In the early 1950s she made several study trips in Europe.
After that she was hired in the government office for land-use planning.
[1] Setälä's main interest was interior design and furniture.
[1] Her parents were Eemil Nestor Setälä and Helmi Krohn, and she was of Baltic German descent through her maternal grandfather Julius Krohn.
[2][3] From 1919–1930 she was married to the journalist Frithiof Cornér, and the painter, graphic artist and illustrator Helmiriitta Honkanen [fi] was their daughter.