How to Hygge at Home: Creating Contentment in Your House and in Yourself

Hygge (pronounciation “hoo-ga”) noun: a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being

When the Danish term Hygge suddenly became a wellness trend a few years ago, we admittedly paid little attention to it. After all, when winter rolls around, we don’t hunker down at home. We’re typically heading to retreat locations that are sunny and warm! This year is different, though, and suddenly we’re facing a winter that offers no escape. Our options are to fight our present circumstances or to embrace them.

Hygge is the act of embracing. But how do you create a Hygge experience at home in the middle of a pandemic and all of the anxieties that this year has presented? Is it even possible to create a calming oasis at home in the midst of this? Yes, and there is no better time. In fact, we probably should have all been embracing this Hygge lifestyle throughout 2020.

To us, the concept of Hygge can best be described through a travel analogy. Hygge feels like checking into a five-star hotel. You open the door to your room, and everything is pristine, monochromatic, and evokes order instead of chaos. The bed has crisp white linens and is perfectly made. A down comforter, textured pillows, and a throw blanket top the bed. A cozy white robe is hanging in the bathroom. New bath products are lined up next to the sink. The plush bath towels invite you to take a bath in the oversized soaking tub. Back in the bedroom, there is a TV mounted on the wall, and after the bath you climb in to bed with assorted minibar snacks to binge your favorite TV show. You may be on vacation, but you’re so comfortable in this room that you don’t want to leave. The room feels like the vacation itself.

In other words, Hygge translates to the ultimate in self care. For most people, they think of Hygge in terms of tangible things (cozy blankets, candles, pillows – and we’ve included a few of our favorites to shop below!), but the aspect of Hygge that we love the most has nothing to do with things. Hygge embraces a feeling of contentment. Most of us aren’t feeling that content right now. We feel anxious and out of control. Instead of focusing on those anxieties, though, we have to look around at what we can control in our home and in ourselves. There are several ways you can do this:

Limit the amount of time spent doomscrolling on social media and consuming the news.
Give yourself permission to slow down and turn down commitments to protect your energy. It will be ok if you decline a Zoom coffee or happy hour!
Spend time de-cluttering your home in order to help control chaos and de-clutter your mind.
Create an oasis inside your home, whether that is in your bedroom or in a small space that is all yours. That is your place to go to feel warm, cozy, and secure.

Think of this winter as a period of Hygge hibernation in which we will immerse ourselves in self care. And when it’s time to come out of hibernation, we will be feeling so rested and grounded that we have all the energy we need to throw ourselves into travel!