This is the time of year we spend most of our leisure hours at home, so it’s essential that you enjoy spending time there.
Some people’s home décor may generate a cosy atmosphere without much help, but if your home verges more on the minimalist ideal, you may want to add some seasonal touches to match the season.
We are not suggesting go all out festive. These ideas would work any time, so you can keep them up all year round.
A LAMP
This is a simple touch to your living room, but one that transforms clinical yellow lighting into a something more inspired. Two or three light sources can create pools of light throughout the room so it doesn’t feel too dark when you want to read a book, but instead, it’s snug and comforting.
CANDLES
Candles are a wonderful way to construct that storytelling vibe. It’s romantic for a couple’s night in, delivers on the sense of occasion for an evening meal or it establishes a chilled out ambience when you’ve got friends around.
Several candles grouped together in a few different corners in a room with an open fire in full view are among the perfect elements to contrast with your digital life.
ESTABLISH A DIGITAL CURFEW
If you spend a lot of time on the computer working from home or scrolling through the Facebook feed or even brushing up your skills on an online course, there has to come a point in the evening where laptops, tablets and anyone who wants to use them should be banished (even if that does make you sound like a mum!). This is to maintain a cosy space unaffected by the worries and attention theft provoked by social media. Sadly, digital devices are just not compatible with a homely atmosphere. By all means, Skype your friends in the States or Australia, but do it in a different room so you don’t spoil the quiet time for others. Exceptions? Of course! It’s up to you to develop the boundaries.
PINES AND FOLIAGE
One of the great tenets of the Danish “hygge” is the notion of contrast. Wilderness and wintriness outside combine with the softness and warmth of the indoor world, so pine cones, dried foliage and evergreen plants can elicit a delightful mood in the indoor space. This may be because you know you’re safe and warm and these tokens serve to remind you what you are safe from (cold, adverse weather conditions, large animals that want to eat you). Also, when we spend such a small amount of our daily lives at one with nature, it’s essential to be reminded of its presence even when in the home.
CINNAMON, BREAD AND COFFEE
What could be more reminiscent of the winter season than the combination of our most evocative cooking smells? It transports us back to a childhood that we may not have actually experienced all that much, but we feel a thrill nonetheless.
If you’re not the cooking type, you can always purchase a festive cinnamon fragrance air freshener.
BLANKETS AND THROWS
No home is truly cosy without the addition of some soft furnishings you can cuddle into, whether it’s a rug in front of the fire that envelopes you, a blanket to keep you warm and toasty when there is a draft in the air or a cushion to hide behind during a Christmas ghost story.
HOT CHOCOLATE & A GOOD FILM
Not strictly an ornament or décor, but intrinsic to feeling happy at home nevertheless is the feel-good film and hot chocolate. You may prefer the big game and a bottle of your favourite beer. Whatever it is, make sure you’ve got your favourite people and pets around you to share the memory-making experience.
AND FINALLY
No home can be cosy with too many items bursting out of the seams of your house (except for books, of course) so the best way to pave the path to homely harmony is to eliminate the clutter. That’s where we come in! Read about all our various options for household storage and begin to prepare your home for winter.