Marko Paananen is a Finnish interior designer, well-known from the tv interior design series Inno. He graduated as an interior designer in Los Angeles, where he lived for ten years. He currently lives and works in Finland, but time abroad made him appreciate the uniqueness of Finnish sauna. Marko wishes that there would be more awareness of the greatness of it.
Marko has a design philosophy that interiors should fit into people’s own habits, views, and tastes. This applies to sauna design as well. He thinks everyone can make the experience their own. For example, the sauna design can change depending on how you want to sit or lay down and what is the heat and moisture level.
Marko Paananen doesn’t have any strict rules of what sauna design should look like. However, he stresses the idea of making sauna a calm space, with material you can touch easily like wood and linen. Practicality also comes into play via placement of things, like getting the water, or if the sauna is wood burning, the wood should be easily available and nicely placed. Easiness adds to the relaxation.
According to Marko Paananen, sauna has a meditative quality, being separated from the world. He says that sauna balances a hectic lifestyle as a break from everyday life. Marko hopes that sauna design would go towards more components that add to the calmness and relaxation.
See what else Marko said about sauna design.
