Hygge is a term that has swept over the covers of home magazines, dominated our Pinterest feeds, and incorporated into luxury branding over the past few years. But what is Hygge? And how can you hygge your home?
Hygge is a Danish word without an exact translation into English. It is a cultural concept; a way of life that promotes the concept of simplicity, relaxation, warmth, and a feeling of calm.
Unsurprisingly, many of us desire to have a calm, laidback and cosy home, which perfectly aligns with the hygge concept. So, in this blog post, we’ll share our top pieces of advice on how to seamlessly bring hygge into your home through décor, textures, colours, furnishings and more. Let’s get into it.
How to Hygge Your Home
- Stick to Neutral Colours
Creating hygge is all about creating a harmonious and calming environment. To emulate this in your home, neutral colours are a great choice.
It is well understood that neutral colours are ideal for creating a calming space. Neutral colours reflect the natural environment, and stepping out into nature or bringing the outdoors in are always recommended for destressing.
Bold, brash, and contrasting colours can be somewhat exciting, but they can also be overstimulating, alerting and stressful. So, it’s best to avoid bright colours when laying down the hygge foundations of your room.
The other great thing about neutral tones is that they are timeless. By sticking to neutrals, particularly when it comes to investment pieces and large furnishings, you’re much less likely to want to redecorate in the next few years. Not only will this save you a lot of time and effort, but it will also save you money.
Any neutral colours will work perfectly when creating hygge at home. We recommend creams, beiges, greys, browns and whites. If you want to add some colour, we recommend natural shades that you would most commonly find in nature, like greens and blues.
- Be Selective with Accessories
Clutter is the opposite of hygge. You should avoid clutter in your space at all costs, whether you have an excess of trinkets on your side table or a stack of magazines and post on your coffee table, it’s time to tidy.
An overload of clutter can hold you back from creating the calming interior that you desire, especially in rooms where relaxation is key, like a living room or bedroom. As they say, ‘a tidy room is a tidy mind’, so get your spring cleaning caps on and sort out your space.
The key is finding the right balance. You don’t need to go too purge-happy and get rid of all of your home accessories. Simple and clean spaces are important for adding hygge to your home, however a hygge home also involves the placement of objects that you hold close to your heart!
Assess the objects you have on show and decide what is important for you to have on display, and keep the other objects safe but hidden away. Cleansing the space in this way will help you to achieve hygge.
Create a Cosy, Comfortable, and Warm Space
Denmark can get pretty cold and dark, so you can understand why keeping warm and cosy is a priority! Creating hygge at home is all about ensuring your space is comfortable and warm so you can feel completely relaxed when using that space.
There are many hygge decorating tips that will help you to enhance the warmth of your space. For example, you could introduce some soft, thick throws and utilise the fire that you don’t use as much as you should!
You could even go as far as creating a snug room or snug corner in your home. A snug could function as a cosy reading nook or a cinema room. Essentially, it’s a dedicated space to relax, rejuvenate and feel hygge.
Experiment with Textures
To hygge your home, you need to consider fabrics and texture. Layering and experimenting with different natural, soft textures will add depth to your space whilst also keeping it calm.
An easy, practical and stylish way to add texture to a room is with a hygge rug. You’ll find our favourite hygge rugs further down the page, but as a starting point we recommend shaggy rugs, sheepskin rugs or wool rugs for maximum warmth and comfort. Sheepskin and woollen rugs in particular bring an element of nature into your home, which enhances feelings of relaxation.
And, by opting for one of these rug textures in a neutral shade, you’re adding a timeless design feature to your room that won’t go out of fashion.
- Avoid Bright Lights
To fully create a hygge home that is cosy and relaxing, you should avoid harsh, bright lights.
The first step here is to use warm lightbulbs instead of cool lightbulbs. Warm light emulates sunsets and burning fireplaces, creating a cosy and soft ambience.
