Pekka builds a comforting plywood cottage on the windswept shore of the Bothnian Sea

“A fisherman's cottage came to mind because fishing has always been an important livelihood here. My grandmother's family earned their living solely from fishing, and there have been many skippers on my father's side since the 19th century. They have sailed these same waters,” Pekka explains, adding that a luxury villa with huge glass facades would not fit in the rugged landscape. Instead, the family went for modest, humble and simple.  

Beautiful, responsible and easy to work with 

Pekka’s love for wood and good craftmanship runs like a vein through the cottage. He has enjoyed creating with his own hands since he was a child, and today, he uses his passion professionally as a technical craft teacher and class teacher.  

“Wood is extremely beautiful. It’s a living material that changes with the environment. You must get to know it to work with it,” he says. 

Pekka is particularly fond of local, Finnish wood species, so he chose WISA^®-Spruce Special plywood, sourced from responsibly managed Finnish forests, as the main material for the cottage.  

“It warms my heart to know that the wood material we use comes from nearby forests, providing many families with food on the table. To me, it is also crucial that UPM is a pioneer in responsible forest management,” Pekka stresses. 

With hundreds of square metres worth of plywood ceilings, walls and fixed furniture, Pekka was looking for an affordable product without compromising performance. Quick installation and consistently high quality were also on his wish list. 

“Before choosing WISA, I did a lot of research. It turns out that WISA-Spruce Special is the best softwood plywood on the market,” Pekka says about UPM’s high-grade special panels with no open defects on the cross-sanded, smooth surface.  

Spreading the love of wood 

Lightweight and strong, WISA-Spruce is widely used in structural and load-bearing constructions. However, in the Pöyhtäri cottage, it is not hidden from the eye. It is visible everywhere, as practically all the interior – except for the plank floor – is made of plywood: The ceiling, the walls, and the built-in furniture are all made of WISA-Spruce Special. 

“We have a lot of built-in furniture made of plywood, creating cozy nooks that invite you to curl up with a book on a stormy autumn day,” describes Pekka, who is fascinated by the vibrant and rustic wood grain look of WISA-Spruce. So are his kids, who see everything from the Neighbour’s dog, bears and owls to northern lights and maps in the lively spruce surface.  

To inspire others, Pekka shares photos and experiences on the Instagram account, @perameren_rannalla (meaning on the shore of the Bothnian Bay). 

“I want to show that you can build incredibly beautiful surfaces with plain spruce plywood. In our cottage, the wood’s nature and character are allowed to show!”