This year, the prestigious Kodu & Aed Home of the Year award went to Külli Kraner and Jako Kruuse, in recognition of their home in the Merivälja district of Tallinn. According to Kodu & Aed editor-in-chief Aita Kivi, the competition saw over a hundred entrants, with nearly 50 shortlisted to the finals, across both publications.

Kraner and Kruuse have lived in the house for three years now. Kraner said: "We started looking for a bigger home five or six years ago because we were living in a smaller apartment at the time." "Gradually, we came to realize that maybe we're house people after all," she added.

In fact, for Kruuse, the move was a homecoming in more ways than one. The house was built by Kraner and Kruuse on the site of his childhood home, which was demolished to make way for a modern development. "This is a heritage-protected area, and there were very strict restrictions at the time. Initially, we wanted to build a house in a functionalist style, but the city government told us to dream on," he recalled.

The couple's home reflects both their personalities and design preferences. "It's a very cozy house in Merivälja, where the storage spaces are extremely well thought out. Anything unnecessary is out of sight, leaving visible only what adds personality and gives a glimpse into the family members' hobbies," Kivi commented about the winning home.

For Kruuse, returning to a house after living in an apartment for many years represented a significant change. "I'd lived here since I was two years old. As an adult, I became an apartment person and for many years thought I never wanted to go back to living in a house because there's so much work involved. But I think the older you get, the more you start to enjoy it," he said.

The couple worked carefully to plan the layout of their new home. "The entire layout was carefully planned in advance, during which the couple encountered some disagreements but managed to find compromises," Kivi explained. "We each had a few things that absolutely had to be included, and we were willing to sacrifice something else to make it happen," said Kruuse, who insisted on having an exposed wooden wall.

For Kraner, it was the stove, for which they even went to a furniture store to fry meat as a test. The couple said they spend time at home too. "I absolutely love it when it's a work-from-home day. I really enjoy being at home. And knowing that you don't have to go anywhere at the weekend; that's also really nice," Kraner said.

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