Ways to Create a Hygge Atmosphere in Your Home
If you are reading along with The Hygge House Book Club, our book this month is The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking. I chose this book to encourage more people to better understand hygge and the feelings and elements of Danish lifestyle to help bring the “hygge happiness” into the home.
“Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience. It is about being with the people we love. A feeling of home. A feeling that we are safe, that we are shielded from the world.” - The Little Book of Hygge
“Hygge is a Danish word that means coziness. It is a feeling and a way of being. It is choosing to enjoy the most important, meaningful moments of our lives and respecting them as important.” - The Danish Way of Parenting
One intentional choice we can make to raise happy and confident children is by practicing hygge as a family and incorporating it into our home and everyday lifestyle. For the Danes, hygge is a way of life. Here are some tips for bringing hygge into the home.
Elements of Hygge In The Home
Candles
Candles and candlelight is the #1 thing mostly associated with Hygge. The Danes are obsessed with lighting in general. The rule is, the lower the temperature of the light, the more hygge. Sunsets, the burning wood of a fire, and candlelight are hygge sweet spots for light. Allow candles, the light of a a fire burning in the fireplace, or the light of a sunset coming through the windows to illuminate your home to create an atmosphere of hygge.
Vintage or Handcrafted
Incorporating vintage or handcrafted pieces to your home is hyggelig (hygge-ly). Narratives and nostalgia are the hygge elements of these items. These pieces hold an emotional value and a story. I have an old antique mirror from my grandpa’s house hanging up in my living room. When we had very little and we lived in a small apartment, my husband asked me if there was a fire, what one item would I grab? I said the antique mirror of my grandpas. I didn’t know this grandpa particularly well and this mirror is the one piece of his that I own. I like to imagine the memories of my grandpa that this mirror holds and how it is a reminder of my heritage and my memories of him every time I see it. That is hygge.
A Hygge Nook
A place in the home where you love to snuggle up in a blanket, with a book and a warm drink. Your hygge nook should be a place of retreat and restoration. This may look like a cozy chair next to a window or a fireplace, a bay window seat furnished with soft pillows and blankets, or a bathtub next to a window with a candle burning. Wherever your hygge nook is, this is your space to rest and be mindful and intentional about finding time for yourself.
Bring Nature Indoors
Scandinavian design includes decor and elements found in nature. Add wood, stone, greenery and other natural elements to your home. Natural environments are restorative, they brighten up spaces and bring life into the home.
Add blankets and other cozy textiles
Fuzzy socks, soft blankets, cozy pillows, mittens, and sweaters are all hygge. To snuggle up with a blanket, rest your head against a soft pillow and read a book is very hyggelig. Hygge is about experiencing happiness in simple pleasures. Think about the way objects feel to your touch and add a variety of textures to your home.
Feelings of Hygge in the Home:
Mindfulness
Being in the present moment is a huge aspect of hygge. As much as you can, invite family members to unplug at the dinner table and during family time. There are so many distractions that compete for our attention but, nothing is more important than the time we have with our loved ones. Mindfulness includes cultivating awareness, being in the present moment, and an attitude of non-judgement and kindness. This is a very healthy mental state and the more that we can invite our family members to practice this state of mind, the more loving and attentive we can be to one another and to ourselves.
Connection and Togetherness
The Danes do this around a fireplace. “It’s fair to say that a fireplace may just be the ultimate headquarters of Hygge…. it’s somewhere we spend time with our dear ones to intensify our feelings of togetherness.” A hearth is defined as “the stone or brick floor of a fireplace”, it is also a symbol for home or family life. Every home and family needs to create a hearth of the home, whether this includes a fireplace or not, the hearth should be a space for family gatherings and family togetherness. Where is the hearth of your home? If you don’t have one, work to dedicate a specific space designed for family togetherness. This may looks like a couch with enough seating for the whole family, comfortable blankets and pillows, you may include pictures of your family in this room or art that reflects the feelings you want to be present in this space. Your family will make beautiful memories in this space and it will be a place where they can feel most safe.
Safety, Love and Respect
The Hygge Manifesto is a list of 10 rules to maintain an atmosphere of hygge. Truce is an element of the manifesto that means that everyone agrees not to invite drama. We can all agree to disagree and do our best not to push one another buttons, hygge is best felt in an atmosphere where everyone feels respected. Another element is Shelter, which represents home being a place of peace and security. Your home should be your safe space. Every member of the family should be taught that home is a place of love and that we treat one another with respect and kindness. Understanding how the atmosphere of the home effects each individual is the start to creating a Hygge Home, a place where you feel most known, most loved, and most safe.
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Have a Hygge Day!
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