Create a Cozy Hygge Corner in Your Home

On way to establish #hygge in the home quickly is to create a cozy corner, or hyggekrog, where you can turn off the real world for few moments. Such a space features soft lighting, comfortable furniture, soft textures and a relaxing vibe. “A hyggekrog is a small, dedicated space with a blanket, pillow, and book or journal,” psychoanalyst Kamalyn Kaur told Marie Claire. “It creates a sensory anchor for calm — a physical cue to slow down and shift from doing to being.” Visiting a hyggekrog regularly encourages well-being, calm and connection even for the busiest people. #HyggeHacks

Use Art to Set off Your Sanctuary

#Hygge isn’t about avoiding the cold, says All About the Home, it’s about making the #home a cozy sanctuary from the cold. To feel safe, warm and secure in spite of the snow and sleet, display art on your walls — something to look at and make your space feel lived-in. It doesn’t have to be expensive; display children’s drawings, a reproduction poster, a painting you found at a #thrift store supplied by #donations to ClothingDonations.org or all of the above. Try an essential oil diffuser or a (naturally) scented candle to make the #space welcoming, and have a blanket or throw handy to stay warm. #HyggeHacks

Easy Ways to Create #Hygge in the Home

#Hygge is all about creating #comfort in the #home. To create a #space where you can cocoon and relax, the designers at House Beautiful recommend layering textures and choosing warm tones. Keep plenty of pillows handy in the living areas, and drape warm quilts and throws in natural fibers. Colors should also tend toward neutral and natural, though it’s OK to accent with jewel tones. Soften hard edges and harsh lights with rugs and accent lighting. “To deepen the sense of relaxation, introduce candlelight. Choose scents that resonate with you, whether [that means] calming lavender, warming vanilla, or earthy woods.” #HyggeHacks

Hygge Hacks To Help You Relax

With the busy #holiday season behind us and the weather still blustery, we at the Organizing Blog feel like it’s time to slow down and get some real rest and relaxation. To do so, we’re embracing #hygge (pronounced “hyoo-gah”), the Danish concept of cozy simplicity. We’ll avoid harsh lighting, instead burning candles and repositioning the string lights left over from #Christmas. We’ll enjoy a good cup of coffee to get the day started and a cup of herbal tea before bed. We’ll turn off our phones and read a book while keeping warm in comfortable #clothing and a blanket. And we’ll #declutter to make our spaces calm and uncomplicated. #HyggeHacks

Hygge and Wintertime Self-Care

You’ve probably heard a lot about hygge (hyoo-gah) from this blog and others. It’s the Danish concept “of creating cozy and convivial atmospheres that promote well-being,” said the Collins English Dictionary in naming it a Word of the Year in 2016.

At the center of the concept — perhaps not surprisingly, giving the streamlined, no-nonsense lines that have long characterized Scandinavian design — is simplicity. Hygge practitioners are encouraged to relax, light candles and swath themselves in warm blankets.

In a hygge home, everything has its place. Furnishings feature natural woods and fibers. Sightlines are uncluttered. There isn’t a surplus of tchotchkes, but everything one needs to be comfortable is readily available. It’s a space that inspires calm.

Hygge is said to lower stress and improve emotional well-being, or at least many of its tenets do. Warm, dim lighting is more relaxing than bright white lights, for example, and spending time with friends and family supports physical and emotional health.

Researchers found that the hygge lifestyle had significant positive impacts for women in a correctional facility in Denmark. Encouraged to share food and fellowship according to hyyge principles, the women’s moods and perceptions of safety improved.

If you aren’t yet in a hygge space, start by #decluttering. Eliminate any things — or piles of things — that you set aside for a later date and just haven’t needed since. #Schedule a #free #donation #pickup with ClothingDonations.org to get rid of some of that #junk.

Then, reorganize your #space to be a warm, inviting source of calm and contentment. Turn down the lights. Have blankets and slippers ready. Offer guests a warm beverage, bake some cookies or relax with a good book instead of doom-scrolling through the mind-clutter of social media.

“The important thing to remember is that your #environment does influence how you feel,” environmental psychologist Sally Augustin told Everyday Health. “You can take control of your environment and actually make it really good.”