Granted it’s an Australian winter, it’s a winter nonetheless. While it doesn’t quite reach freezing temperatures with snow days for all, it’s fun to embrace the changing of the seasons and relish the opportunity to slow down, cosy up and burn cinnamon-laced candles.
Hygge is about relishing the colder months; enjoying the magic that comes with a picturesque winters day (even if that winters day is 10 degrees down under, but I digress). Yes it can be cold, yes it can be gloomy and yes it is infinitely harder to haul yourself outta bed when it’s pitch black outside, but that’s where our Scandi BFF comes riding in to save you: hygge.
So get ready to take pleasure from gentle, soothing things (and yes that includes buying seasonal-scented candles if they’re your thing.) Here’s how to hygge your home for the impending downturn in temperatures:
Lighting
It’s everything. Ditch the stark, bright fluorescent bulbs and make things a little more conducive to hunkering down. Hunkering is the entire point of hygge, so creating an atmosphere that makes you wanna hunker all the damn time is the goal. Pepper an array of candles at a variety of heights around your living space. The mixture of heights will make things feel even cosier, think: tall, tea lights and some smaller, round ones for a picture-perfect hygge vibe.
Fairy lights also take a space from zero to hygge in a second, so hang up a few strings in any room of the house, and prepare to let out a big sigh of comfort the second you turn them on. Extra points if you can light a real fire. Extra points for trying if you use a fake fireplace on the TV.
Comfortable soft furnishings
If hygge is about slowing down and taking things easy over the winter months, you’d better believe we’ll use it as an excuse to revamp our cushion, pillow and blanket selection. (Tip: remember that texture is key when shopping for these pieces).
Ensuring that you’ll be comfortable while having downtime is integral to your winter-prep. If you can’t imagine an entire Sunday afternoon on the couch reading your favourite book, upgrade where you need to. Cosy cable-knit throws for the couch can easily double up as blankets, meaning they’re as cute as they are functional.
Also, adding some faux-fur to your space, whether by way of a rug or a blanket, can instantly amp up the hunker-factor of the room.
Bring the outdoors inside
Adding some greenery to your space is a hygge-approved design tip, as its innately stress-busting and relaxing. Because you won’t be enjoying quite as much of the great outdoors whilst winter is doing it’s cold, gloomy thang, ensuring you’ve got a healthy dose of the green stuff will create the soothing, calming ambience that hygge is all about.
Worried you’ll kill ’em? Check out these 10 Indoor Plants That Are Literally Impossible To Kill.
Prepare to entertain
A huge part of the philosophy of hygge is community, so you’ll need to make sure you’re well-equipped to be entertaining friends and family over the colder months. Make sure you’ve got enough chairs and crockery to accommodate people, and arm yourself with ample candles (stuffed into wine bottles if you’re going all-out cosy) to create an enchantingly hygge atmosphere.
