How to Create a Hygge Home: Creating Warmth and Comfort

Learn how to create a hygge home transform your space into a cozy sanctuary with these simple hygge decorating tips.

The Danish concept of hygge prioritizes a simple, harmonious, and welcoming lifestyle essential to surviving (literally and metaphorically) the long, dark Scandinavian winters.

Hygge (hyoo-gha) encompasses all aspects of life, from family time to home decor. Let’s look at how this cozy Scandi philosophy can help to create a hygge home.

Create a hygge home by embracing comfortable simplicity. Add warmth through candles and lamps, supported by a warm color palette. Layer up textures through pillows, blankets, rugs, and wall hangings. Create cozy nooks for reading and conversations and allow for a live-giving outdoor influence.

As a design approach, hygge has been around since 2016 and aims to create a cozy, inviting home. In other words, hygge interior decor style tries to covey that same warmth and welcome that Scandinavians foster in daily life. What decorating tips can help you to create a hygge home?

6 Simple Hygge Decorating Tips (Ways to Hygge Your Home)

#1. Comfortable Simplicity

Hygge is a typically Scandinavian approach, which means creating a comfortable home without excess or indulgence.

The joy of hygge is that you don’t need expensive or unusual decor items to decorate your home: hygge is an atmosphere or ambiance. Focus on elements or items that uplift your mood, bring joy to your family, and evoke a sense of comfort.

#2. Lighten the Mood

If there is a piece of decor that encapsulates the hygge aesthetic, it is the humble candle. You’ll always find candles in Scandi homes, creating a hyggelig (welcoming) atmosphere. The twinkle of tealights is charming, whether they’re real or LED.

Firelight is an instant creator of hygge. Make good use of your indoor fireplace or outdoor firepit.

Another hygge tip is to layer your lighting. Your ambient or primary light source should be warm, so replace those harsh, cold light bulbs. Add accent lighting through a lamp, lantern, or fairy lights. Then, focus the light with task lighting, such as a reading lamp.

#3. Infuse With Warmth

In the harsh Scandinavian climate, keeping your home warm is essential. We may not all need heat in our homes, but the warmth of the hygge aesthetic can be mimicked by introducing a warmer color palette.

Typically, Scandi interiors are anchored by light neutrals, but you’ll find that these are warmer rather than icy white shades. If you’re a fan of the serenity and versatility of this palette, stick to yellow-toned beige, earthy brown taupe, and rich cream.

However, a hyggelig home can embrace any palette, so long as it is warm. You’ll often find red as an accent color in Scandi homes, especially around the festive season. Go for lush terracotta reds, which tone beautifully with cream and brown.

#4. Add Comforting Layers

A hygge home creates coziness and interest by layering different textures. A simple way to evoke a hyggelig feel is through blankets, throws, and pillows in fluffy, snuggly wool and velvet. Add a real or faux sheepskin rug, and get toasty in chunky knit socks.

From a decor perspective, you can take layering further, adding depth and character to an interior. Consider layering rugs, which looks fantastic and provides toe-nestling appeal.

This tip is ideal if you’re renting a home and can’t change the cold, unhygge tiled floors: look out for character-filled Turkish rugs, antique carpets, and shaggy mats.

Introduce layers of texture to your walls with different media, from paintings to wooden sculptures and macrame wall hangings.

#5. Fashion Cozy Nooks

A truly hygge lifestyle, where family time is central, is tricky to achieve if you don’t live in a Scandinavian country with shorter working and school hours.

You may not be able to get everyone around the table for dinner, but you can foster some coziness by creating opportunities for togetherness.

One hygge tip is to make an area for socializing in the kitchen. If you can’t fit a little table into the kitchen, extend a countertop. This creates a homework table or a place for your spouse to sit and read, sharing a glass of wine while you’re cooking.

Instead of uncomfortable bar stools, find plushly cushioned options to make kitchen visits appealing.

In the living room, position your furniture so that intimate conversations are possible. It’s tricky to feel cozy if you have to lean across to hear someone speaking. Place furniture around a fireplace rather than a TV, or make the room’s centerpiece the sofa.

In a busy household with a lot of chatter, designate a hygge corner where family members can relax and recharge. Find or create a quiet nook and furnish it with a comfortable chair, a side table, and soft lighting – stringing fairy lights on a wall adds magical charm.

Add a plush pillow, a downy blanket, and a few easy reads for the perfect hygge nook.

A festive hygge touch is to create a hot chocolate station, where family and friends can gather informally. Furnish it with mini marshmallows, chocolate bombs, and candy canes; you may even tempt your teenagers into a few moments of family time.

#6. Bring The Outdoors In

Hygge does not mean sluggish hibernation: Scandinavians are great lovers of the outdoors. For instance, bracing walks in the snow increase their enjoyment of a roaring fire, while icy swims contrast with the sauna’s heat.

Bringing elements of the outdoors into your interiors increases the hygge aesthetic.

For example, add a couple of plants to a dull room – they instantly add color, fill dead space, and literally purify the air. Time spent in forest bathing is known to have health benefits, so create a mini-forest at home to increase your family’s relaxation.

Combine your plants with natural elements like wicker baskets, rattan blinds, or pottery dishes to increase the indoor-outdoor aesthetic.

Also, remember that plants can stand on the floor, on tables, on shelves, and even on the walls, enhancing your textural layers.

Final Thoughts on Creating a Hygge Home

Creating a home inspired by hygge means infusing it with warmth, coziness, and comfort. Anchor your interiors with a warm color palette and add decor elements like candles, layers of cozy textures, and conversation nooks.

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