My mom is coming on Wednesday for an extended visit and I’m so looking forward to it. What you see below is what I sometimes jokingly referred to as “the spa” – a bedroom in our basement that has never really been used for much. It was outfitted with a real Finnish sauna by the prior owner and the first year we lived here, we used the sauna several times, but no so much since then. So the room slowly involved into a catch-all junk room. But with the former guest room turned into the nursery, we needed a place for mom, who will be here until after the New Year.

It all started last week when we picked up the new mattress we bought the week before. We had to haul away the old sofa that was being stored in the room, along with some other stuff, on Saturday, move out one large cabinet that was in the room but wasn’t needed there anymore, etc., etc., etc. Outfitted with all new linens, a new bedside table and chest from Ikea, the sturdy old wingback from the den, and some carefully chosen artwork & gorgeous Finnish textiles that Harald brought back from there, the room evokes what I imagine is a very Scandinavian vibe (and I have it on good authority, too!). We’ve done a ton of other stuff to spruce up the bathroom, improve safety (read: replace old fire detectors with new fire/smoke/C02 detectors), and generally make it the most inviting space we could manage. And if you don’t mind my saying so, I think we succeeded. Yes, the sauna will come out one day – we will likely haul it up Lutsen and install it there. But for now, I think this is a pretty cozy looking bedroom for any guest.