This past year, I have been SUPER inspired by the concept of hygge! I read one book and immediately became obsessed and have been on my own little journey ever since.
In this post, I will share all the books I read (there are so many great ones!) as well as things I’ve changed up in our home to create a more cozy living space.
From a young age, I have always been attracted to a cozy home. I remember in junior high I took a bubble bath every morning. Haha—like, I got up extra early every morning just to enjoy my bath.
I have always been obsessed with candles, essential oils, baking, blankets, slippers … all of the cozy things! So learning about the Danish concept of hygge really resonated with me and I wanted to learn everything I could.
The definition of hygge is “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).”
Things I incorporated into our home/life:
–More lighting sources. I have been slowly adding lamps, twinkle lights and other sources like a my favorite essential oil diffuser. I have several of these in my home.
The holidays really inspire this for me because I LOVE the feeling of walking into our living spaces to the glow of the Christmas trees and the twinkle of our outdoor lights through the windows.
Although nothing will ever be as magical as the holidays, I aspire to add more twinkle year round because it makes our home so much more cozy at night.
–Candles and oils. I don’t use as many candles as I used to, but a few unscented candles do make a big difference in the vibe. It’s a part of the ritual!
For creating a cozy scent, I rely on essential oils. My favorite oil combo is lavender, fir needle and some sort of citrus, like orange. So nice! Holiday Season is my favorite blend. I diffuse it year-round.
–Minimizing. This is HUGE. I still would never consider myself a minimalist, but I have learned the incredible value in clearing out my home—donating, selling and generally just having less stuff.
–Neutral colors and texture. This is my personal preference for decor that feels cozy to me. While I love to gawk at photos of colorful tile, bright sofas and wild patterned walls, I feel most at home in a neutral space.
It somehow provides balance to my brain. At the end of a long day, what I really crave is a simple, neutral space, clean countertops, uncluttered surfaces and textured cozy blankets and pillows. (To be clear, my home is not always clean … I just crave that!)
–Natural materials. This is SO big for me. A few years back, I started the effort to stop buying so much plastic and instead spend my money on items that are from nature—woven baskets, things made of wood, ceramics, and vintage wool rugs instead of new synthetic rugs.
It takes time. But over time, you can improve the air quality in your home and the longevity of the things you buy. Hygge teaches that being surrounded by natural materials is good for us on a deeper level as well. It may sound silly to some, but I swear it has made a big difference in my home.
–Saving special purchases for special occasions. I read about this in the first book I recommend below. I love this concept. Since I heard it, I have begun to save special purchases and get them as a reward for milestones and celebrating goals achieved.
It has made a massive difference to me in how much I appreciate these purchases and it feels good to have happy memories tied to items in our home.
–Planning the hygge factors in each room. In the past, I would plan the decor for my rooms, but I didn’t put much thought into the emotional side of the decor or the memories I wanted to create in these rooms.
The biggest difference the concept of hygge has made in my life is that I now plan my rooms around the hygge elements, not the decor elements.
So for example, when in the past I would be worried about which wallpaper to choose for our bedroom, I am not concerned about how nice it is for reading at night and for morning routines, etc.
In my kitchen, I once would have felt incomplete without a big design statement or a major color moment, but now I am planning for the parties we will host, nights at home with our kiddos and holidays.
It’s a different perspective and one that is more based on making everyone FEEL at home rather than decorating for visuals.
Hygge books I’ve read and loved:
–The Little Book of Hygge
–Dwell Gather Be
–Hygge: Unlock the Danish Art of Coziness and Happiness
–The Book of Hygge
Each of these books are a quick read. I read most of them in 1-2 airplane rides. Although there will be some overlapping information, I felt that each author had a different emphasis and I liked learning from more than one person.
If you are interested in the idea of hygge, I would LOVE to hear what changes you made to your home and what has been the most rewarding for you.
xx- Elsie
Is there anything more hygge than the first sip of love, every morning when you enjoy your first sip of coffee for the day? The best of the small joys of life, I think… https://lovebooklet.com/2017/03/04/coffee-ladyf/
Ja. Four of my seven kids lived n Norway and taught me about hygge. A book, a fire in the fireplace, and a good soup supper all add up to a comfy and relaxing evening. Hygge takes it further by emphasizing the joy of coffee with friends in a cozy spot. Thanks for your work, ABM.
Thank you so much for this! My husband and I have really started on a sustainable and minimalist path. This was so helpful and encouraging! I’ve already searched and tagged the book recommendations online.
Great post and I love the Danish culture so much! I’ve added to many hygge tips but also many of their parenting habits as well. So fun! You should read There’s no such thing as bad weather. It totally shifted my daily routines with my kiddos✨
My mother-in-law goes to Denmark for business a lot and got a book on hygge that I read over Christmas 2019 and love everything about it!
Where did you get your dress? Also, I have been enjoying hygge since over a year ago when I started watching UseLess channel. AT times like this its a good time to incorporate this.
