A traditional Finnish sauna · From our 2025 magazine
A sauna
takes shape.
Twenty-four stages. One carefully considered retreat.
Follow the original photographs from the empty garden to the last timber detail. The structure, hidden layers, lighting and craftsmanship all have a part in how the finished room feels.
The beauty is in
what comes together.
A finished sauna photograph tells you about its atmosphere. The build photographs explain how it arrived there. This journal follows the sequence published in Revealed, keeping the small construction details alongside the more familiar materials and finishes.
Each photograph can be opened to look closer or saved to your Mood Cube. These are the stages of one project; the specification for your own sauna will be designed around its setting and requirements.
A place in the garden.
The first decisions sit behind everything you eventually see: the enclosure, insulation, drainage and sealing.
The garden before the sauna: the starting point for a new place to pause.
The shell establishes the room and its wide glazed opening.
Insulation is fitted within the enclosure before the timber interior.
A detail from the wall build-up, before the junctions are closed.
The floor drainage position is recorded while the base is still exposed.
The ceiling insulation is in place before the lining is added.
The sealed lining forms part of the construction behind the visible timber.
Behind the timber.
Battens, the floor build-up, ventilation and lighting prepare the room for its visible finish.
The batten framework prepares the walls for their timber finish.
A closer view of the thermo-pine rainscreen batten used in this project.
The floor build-up progresses, ready for the following layers.
The high-temperature-resistant extract fan is positioned within the room.
The lighting is planned and prepared while the ceiling remains open.
A waterproof membrane is installed before the floor finish.
The external side of the extraction detail, photographed during the build.
Material, light, atmosphere.
The interior becomes recognisable: a timber ceiling, juniper texture, porcelain and the small crystal details.
The timber ceiling and lighting are installed before the wall panelling.
Obeche cladding meets the distinctive juniper log-end feature panel.
The porcelain floor tiles bring the base of the room together.
A close-up of a crystal fibre-optic light within the timber ceiling.
The magazine records the sauna paraffin-oil wood treatment at this stage.
The Narvi 9 kW electric heater specified for this particular sauna.
The last details matter.
Benches, glass and backrests turn the lined enclosure into a place to sit, look out and unwind.
The bench supports take shape around the planned seating arrangement.
The bench surface is complete, with the timber grain running through the room.
The glazed enclosure brings daylight and a view into the sauna.
The final timber and ventilation details complete the seating area.
The finished room
Built with care.
Made for a pause.
The log-end juniper panel, smooth benching, glazed enclosure and points of crystal light come together in the completed sauna. The final image makes more sense when you have seen everything that sits behind it.
Lisa’s own garden sauna, built in 2021, began a design thread that now runs through our home and garden sauna projects.
Read Lisa’s sauna story →Plan your own sauna
From the first idea
to the final detail.
We can help with materials for your own project, or with the design and installation of a bespoke sauna. Start with the space you have and the experience you want to create.
This is a visual record of one build, rather than a complete installation manual. Insulation, ventilation, waterproofing, heater clearances and electrical work need to follow the chosen system’s current instructions and the project’s design. Heater installation and electrical work should be undertaken by appropriately qualified professionals.
Adapted from “Steps to Building a Finnish Sauna”, Revealed Design Home Interiors, seventh edition, 2025, pages 32–33. Original project photographs and numbered sequence from the magazine. Explore Revealed →