As soon as he moved to Ainola, Sibelius realised that it would be difficult to have the activities of work and family-life on the same floor. In 1911 the upper floor was made habitable in a major renovation, and during the years 1914-1915 the kitchen and maid’s room were extended, at a time when the household was preparing to celebrate the composer’s 50th birthday. The renovations can be seen in the photograph.

Jean and Aino with Margareta, Katarina and Heidi in the courtyard of Ainola in the autumn of 1915. The outer walls of the house have been covered with boards and painted. The window jambs have been painted green. The stairs in the corner lead to the entry porch. As a result of the extension an overhang has been added to the roof of the kitchen gable. The newly tarred shingles of the overhang can be distinguished from the rest of the roof by their darker shade. The attic window is larger than before. Behind the window is the Ainola guest room.

The texts on the floor plan mention the areas that have undergone changes compared to the 1904 plan:

1. The entrance porch reached almost its current dimensions in 1914-1915, but its stairs changed their position and shape at a later date.
2. The servants’ room doubled in size to over ten square meters in 1914-1915. Both long-time servants, Aino Kari and Helmi Vainikainen, did not live in the house full-time.
3. The kitchen was expanded to its current size in 1914-1915. In 1925-26, a major renovation was carried out at Ainola under the direction of master builder Aarne Männikkö, during which the kitchen floor, stove, and sink were replaced. The sewerage was modernized a couple of years later.

A back door was constructed in connection with the kitchen extension. The new and final kitchen door was turned to open towards the southeast. The exterior door from the hallway to the porch was converted into an interior door in 1911, opening to the attic stairs. The passage to the children’s room was closed in the 1930s in connection with the furnishing of the library. Aino Sibelius designed a cabinet for the closed doorway. A secondary staircase to the parents’ bedroom was built in place of the porch in 1911 to improve fire safety. The future work and bedroom of Sibelius was expanded into the space created under the attic stairs in 1911. The current washroom was created in this space.

• 13. Sibelius’s old study became a hall in 1911, with a wide opening equipped with a sliding door made in the wall facing the dining room. Keravan Puusepäntehdas supplied the materials and performed the installation.
• 14. The dining room remained unchanged. The access to the library was opened after its completion in 1935 by breaking through the partition wall next to the green fireplace.
• 15. Sibelius’s future work and bedroom was expanded with a wash alcove in 1911. (Compare 11)
• 16. The children’s room remained unchanged from 1911 to 1915, but in 1935 it was converted into a library. Sibelius’s son-in-law, architect Aulis Blomstedt (1906-1979), created the renovation drawings and designed the interior. Keravan Puusepäntehdas carried out the work in late summer 1935. Bookshelves, doors, a new floor with insulation, staining, a tobacco table with crystal glass, the work, and the materials cost a total of just under 20,000 old marks (5,800 current euros). Additionally, N. Boman in Helsinki made 4 armchairs according to Aulis Blomstedt’s drawings for 8,400 marks (2,500 euros). A carpet was purchased from Kotiahkeruus Oy for 8,232 marks (2,350 euros), and leaf gilding was added to the salon’s Empire furniture for 6,400 marks (1,850 euros).

18 Keittiön yläpuoliseen ullakkotilaan rakennettiin vierashuone 1911.

• 19. The stairs from the dining room led to the upstairs hallway in 1911.
• 22. The windows of this attic space were enlarged in 1911. A low railing was built in front of the window facing Lake Tuusula, and a balcony was constructed on the gable end of the house. Thus, the parents got a spacious bedroom, from which Sibelius moved downstairs in the early 1940s. Aino Sibelius lived in the room for nearly 60 years, until her death.
• 24. The comfort of Sibelius’s new study was enhanced by an enlarged window in 1911. The hidden balcony behind it offered an unobstructed view of Lake Tuusula over its railing. The majority of Sibelius’s works were completed in this room, starting from the piece “Historical Scenes II”.

Sibelius in his upstairs study writing the first version of his Fifth Symphony in the autumn of 1915. In the vase is a bouquet of roses, which he loved so much.

25. The remaining part of the attic was left as free attic space.