In the city of Jyväskylä, Finland, with a population of around 143,000, there’s a woman named Jenna Pigg. She’s made waves across the country by buying a 100-year-old house all by herself and tackling the renovations single-handedly. Jenna’s story was featured in the Finnish interior magazine Meilläkotona.
Jenna is 35 years old and works as a manager at Soihtu, a division of the University of Jyväskylä’s student union. She’s passionate about knitting, sewing, and restoring furniture. Back in the 2010s, she moved to Turkey, living in Alanya and working as a tour guide. But life in a foreign country didn’t quite work out, so she returned to Finland. In 2021, she purchased a house from the 1920s on the outskirts of her hometown.
Since then, Jenna’s been lovingly fixing up the house and sharing her journey on Instagram.
This is what Jenna’s house looks like today. Built in 1923, it’s a cozy 1,130 square feet, with three rooms, a kitchen, and even a sauna in the yard.
The home is tucked away in a secluded area, offering lots of privacy. But it’s still super convenient—just two miles from the city center, which makes it easy for Jenna to commute to work five days a week.
“I wasn’t sure if I could handle it at first,” Jenna admits. “Old houses take so much care and attention. But now, every single day brings me so much joy. In the evenings, I sit by the fireplace, work on my crafts, enjoy music, and sip a glass of wine.”
She named her house Manala, which has a unique, slightly eerie vibe. In Finno-Ugric mythology, Manala refers to the underworld. According to Estonian folk songs, it’s where the roots of the world tree—connecting all parts of existence—are found.
The first floor of the house has the kitchen and living room, while the second floor has another lounge area and Jenna’s bedroom.
A long time ago, Jenna says, this house was home to three families at once. Each family had its own room, and they shared the kitchen.
Moving into the old house was no easy feat. Jenna remembers her friends and family were horrified by her decision. They doubted that a young city girl like her could adapt to living in such an old place—especially one without a bathroom.
“I’ll never forget the day I moved in,” Jenna recalls. “It was freezing outside, and I spent the first three weeks doing nothing but shoveling firewood into the stove, trying to warm up the house.”
After about a month of living like that, she decided to install an air-source heat pump. It’s kind of like an A/C but with added features.
“It didn’t quite fit my vision of old-house living,” she admits, “but it was definitely a smart buy.”
Even with the heat pump, Jenna still uses the stoves to warm up the house—and for the atmosphere. She loves putting on vinyl records, picking an album that matches her mood, and knitting by the fire in the living room.
Here’s the living room. This is where Jenna usually reads or knits in her favorite chair.
Jenna always decorates her Christmas tree on her birthday—five weeks before Christmas.
A cozy brown sofa, a retro coffee table, wooden floors, and a simple IKEA star light in the window make this room feel perfectly rustic.
Fun fact: The house was in pretty decent shape when Jenna bought it. The previous owner, a Dutch architect, had replaced the kitchen and restored the floors.
“Everything else, I’ve done myself,” Jenna says. “I renovated the bathroom, updated the plumbing, and designed the interiors. Right now, I’m learning how to restore the windows on my own with the help of YouTube videos. In the future, I want to build a pantry and fix up the sauna in the yard.”
Here’s Jenna in her kitchen.
The kitchen cabinets were left by the previous owner, but Jenna added the appliances and a dining table with chairs.
The stove is in great working condition, though Jenna usually cooks on the electric range.
Most of Jenna’s Christmas decorations are handmade. She keeps it simple and cozy—like using spruce branches in jars and making garlands out of dried orange slices.
Here’s another DIY holiday idea from Jenna: dried orange slices hung on a branch.
Heading upstairs, you’ll find this cozy lounge area.
This old stove came with the house. It hasn’t worked in years, but Jenna keeps it as a nostalgic centerpiece. It used to warm the home back when several families lived here.
Jenna’s bedroom has slanted ceilings painted in a unique, earthy shade that looks a lot like clay. It pairs beautifully with her gingerbread-colored quilt.
“I’m really into Finnish folklore and learning traditional crafts,” Jenna writes in her blog. “I grow herbs in my garden and collect antiques. This house reflects my personality and is such a big part of my life. For the first time, I truly feel at home.”
Her home really does mirror her character. Even her love for heavy metal music, tattoos, and Finnish mythology shines through in the design of this 100-year-old wooden house on the edge of Jyväskylä.
Photos by: Hanne Manelius
