its large windows offering stunning views of almost the whole of Helsinki.

Hi Saija! You’ve moved your office to new premises. Congratulations! How is working from Tripla Workery going?

I’ve only worked here for one whole day, but the place seems wonderful. There are lots of nice restaurants and cafes in the area, and you can also pop into a grocery on your lunch break or shop for flowers on your way home. The new location has such good transport links that I’ve started using public transport for commuting, as have many others.

For business trips, we can rent an electric car, if necessary. We work in an open-plan office, which is suitable for contemporary working practices: we want to break down hierarchies and promote collaboration between various people and brands. Time will tell how we can best use the spaces. New functions may emerge, and current ones may change or be rejected. The industry is always changing and the working spaces with it.

How much do the location and surroundings of your home or workplace mean to you? Can you feel the environment indoors?

It means a great deal to me. I moved to my current home from the centre of Helsinki. I had visited a flat in Espoo with a beautiful sea view, where you could look out of the living-room window and see canoeists passing by. From then on, I searched for a home with a sea view and finally found one in Herttoniemenranta. Just today, I saw a canoeist paddling past our home – on a frosty February morning! It was an extraordinary and charming sight. I enjoy the ever-changing scenery from the window, and I have especially enjoyed watching the storms that have been raging this winter.

“Habitare offers a veritable visual fireworks display and an opportunity to explore a wide range of different interior decoration styles.”

What is your relationship with Habitare?

I come from Ostrobothnia in Western Finland, and I learned about Habitare as a name many years ago, although, at the time, visiting the event was just a dream because of the distance. After moving to Helsinki in the late 1980s, I started going to Habitare as a fair visitor. Today, of course, I have a working relationship with the event, as Deko is a partner to Habitare.

At work, we think about Habitare pretty much all year round. Just last week, I was in a meeting related to Habitare. We will soon start planning our stand for the upcoming Habitare. At many of the previous events, we have built a stand where we invite people to engage in various activities: the year before last, visitors made their own flower jewellery, and last year, we realised an art workshop in collaboration with the Ateneum Art Museum. It remains to be seen what we come up with for this year!

It is pity that, because of my work responsibilities, I don’t have time to explore Habitare’s offerings more comprehensively, as there are always so many interesting things happening and a great variety of perspectives being offered on the field of interior design. Of course, you meet a lot of people at the event and get an overview of what is happening and what new things may be expected. All in all, Habitare offers a veritable visual fireworks display and an opportunity to explore a wide range of different interior decoration styles.

“As a home, Deko would be original, quite youthful and multilayered. It would be kind of classically beautiful with a touch of Pippi Longstocking thrown in!”

The theme of the 2020 Habitare in its 50th anniversary year is the Art of Living. What is the most important life skill you have learned ?

People seem to be under a lot of pressure about their lives, including, for example, what their homes should be like. I just read an article in the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, saying that people no longer invite guests to their homes because they think that their homes, including the interior and the food being served, should be perfect. I think that people should have the courage to live their own kinds of lives and not worry about trends or other external influence. People should take a favourable attitude towards themselves and remain in control of their own lives.

If Deko was a home, what would it be like and what would life look like in there?

As a home, Deko would be original, quite youthful and multilayered. It would be kind of classically beautiful with a touch of Pippi Longstocking thrown in! It could include inherited, recycled, maybe even found objects, as well as high-end design. When spending serious money on something, people consider, for example, sustainability and preference for domestic design in their acquisitions. All this personality and the good ideas contribute to creating a wonderful whole. This home is often visited by guests! That’s what I admire about the people whose homes are presented in our magazine. They know how to live their own kinds of lives.

“That’s what life, or the art of living, is all about – allowing imperfection.”

What does the home of the editor-in-chief of Deko magazine look like?

I feel very comfortable in my home. It is filled with bohemian spirit and ethnic nuances, mementos and art purchased on trips – I’ve been collecting works by Finnish female artists. There’s always something tattered somewhere because of Ludo, our Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier, and the sofa cushions are never straight. That’s what life, or the art of living, is all about – allowing imperfection. There is a lot of colour in my home, which I enjoy.

Well, what is your favourite colour?

My favourites are warm and spicy colours, such as ochre yellow and burnt orange.

At what kind of moment is your home at its most beautiful?

The most wonderful and beautiful moment is when I step into my home and I can see, all the way from the hallway, the rippling sea at the blue hour: it feels as if our home is on top of a jetty.

Text: Hanna-Katariina Mononen, Photograph: Otavamedia