Learn how to create a hygge living room with these simple hygge living room decor ideas.
The hygge philosophy encapsulates everything I love about Denmark and Scandinavia in general: taking time out to relax, reflect, and reconnect, preferably over a steaming cup of coffee and a cinnamon pastry.
It’s the perfect approach to inspire the coziest living room interior. Let’s look at how to create a hygge living room.
Create a hygge living room by focusing on what makes you content and comfortable. Use neutral, harmonious colors to anchor a scheme with personal and heritage touches. Add texture with rugs and throws (e.g., sheepskin) and light through candles. Organize the furniture as a coffee nook.
Quiet luxury may be a relatively newly identified aesthetic, but the Scandinavians have been creating this look for decades. Hygge emphasizes decor that is harmonious, restrained, and, above all, comfortable. How can you create this feeling through the decor of your living room?
Hygge Living Room Ideas – 7 Simple Decorating Ideas
#1. Embrace the Personal
Hygge is not a prescriptive approach to life or decor. Instead, it urges each of us to find and embrace what makes us content and comfortable.
Therefore, a hygge-inspired living room will look unique in different homes, depending on what makes your family feel cozy and secure.
Hygge-inspired decor doesn’t need to be new or modern. A hygge home aims for comfort and contentment, so put up your family photos and display that heritage quilt passed down from your grandparents. Celebrate your children’s successes and surround yourself with happy memories.
Vintage, antique, and rustic are all hygge principles, so display your upcycled dresser proudly. Give that bleached driftwood a place on the window sill and leave Uncle Stan’s typewriter out on the desk.
#2. Chocolate and Coffee Color Palette
Being unprescriptive, hygge-inspired design doesn’t require a specific color palette. It’s true that Scandinavian design does tend to favor lighter neutral colors, but a hyggelig living room avoids the stark coolness of white or gray.
Go for layers of lush, earthy taupe, beige, and brown – think cappuccino and hot chocolate rather than a milkshake.
You’ll often find Scandinavian interiors with a dark, neutral anchor and colorful accents. The key is harmony, so avoid garish and clashing colors and stick to a single bright accent in warm terracotta, spicey yellow, or muted green.
#3. Snuggle Up
Hygge was developed to survive the brutal Nordic winters and translates best into cozy decor. Even if it’s not freezing outside, make your living room hyggelig with layers of snuggle-worthy textures.
Texture is central to Scandinavian interiors, with sheepskin one of the most recognizable hygge decor items. Real or faux, a sheepskin can work as a throw, a rug, or to soften an uncomfortable seat.
Updating your sofa’s cushions and adding jewel-toned throws is another affordable way to increase your family’s comfort and contentment and give your living room a cozy new look.
Again, texture is critical: soft cable-knit blankets, crocheted throws, and plush pillows are ideal. Splash out on a small mohair blanket or cashmere shawl for ultimate luxury and indulgence.
#4. Light a Candle
We all know the welcoming joy of seeing a glowing window when coming home. Imagine how much more light means for people who spend most of the winter without sunshine. You’ll find candles in every Danish home, and they’re not kept for special occasions.
Tea lights and fairy lights gleam magically every evening and can transform a dull living room into an inviting space.
Even better, look out for gorgeously scented candles to infuse the room with serenity. My favorites are cookie-inspired cinnamon and nutmeg or a forest’s oak and pine scents.
An essential feature of Scandi design is for functional objects to work as decorative ones. Choose charming candle holders and candelabras and delight in their sculptural beauty and usefulness. Copper, glass, and pottery are typically Scandi materials.
#5. Keep the Homefires Burning
A living room with a fireplace is immediately a hygge winner. Position your armchairs and sofas around a roaring fire rather than a television to encourage fireside conversation.
Even if you don’t have a real fire, gas-fed stoves and radiators offer a similarly comforting heat and warmth.
Don’t try to hide your firewood, either. Make the rough, raw wood a design feature, whether stacked in wicker baskets or on built-in shelves.
#6. Lay a Rug
It’s rare for Scandinavian homes to have built-in carpets, as many have beautiful natural wood floors. Instead, hyggelig coziness is created with loose rugs, carefully positioned to anchor furniture, soften footfall, and add lightness.
The perfect rug for a hygge living room is soft, fuzzy, and heavy, either in a neutral shade or muted pattern.
#7. Create a Coffee Nook
While hygge is a Danish concept, Sweden has a similarly comfortable approach to life: people regularly stop work for coffee breaks, known as fika.
Fika doesn’t mean grabbing a mediocre mug of office brew, however. Drinking coffee involves friends, conversation, and a pastry or two. Let this tradition inspire your living room – position your chairs and coffee table to form a coffee nook or hyggekrog.
Make sure that you have some attractive coasters to avoid damaging your tables. Look out for gorgeous raw wooden ones to add to the Scandi texture-fest.
Put out board games, cards, and crosswords to enjoy rather than the TV or our endless screens. A hyggelig living room focuses on having fun together.
Final Thoughts on Creating a Hygge Living Room
Hygge is a lifestyle, not just an aesthetic. Creating a hygge-inspired living room means prioritizing your family’s comfort. Choose a cozy color palette and layer up snuggly throws, rugs, and pillows. Light some candles to dispel the darkness and cuddle together on the sofa, enjoying a frothy cup of cocoa and idle conversation.
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