**lifestyle blog** -> projects

Hygge: emotional wellbeing, content, cozy. Our favorite projects for creating hygge in your home.

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Bring Hygge Into Your Home

Hygge (pronounced hyoo-guh) is more of an emotion - a state of contentment, than it is a style. Decorative style certainly adds to hygge, but it involves much more than that. I have read many different explanations of what hygge is; I will give you my family’s version.

My grandparents brought their Nordic lifestyle with them when they immigrated to the United States, and I am so grateful that they did. They passed on their traditions and lifestyle to me, and I am passing it on to my children and grandchildren.

They were the ultimate DIY’ers. They lived simply, without the stressors of the American consumerism lifestyle. They grew food in their garden and canned it for the winter season. My grandfather hand made furniture, and remodeled a fixer home they had purchased for a very reasonable price. They were content. They had “just enough” (known as lagom).

They hand made what they could, and lived with the basics. Without the high costs of super-consumerism, they worked “just enough” over the years, allowing ample time for backpacking, camping, travel and socializing.

This lifestyle was passed down to me. “Always live below your means,” they told me. “DIY what you can, and live simply. Stay grounded by enjoying as much time in nature as possible.” To this day, I cannot stand being indoors for too long.

The first photo under “Projects” below shows my grandfather’s little 3-legged, hand made wood table (with my hand crocheted round). That alone would bring hygge to any room.

“I am better at doing nothing than anybody.”

— Grandpa Harold

My grandfather used to say, “I am better at doing nothing than anybody.” I thought that was hilarious when I was a child; I didn’t really understand what he meant, or that he was teaching us a concept. Over the years, I learned. He lived a balanced life. My grandparents worked hard, lived simply, and had time to thoroughly enjoy life. Without the constant pressures of performing and consuming, they were able to fully appreciate and enjoy “down time.” A walk in nature without any specific goal or purpose, sitting quietly and watching a sunset. These are examples of “doing nothing”, or “Niksen.”

You cannot buy hygge - it is created. Adding a few candles to a room while living a highly stressed life is not hygge. Hand creating items, out of love for the art, living a minimalist lifestyle, taking a walk through the gentle rain in a foggy forest, sitting around a campfire with friends, spending as much time outdoors as possible, creating a cozy home, being content with life - that is hygge.

What really creates hygge for me is the hand crafted items I see in my home. The little 3-legged tables my grandfather made in the style he learned in Norway, my father’s beautiful watercolor paintings, my hand made quilts and crocheted items, a neat and tidy space that promotes calmness. Along with purchased candles and other items that add to a cozy feeling, I have created hygge in my home.

Our Favorite Projects For Bringing Coziness To Your Home

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