Laura and Arthur Franck’s charming wooden house in Helsinki
Arthur, who won a Jussi Award for the documentary The Helsinki Effect, is working on a new film about the friendship between Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin. His daughter Vanja is assisting.
Residents:
Documentary director Arthur Franck, commercial director Laura Franck and their children Ian, Benjamin and Vanja, plus Mysli the dog. The home is located in Puu-Käpylä, Helsinki, and measures 120 square meters.
The houses of Puu-Käpylä were designed in the 1920s by architect Martti Välikangas. The Franck family’s home has 120 square meters of living space. Benjamin’s room sits behind the arched window.
IN THE YARD OF THE CENTURY-OLD wooden house, it feels as though you have stepped into a painting by the Swedish artist Carl Larsson. The red semi-detached house has grid windows and simple wooden wall ornaments typical of classical architecture. Trees, shrubs and a lush autumn hydrangea grow around it, the hydrangea almost pushing its way in through the living room window.
Arthur and Laura have lived here with their children since June 2026, though the house looks as if the family had settled in far earlier. The relaxed mix of colorful paintings, textiles and Aalto classics suits the mood of the building perfectly. After years in central Helsinki, the family is still getting used to the quirks of an old house.
“Now we have a yard of our own to look after, and nature is right there outside the windows. The seasons shape life here in a big way. The soundscape is completely different from an apartment building, where you hear the neighbors. Here you hear your own family moving between the floors,” Laura says.
“Käpylä reveals itself to me through garden-like yards and lower blood pressure,” Arthur smiles. “The neighborhood is familiar, as my mother has lived here for over 10 years. I like the sense of community. Our housing cooperative includes 36 semi-detached houses, so there is always peer support. If you don’t know how to fix something, a neighbor will tell you.”
Laura often works at the dining table. A low plant stand makes the window look even taller. On the wall hangs a painting by artist Lasse Kontiainen. Samsung’s Frame TV found a perfect spot in the sitting area.
Mysli the cockapoo keeps watch on the sofa. Artek’s tile-topped coffee table 910 has survived the children’s games. HAY’s Check rug is made of wool.
The striped sofas feel summery all year round. On the wall is a Juan Gris lithograph from Le Paquet de Tabac. The brass wall lamps came from Bukowskis.
A space of one’s own
The house was in good shape, down to a recently renovated kitchen and two working tiled stoves, so Arthur and Laura only did cosmetic updates. Upstairs, the layout was adjusted as well: a new wall now frames the parents’ sleeping area.
On the same floor are Vanja’s small sleeping nook and Benjamin’s room. The basement holds the oldest son Ian’s room along with the laundry and washing facilities. A close friend, interior architect Salla Kantokorpi, has helped with the interior choices.
For Laura and Arthur, a family home has to be practical above all.
“It was important that both teenage boys got rooms of their own, where they can retreat with their friends. The living room is where we spend time together as a family, so we planned it to fit all of us comfortably. Salla suggested arranging three sofas in a U shape: two facing each other and one in between. The last sofa is still at the carpenter’s,” Laura says.
Arthur names three essentials. “The first is a big bookshelf, which calms both my mind and the room. The second is a good spot for the television, since we watch series with the kids on a large screen. The third is two sizable paintings that need to fit on the walls. Every time we move, I worry that Alvar Gullichsen’s two-meter-wide painting won’t fit into the new home.”
The extendable Aalto table stands on HL2 sleeve legs. It once furnished the head office of Kela, the Finnish social insurance institution. The Aalto 69 chairs are upholstered in Johanna Gullichsen’s Tithonus fabric, and the PH 5 pendant is by Louis Poulsen.
The widened doorway in the living room reveals the island made by Arkken. Beside the doorway hangs a work by Anna Tuori, with a piece by Alvar Gullichsen below it. The floor lamp is a flea market find.
Light lower cabinets and the lively quartz surfaces on the wall and the island add brightness. The open shelves hold ceramics and glass. Mysli drinks from HAY’s Dogs bowl.
The kitchen window seat is a favorite spot for Laura and Mysli. The cushion is upholstered in Johanna Gullichsen's Nereus fabric, and an E60 stool works as a handy side table.
A Vitra Akari 1AD table lamp sits on the kitchen side counter. On the wall is a ceramic work by Armi Teva. Artek's 112B wall shelf holds a collection of bowls and cups gathered on travels.
Hide-and-seek at Villa Mairea
The family has moved often, and the same furniture has traveled from one home to the next. The Artek pieces, bought secondhand or inherited from Arthur’s childhood home, have always found their place. Arthur and Laura are especially fond of Aalto’s tile-topped coffee table, which has survived years of the children’s play.
“I'm amazed the table is still standing,” Arthur says. There were always Artek pieces in his childhood home, and no wonder: his mother is the children’s author Anna Gullichsen, whose grandmother was the art patron Maire Gullichsen, one of the founders of Artek. Members of the family have the rare chance to spend time at the world-famous Villa Mairea in Noormarkku.
Arthur, Laura and the children visit Villa Mairea a couple of times a year for family gatherings, and sometimes with friends.
“We’ve often spent time upstairs at Villa Mairea while a guided tour was going on downstairs. Through the children, the house has opened up to me in a completely new way. They explore every corner and cranny with such enthusiasm, while the adults mostly settle in the library and the living room. I’ve been able to share in their joy and in what they experience in that big villa. We always play hide-and-seek, and Maire’s garden room and the space under the staircase are the best hiding places in the house,” Arthur says.
“It’s extraordinary to be able to be there. Villa Mairea is so beautifully designed that it always feels welcoming. The children love the house, and you never get the feeling of being in a museum,” Laura adds.
The staircase wall is tall enough for Alvar Gullichsen’s large painting. Arthur has owned the work since 1992.
The bedroom’s old wooden doors were found in a friend’s attic and sanded down to remove the old paint. A patinated E60 stool serves as a nightstand.
Vanja loves to draw. Her small, light-filled sleeping nook is furnished with practical pieces. Above the window hangs a painting by Maj-Lis Tanner.
The old upholstered sofa in Benjamin’s room is a secondhand find. HAY’s Linen cushions add color, and on the wall hangs a painting by Christian Sjöholm.
Art brings the color
Comfort and atmosphere matter a great deal to Arthur and Laura, and color plays as big a part as the furniture. The red of the facade returns in a slightly darker tone on the kitchen island. The kitchen walls used to be mint green, but they were painted white; Laura finds that the island stands out better against a pale background.
“Floors and walls should be light and calm. We like color, but we’re not playful decorators.”
“Accent walls and feature wallpapers aren’t our thing. Still, it would be awful if everything were beige. Textiles and art are how you bring color into a home,” Laura says.
Together with Arthur, she’s happy that the home looks like the family. Best of all, their friends feel at home there too.
See also:
• New arrivals at Finnish Design Shop >
Published on 15 Oct, 2026
