Interior designer Pille Lausmäe has worked on the Knighthood House for a total of 12 years. According to her, the guiding principle in restoring, repairing and renovating the building was that what is old, is old, and what is new should be visibly new.

"We preserved everything we could find, with no one period taking precedence," Lausmäe said. "We value the building's history and story above all else."

While its official grand opening has yet to take place, the Knighthood House has already been finding use by the Estonian government as well as for events like book launches and training sessions.

Public access to the building is determined by the schedule of high-level foreign visits, but Lausmäe highlighted that the building design also specifically took public accessibility into consideration as well.

Coming in through the Kohtu tänav side entrance, the first room visitors enter, is the one featuring a 330-year-old ceiling painting, or plafond, whose discovery and restoration earned significant media attention.

Located in the older part of the building, the massive plafond was discovered two years ago, entirely by chance and through just a small crack, by Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) professor and conservator Hilkka Hiiop.

The find prompted interior designers to rethink the room's layout, as initial plans called for two offices and a corridor to be built in this space.

"This major discovery turned everything on its head," Lausmäe recalled. "The room revealed itself to us layer by layer – like an onion."

The main entrance facing St. Mary's Cathedral, or the Dome Church, opens into a foyer in shades of gray and green, which Lausmäe explained were partly inspired by past designs.

On the foyer wall hangs the painting "Meripuu" (2024), one of two commissioned public works of art by Estonian artist Laurentsius selected from among nearly 70 competing entries vying for a spot in the prestigious building.

The interior designer said that Laurentsius painted the piece on-site due to its sheer size.

Traces of former details as well as restoration attempts can be seen around the Knighthood House as well.

Located off the foyer, the cloakroom was in the most dilapidated part of the building, according to Lausmäe.

Visitors can now see remnants of an earlier restoration effort along the top of the cloakroom walls, where Polish restorers presumably painted over Art Nouveau ornamentation.

The interior designer noted that the current project intentionally left these ornaments unrestored, while also specifically showcasing the past restoration effort.

The building's furniture – including everything from upholstered pieces to tables and mirrors – was custom-designed by Lausmäe's office and produced by the Saaremaa-based Estonian company Kalla Mööbel.

While little original furniture from the building has survived, the spaces do feature some older pieces from elsewhere, such as an Estonian-produced writing desk from the 1930s from the Estonian Embassy in Berlin.

Disabled access to the building is via the building's courtyard, and the Knighthood House has been outfitted with an elevator for access between floors. An accessible bathroom is also located on the main floor.

Lausmäe highlighted that many of the Knighthood House's original light fixtures have been restored. The chandeliers in the Great Hall, meanwhile, while resembling brass, were originally made from papier-mache.

The family crests of noble houses adorning the walls of the Great Hall required very specific climate conditions, she continued; otherwise, the Estonian History Museum would not have permitted them to be displayed there.

In addition to the crests, more of which are to come, the walls of the Great Hall also feature stone-carved lists of members of the knighthood that participated in the Napoleonic Wars.

A portrait of Russian Tsar Peter the Great, once a centerpiece among them, will not be restored to its former location for specific reasons, Lausmäe noted.

The halls' parquet flooring was reproduced based on the original design; a section of the original parquet preserved in a hall niche served as the basis for commissioning the new flooring.

According to the Estonian Knighthood House's interior designer, the older part of the building is full of wall murals.

Some are partially visible, such as in a room with red walls, which was once part of a staircase and is now a private space for VIPs who want a moment to themselves before heading to speak at a press conference.

The most challenging part of designing the press conference room itself was the ceiling, which Lausmäe's office worked on for six months in order to integrate the necessary ventilation, climate control and lighting.

Hidden beneath three centimeters of plaster in the press conference room was yet another, light blue wall mural.

The press room located in the attic retained its original ceiling beams, which according to Lausmäe were in very good condition, despite the space having served as a real haven for pigeons before work on the building began. These timber beams were now left exposed, and coated in a fire-retardant material.

Restoration, repair and renovation work on the Estonian Knighthood House in Tallinn cost approximately €18 million.

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