Tomorrow’s home is a way of life

I could live here. This was what I first thought when I recently visited Löyly, a sauna and restaurant complex that was opened a year ago in Hernesaari, Helsinki. I imagined myself waking up inside this wonderful wooden building early in the morning and stepping out, with a coffee cup in hand, to look at the sea. I’m a friend of minimalism: the quiet beauty of Löyly represents what I want my home to be like. Minimalist and functional.

We Finns are particularly good at building our lives on simplicity. Thanks to the four distinct seasons, many of us spend summers at summer cottages, where life is simple. There are just a few necessary items around. We know how to enjoy living close to nature: the silence is around us, and we are able to move about and have our meals outside.

Our connection with nature also counterbalances being constantly digitally connected. I believe there will be a growing need for this nature connection, as we increasingly work and spend time online and on our computers. There is no substitute for natural sounds and elements: birdsong, wind, rain, storms, light, and sun on the skin.

I also believe that the Finnish way of life, our connection with nature, is what the tourists and people visiting Finland are eager to experience. Finland is a country where, even in the capital city of Helsinki, you can, if the mood takes you, bathe in a sauna by the sea, without needing to possess a sauna of your own. We are blazing a trail with our lifestyle.

Löyly has, in a short time, received a lot of attention and recognition around the world. This is proof that simple beauty, a connection with nature and quietness attract people in today’s uncertain and complex world.