As a fellow dane, the spread of the concept of “hygge” has been really interesting to me. Especially the focus on the physical aspects of hygge, when in reality hygge is something that often happens by chance or accident. You can set up the most comfortable, cozy space but it doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be hygge. Just like building a bird house does not guarantee a bird.
Hygge is also very much a social concept and no amount of blankets, tea or candles will ever be more “hyggeligt” than a ‘alright just one more’ beer while enjoying one of the first warm summer nights with a couple of friends or an impromptu family game night during a power outage.
Unfortunately, cosiness has lost some of its meaning, as it is minimal about decor. The little book about cosiness, is what we (in denmark) call a materialization of cosiness. I read a blog post where it sounded more like description of happiness (lykke in danish, it is also close to the word hygge) where it mentioned wearing a cute set of clothes and your favorite jewelery. Hygge is more about taking your ugly ,but comfortable, onesize on – outside too, so people will say “it looks soooo hyggeligt!”. And also a lot more to be with people – nearly always with food too! But no fancy food, and not too many people. It should be intimate and low casual. If you really want to make a cozy home, your home must not be too big (no big rooms in particular), and with lots of small “cozy corners” and many small lamps instead of a few large ones. We live with a lot of darkness outside in the winter months, and all the small lights and candels don’t make it to light inddoor, but more like the lightning you will find in a restaurent or something like that. Many of the new “architect-designed” houses that are being built now in Denmark have, for example. too large and open spaces for them to be considered cozy. I myself, live in one of them now, and looking for a new home, because you can’t make it “hygge” enough, when the outher lines not are for it.
Yes! I absolutely love the concept of hygge, but I actually came across it a totally different way! While living in Portugal, I became friends with a group of Norwegian students, and they always talked about things being “cozy” or “not cozy”. “Cozy” seemed to be the biggest compliment they could give to something. And since they know how to enjoy life during the winter, I have been incorporating some of the things they consider “cozy” into my life in Ohio and it’s definitely been a much more pleasant winter!
I’ve been also hooked on the hygge, but truth be told, I’ve been hygge-ing all my life, just didn’t know there was a term for it … lol. Thank you for sharing your fave books!
Loooove this – where did you get the blankets? I have cozy ones for Christmas but I need year round ones!
I’ve just ordered a couple of these books from my local library to give them a read. I second Karo’s comment that I would love to hear you and Emma talk about this on your podcast, which I am loving! I push play as soon as I see it pop up and have really enjoyed getting to know you guys and your personalities. My fav podcast right now! Keep up the great work.
Awe yay! I really want to do a hygge episode!! :))
Dear Elsie, I second that, I also would love an episode about hygge and btw yours is my absolute favourite podcast! I think your podcast adds to the hygge-factors of my life!!
Hi Gabriella! Chiming in for Elsie. They did a podcast episode last year about hygge 🙂
https://abeautifulmess.com/episode-71-hygge-and-how-it-helps-us-live-happier-in-the-winter/
Love love love this! I’m buying these book titles ASAP! Had no idea about hygge- I totally agree with the additional light sources. I love Little vintage desk lights In the kitchen, dimmable outdoor string lights and salt lamp night lights in my stairwell to upstairs 🙂
Love this! So many great ideas in this post. I can’t wait to check out the book recommendations.
Jordan Joy | lifestyle blog
This was so interesting!! I never heard about this but totally makes sense. the minimizing thing is sooo right and its easier to prevent messyness haha
stay safe!
https://dorky-and-weird.blogspot.com/
beijinhos Jessy
So many beautiful ideas! I’m basically on lockdown over here in Ireland so I’m inspired to introduce more hygge into my home since I’m stuck here ????
Also super random but thank you for using the word “resonate “ properly!! “…learning about the Danish concept of hygge really resonated with me and I wanted to learn everything I could.” I keep hearing people say “I resonate with that” and I’m like, no: things resonate with us, we don’t resonate with things! (End rant ????)
Hi Elsie!
Thanks for the great post. I read several books on Hygge about 6 years ago and the Hygge philosophy has changed my life. I live in Seattle and it is so gray and rainy that it can feel overwhelming sometimes. Now that I have locked into Hygge, I burn I unscented candles, use low and cozy lighting, diffuse oils, and drink tea all day. My son is a total homebody and he loves being in PJs all day and making blanket forts. One other thing I love doing is foraging for flower/plant arrangements — I find old branches, flowers or leafy greens from my yard, and pretty weeds on my walks and bring the outdoors in, even in the winter. My happiness at home has greatly increased.
xx
Textiles are super big for me. I add lots of blankets and use things like runners and cute embroidered textiles to soften harder wood surfaces. One of my favorites is a runner from the reception tables at a close friend’s wedding, which is now draped over our dresser and adds so much more coziness than the wood by itself! I think having a daily reminder of that memory and relationship is also right in line with the hygge mentality 🙂
What do you mean by “special purchases”?
I would recommend reading Cozy Minimalist Home. It goes along with the others you’ve already read. While I was reading it all I could think was “yes! This is exactly how I want my home to feel.”