How To Hygge Your Home

Photo courtesy of Hygge Life

Alexandra Gove, owner and founder of Hygge Life, defines hygge as a feeling of contentment, happiness, comfort and warmth. One of the best ways to integrate hygge into your life is through the home. 

“There’s an art to creating a space that cultivates hygge, but it’s different for everyone’s needs,” Gove explains. “For me, lighting is really important. Having a fire or dim lighting helps me set the perfect mood.”

Implementing hygge through design is simple, just try to pinpoint what gives you that hygge feeling or inspires joy. Then, add elements that make it easy and accessible to have those comforting moments. For Gove, that time is in the morning with a cup of coffee or tea. Her morning ritual consists of lighting a candle and preparing the perfect cup, and her kitchen is set up to ensure that she is able to enjoy this moment as long as possible. The design of her coffee station creates a space that is intuitive and simplistic. 

The key is to reflect on how you and your family love to share time and moments. Even something as simple as lighting a candle can create something special. Taking the time out of your busy day to do something you love can help you slow down, even for just five minutes. Gove advises, “Look at your space and add things that provide comfort, things you value.”

While it is certainly easiest, and most obvious, to hygge your home in the winter months when it’s colder and darker, you can still add comforting touches year-round. Once it begins to warm up, open the windows to let in fresh air, spend time outside gardening or having dinner, take a picnic to the park. Or, bring nature indoors by adding plants and fresh flowers to your décor.  

Whatever your decorating style, hygge has a place in your home. “It’s less about creating a style,” Gove concludes, “hygge is a feeling that comes from moments.”