This Storybook Sauna Heats Up by Smartphone
A Danish craftsman turned pieces of oak into a free-form spot to unwind in after a long, cold day of thatching roofs
When Bjarne Johansen isn’t sitting high above the ground thatching houses around Denmark, he has fun building inventive structures in his own backyard. A homemade sauna is just one of the creations in his large garden in the village of True, on the Jutland peninsula about 120 miles northwest of Copenhagen.
“The garden is the thatcher’s playroom. If I can’t sleep at night, I come up with new ideas, which I then go out and test the next morning. The sauna was one of them,” Johansen says.
Next to the sauna, for example, Johansen built a triangular greenhouse.
Johansen has been a thatcher and a craftsman for over 35 years, working on ordinary thatching jobs and quirkier projects. A couple of years ago, for instance, he helped thatch part of a set for a play at Copenhagen’s Østre Gasværk theater. More recently, he helped thatch the public art installation Rapture, by Danish artist Thomas Poulsen (aka FOS), at the outdoor pool in Aalborg, Denmark.
Johansen has been a thatcher and a craftsman for over 35 years, working on ordinary thatching jobs and quirkier projects. A couple of years ago, for instance, he helped thatch part of a set for a play at Copenhagen’s Østre Gasværk theater. More recently, he helped thatch the public art installation Rapture, by Danish artist Thomas Poulsen (aka FOS), at the outdoor pool in Aalborg, Denmark.
The idea for the sauna arose from a discussion with some of Johansen’s thatching students at a craft school in Haderslev, Denmark. “We were discussing what could and couldn’t be done,” he says. “I claimed that it is possible to produce unusual designs. I have worked on thatched roofs in Holland for several years, and in Holland, they do a lot more with thatched roofs than we do in Denmark. So I knew it would be possible to make this sauna.”
A sauna poses a challenge because the humidity and changing temperature make it difficult to construct a stable substrate for the thatch. The round shape also complicates the thatch’s placement.
A sauna poses a challenge because the humidity and changing temperature make it difficult to construct a stable substrate for the thatch. The round shape also complicates the thatch’s placement.
Johansen isn’t the type of person who makes carefully calculated drawings before starting. That’s why the sauna reflects the influences and materials he found in his immediate environment.
“When I ran into challenges … I went into my forest and looked at what was there. For example, I might find some skewed piece of wood that might inspire new ideas. Obviously certain things, such as ventilation, lighting and the outdoor shower, had to be included. But when I started, I was not aware of what the final result would be,” Johansen says.
“When I ran into challenges … I went into my forest and looked at what was there. For example, I might find some skewed piece of wood that might inspire new ideas. Obviously certain things, such as ventilation, lighting and the outdoor shower, had to be included. But when I started, I was not aware of what the final result would be,” Johansen says.
Before: The sauna’s frame consists of six crooked pieces of oak that Johansen found lying in his garden.
Before: That’s why the sauna has such an asymmetrical, organic shape. “The materials determined the final design,” Johansen says.
The sauna took only two weeks to make.
The sauna took only two weeks to make.
After: This is the all-important cold-water shower for rinsing off after a steam.
On the inside, the sauna is paneled with willow and plastered with a mortar containing horsehair.
On the inside, the sauna is paneled with willow and plastered with a mortar containing horsehair.
“I spoke to both Finns and Canadians about plastering the inside of a sauna with mortar, and none of them had ever heard of doing it that way, so it was a bit of a gamble. I will never forget the first time I fired up the sauna and just expected everything to collapse onto my head. But it actually held.
What’s fun about the interior willow boarding is that when the temperature reaches [176 degrees], there is such a lovely scent of willow in there,” Johansen says.
What’s fun about the interior willow boarding is that when the temperature reaches [176 degrees], there is such a lovely scent of willow in there,” Johansen says.
The sauna’s position in the garden makes it look almost like a work of art, but Johansen doesn’t describe his work that way. “I give myself artistic freedom, but everything I create comes with a craftsman’s guarantee. I like to make things that will endure. The sauna will last for at least 40 to 50 years — which means I will have a maintenance-free sauna for the rest of my life,” he says.
Johansen calls the sauna “the epitome of the quality of life.” It’s equipped with lighting and music. There’s also a small wine cellar that maintains a temperature of [43 degrees] under a hatch in the floor (not pictured).
“After a full day of hard work, it is great to come home to the sauna. It is also very popular among my friends,” he says.
“After a full day of hard work, it is great to come home to the sauna. It is also very popular among my friends,” he says.
Best of all, the sauna can be controlled from a cellphone. Johansen has a routine after a hard day’s work: “When I climb down from a roof [20 miles] from home, soaked and cold from the rain, I take out my phone and send a message home to turn the sauna on. This way, I can crawl directly into [a 176-degree] sauna. It is so cool.”
Johansen receives many orders for innovative projects from his customers. “My privilege as a thatcher is that nobody has any fixed ideas about thatched roofs nowadays. So when I get a good idea, it is received with enthusiasm 99 out of 100 times. I love to play around, and it turns out that I can make money doing just that,” he says.
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Johansen receives many orders for innovative projects from his customers. “My privilege as a thatcher is that nobody has any fixed ideas about thatched roofs nowadays. So when I get a good idea, it is received with enthusiasm 99 out of 100 times. I love to play around, and it turns out that I can make money doing just that,” he says.
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5 Hot Tips for Home Saunas
Find a sauna for your home
Sauna at a Glance
Who lives here: Bjarne Johansen
Location: True, Denmark
Size: Holds up to eight people