Meeri Koutaniemi answered our questions about vintage & interior design

Photographer, journalist and human rights activist Meeri Koutaniemi answered our questions about vintage and interior design. Meeri also chose her favorite products from our online store. You can take a look at Meeri's chosen products here .

What made you choose products from Fargo?

Fargo's store and online store is a particularly well-curated collection of old furniture and objects. In Fargo, the owner Harry Juutela is a wonderful person and a passionate knowledge bank whose expertise in antiques and design is really extensive. Fargo's selection, as well as conversation with Harry, has brought us to Fargo again and again for almost 10 years.

What principle do you use to decorate your home and where do you find inspiration for interior design?

Our principle with Sam is that everything should and should be mixed. We don't decorate according to one style, but we want to mix vintage and antiques with new design, and the world's craft treasures with Scandinavian minimalism. We love colors and art in interior design, so we have invested in them.

What era are you most interested in right now?

In furniture, I love Art Deco-style graphics and playfulness. In addition, standard favorites are the Scandinavian wooden furniture from the 60s and 70s, which I will never tire of.

Favorite designers of the moment?

I travel the world a lot for work, and for the past 15 years I have been collecting art and art objects from travels. Especially handmade home textiles, such as a hand-embroidered bedspread from Turkey and cactus silk rugs from Morocco are the treasures of our home. I collect handmade birds in all materials and you can find them in several of our rooms. In the living room, a Mozambican fish lamp made of pearls illuminates the bookshelf. Objects are associated with memories, and I have often been able to meet the creator of the art object.

Favorite combination of home decor that combines old and new?

The heart of our living room is a large dining table made of Finnish spruce that has been struck by lightning. The table was handmade in Finland this year. Underneath it is a vintage Moroccan carpet made of reeds and leather, which are several decades old and have many steps and events on it. I love the stories that come alive in objects and furniture.

Which piece of furniture has traveled with you the longest?

We still have baskets in our home that I got for my first home in Helsinki when I was in high school at a flea market.

What colors and textures in interior design have interested you lately?

In our current home, we dedicated one wall entirely to art ceramics. At the moment, we are fascinated by the use of colors on the walls and the combination of different materials to create a whole of works of art. We want ceramics, wood sculptures, rugs and paintings to be next to each other on the walls.