Ainola as a home

When Lars Sonck began the architectural design work for Ainola, Jean Sibelius had two requests in respect of the building. He wanted his study window to have a view over Lake Tuusula and a green fireplace in the dining room. Both of these requests were honoured. Sibelius moved into the house in autumn 1904. The lower floor had a study for the composer, a dining room, two bedrooms, a kitchen and a room for servants.

The saloon as viewed from the dining room.

The upper floor was completed in 1911. It comprised a bedroom for the parents, a study with a better view of the lake and a guest room. Part of the upper floor remained as an open loft for storage. At the same time the downstairs study was converted into a saloon. The timber walls were papered over and the house was furnished in the style of a contemporary bourgeois family. The daughters were then able to use both of the downstairs bedrooms.

When the youngest daughter Heidi married and left home the furnishings were changed on the lower floor. Heidi’s husband, the architect Aulis Blomstedt, designed a cosy library to be located in the second daughter’s room and the other room was decorated as a study and bedroom for the elderly Jean Sibelius, who was no longer keen on climbing the stairs to the upper floor.

No piped water was installed in the house during the composer’s lifetime, as he did not wish to be disturbed while working. However, electricity and telephone connections were fitted at an early stage.

Aino Sibelius lives at Ainola for a further 12 years following the death of her husband. The present state of Ainola is an authentic representation of the house at this time.