Next, as Meik Wiking (the Hygge expert) suggests, you need to use lamps instead of the big, main light. Lamps create and concentrate light in a relaxing way, so place them strategically around your room for maximum cosiness.
You could also integrate some candles into the mix. Danes are actually the biggest consumers of candles in Europe. On average, six kilograms of candles are burnt through per person per year in Denmark. And, one of the main reasons why? Hygge.
Candles create a warm, relaxing glow and make any space feel more intimate. A flame is also more natural than a lightbulb, which ties nicely into the concept of hygge. Of course, you need to exercise caution when using candles and only use them when it’s safe to do so.
Another way to integrate soft lighting into your space is through fairy lights or string lights. Fairy lights are a popular and inexpensive way to make your room feel extremely cosy at all times of year.
- Transform Your Bathroom into a Sanctuary
It’s easy to focus on bedrooms and living areas when trying to hygge your home. However, an important room that you shouldn’t overlook is the bathroom. By transforming your bathroom into a relaxing, spa-like space, you’ll find it easier to unwind when you’re getting ready for bed.
Our top hygge decorating tips for a bathroom would be to:
- clear your counter space and tuck any excess products into a cabinet;
- invest in soft, thick and neutral toned towels;
- add candles (safely) to light while you’re enjoying a bath;
- incorporate soft lighting to your space to set a relaxing mood in the evening;
- add a soft bathroom rug to keep warm and comfortable.
Our Favourite Hygge Rugs
Our Favourite Hygge Rugs
With the right rug, you can truly ground your space and tie all of your furniture and furnishings together. When creating a hygge living space, you should prioritise feelings of comfort and calm, and your choice of rug should reinforce this.
Here are some of our favourite hygge rugs:
The Serene Cream Shaggy Rug ticks all of the hygge boxes. The texture of a shaggy rug instantly adds a layer of comfort to a room, and the luxuriously dense pile of the Serene rug emphasises this. Cream is a neutral colour that is calming and will never go out of fashion. The Serene rug perfectly complements the natural style of wooden floorboards, too. You can find the Serene rug in other neutral colours, including light beige and charcoal.
2. Aysgarth Durable Tribal Shaggy Rug
The minimalistic design of this Aysgarth Tribal Rug epitomises Scandinavian style. Like the Serene rug, the beige shaggy fabric of the Aysgarth rug will bring comfort and calm to your space. The geometric pattern is understated yet still adds some more depth and interest than a plain rug would. What’s more, the Aysgarth rug is super soft and requires minimal maintenance to keep clean – it’s a piece of hygge heaven.
Neutral colours aren’t exclusively light, and you can bring a neutral colour palette into your space with dark, earthy tones, too. A darker rug will really make your room feel cosy and more intimate, which can help in creating a hygge space. This Taupe Sheepskin Rug is perfect for this, featuring genuine sheepskin in a neutral, brown tone. Not only will this rug make your room feel cosy, but it will also add a touch of luxury and sophistication to your space. The authentic sheepskin brings nature into your living space as well as warmth, softness and style. If taupe isn’t your thing, we have plenty of other neutral-toned sheepskin rugs to choose from, including light red fox, grey, beige, chocolate and ivory
4. Chartwell Luxury Minimalistic Rug
The Chartwell Luxury Minimalistic Rug is an ideal hygge rug. Its pattern is minimalistic and stylish, and it’s super soft and comfortable to the touch. Like the Aysgarth rug, the laid-back pattern featured on the Chartwell rug adds some interest without overwhelming your space. The Chartwell rug is also available in three different neutral shades, including cream, grey and charcoal, so you will certainly find a colour palette that suits your space.
Hygge is more than a style, it’s a way of living, but the two go hand in hand. Transforming your home into a hygge retreat will help you to relax, unwind, and enjoy the simple and important things around you. This is great for maintaining a healthy headspace and giving yourself the time you need to wind down at the end of a hectic day.
If you’re looking for some visual inspiration that will help you decide how to hygge your home, we’ve created a Pinterest board with lots of hygge inspiration. Check it out!