{"id":1350,"date":"2025-08-27T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T08:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scientificmediagroup.com\/?p=1350"},"modified":"2025-10-02T16:23:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:23:49","slug":"joanna-laajisto-uses-reclaimed-oak-for-everything-at-helsinki-restaurant-shii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.scientificmediagroup.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/27\/joanna-laajisto-uses-reclaimed-oak-for-everything-at-helsinki-restaurant-shii\/","title":{"rendered":"Joanna Laajisto uses reclaimed oak for everything at Helsinki restaurant Shii"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Counter<\/div>\n

Rustic oak from a 300-year-old wine press was used to craft the interior of Shii, a tiny Japanese restaurant<\/a> in Helsinki<\/a> designed by local designer Joanna Laajisto<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shii<\/a> is an omakase-style restaurant offe ring an 11-course seasonal tasting menu. Diners can choose to sit at the 16-seat chef’s counter or at a six-seat private dining table hidden away at the back.<\/p>\n

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Hand-painted linen noren curtains hang above Shii’s chef’s counter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like the menu, Laajisto<\/a>‘s interior combines both Nordic and Japanese influences, combining a minimalist aesthetic with crafted joinery details.<\/p>\n

Local carpenters constructed all the built-in furniture using reclaimed oak from a centuries-old wine press that Laajisto sourced via Finnish second-hand online marketplace Tori<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It provided enough material to construct Shii’s eight-metre-long bar counter, kitchen shelves, a round table for the private dining room, a washroom counter and various other sculptural objects.<\/p>\n

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Reclaimed oak provided all built-in furniture, including the counter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Laajisto also used Tori to find the terracotta-gradient tiles that line the bathroom floor and walls.<\/p>\n

“This approach to material sourcing, while requiring extra effort, infused the project with layered meaning and narrative,” she said.<\/p>\n

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Various sculptural objects were also made from the wood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the wood offering plenty of character, the designer was able to keep things simple elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Few changes were made to the walls and the ceilings of the space, which was previously a bakery. Instead, the surfaces were simply coated with clay paint in a warm “charcoal” tone.<\/p>\n