Hygge: The Art of Making Winter Bearable

This one’s for the deep winter dwellers, those of you who live where it’s not unusual for your eyelashes and nose hair to freeze as you make your frigid way from front door to driver’s seat each morning. And hopefully that’s a heated (and massaging) driver’s seat because little creature comforts are important during the long, cold, and isolating months of winter. At least, that’s the gist of hygge.

Hygge, pronounced HUE-guh, is a Danish word that has no direct translation in English. Roughly, hygge is the feeling you get when it’s snowing balls outside and you’re all cuddled up in your softest fleece jammies with the people you love best, binge-watching Netflix or playing Monopoly or baking cinnamon rolls. It’s a feeling of warmth and coziness that’s bathed in candlelight and bolstered by little creature comforts like warming your hands around a favorite mug, a cashmere scarf soft against the nape of your neck, or the smell of a roasted chicken wafting through the house. It’s a big pot of soup and a few close friends hanging out on a snowy Sunday afternoon with nowhere else to be.

Hygge, according to the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, is partly responsible for Denmark’s designation as the happiest nation in the world. It’s how the Danish survive and thrive during the long, cold, dark winters without going positively mad.

When I found out about hygge, I decided I’d been going about winter all wrong. For me, winter has always been something to avoid whenever humanly possible and shake my fists and curse at whenever it must be confronted. Which is every morning at 8:35, when I drop the kid off at school. And then again at 3:38, when I pick her up. And any time between those hours that I must be outside, freezing my cojones off and wondering why any pioneer in his right mind would stay on this windy, godforsaken Nebraska prairie after experiencing that first winter here. But I digress.

Feeling snug and secure, warm and well is about more than your physical surroundings, although that’s part of it. It’s also about taking a positive mindset toward the cold, blustery out-of-doors, which is going to continue being ferocious whether you’re okay with it or not. After all, if it wasn’t so miserable outside, the pleasure of experiencing hygge inside would only be half as sweet. Obviously, that mindset is worth a shot in my life.

So I set about making it so…

Since I spend most of my time in my home office, which has three old windows looking out into the blustery back yard, I decided to infuse my working day with a sense of coziness and comfort. Here’s what I did (including more on the use of pink light bulbs), and if you feel inspired, maybe it will make your winter a little cozier and more bearable, too.

Hygge Tip 1: Fill Your Walls with Art

Bare walls can make a room feel cold and a living space temporary. Adding some art to your walls can make your rooms feel more lived-in and homier. As you can see, I painted my office charcoal, which I love, but it’s a bit intense when you’re facing a whole wall of it. I wanted to warm up the wall space I face all day, and since there’s nothing like art to bring the good life to a room, I finally hung the stuff I’ve been collecting for some time.

I hung this art salon-style, which means I just filled the walls, keeping the pieces roughly the same distance apart. If I were more exacting, I would’ve measured or laid everything out on the floor first, but that’s not really how I roll, so I just eyeballed it.

You can find tons of original art at (generally) reasonable prices on handmade marketplace sites like Etsy or Deviant Art, or you can hit your local First Friday art walk and peruse the wares. Go with an open mind and collect art that SPEAKS TO YOU. You’ll know it when you see it. I collect art from friends, and I frame a lot of my kid’s art. My sig-O is a high school art teacher, which nets me all sorts of wonderful pieces cast off by (or purchased from) his students.

I buy simple, inexpensive frames in bulk so that I have them on hand when I find something I wanna put under glass. I also keep my eye out for cheap frames at the thrift store and garage sales.

Hygge Tip 2: Get the Interior Lighting Right

Lighting makes a big difference in the mood of any room, and if you’re looking for a warm, cozy ambiance for long winter evenings, you’ll want to avoid super-white “daylight” light bulbs, which cast a fluorescent-like light which, like barren walls, makes a room feel cold.

Instead, opt for warm white bulbs, which cast a warmer, golden light. When winter’s really got you down, opt for pink light bulbs, which give everything a luscious, rosy glow. You can see the differences between these three light colors above. I don’t use the overhead light in my office, and I only turn on the overhead lights in the other rooms in the house if I’m looking for something or the kid is doing crafts. I like the gentle, low light of lamps and make a nightly routine of going around and turning them all on at dusk. It brings everything in a little closer and makes winter seem miles away.

Hygge Tip 3: Fire Up an Aromatherapy Diffuser

Whatever you think of aromatherapy, nothing beats filling your space with luscious scent that envelops you in a cocoon of calm contentment. I’m not talking about the heavily perfumed [read: toxic] air fresheners you plug into your wall. I’m talking about pure essential oils, which contain nothing but plant oil and won’t overpower the senses—even if you’re sensitive to perfumes.

This small diffuser has been a source of pure joy for me…

When I wake up groggy in the morning and really just want to go back to bed, I pop in some peppermint essential oil to jump start my brain. It’s quite invigorating, let me tell ya. On rainy or snowy days, I like lavender or frankincense oil, which are deliciously earthy and cozy.

The diffuser is easy to use. You just put water in the basin, add ten or so drops of essential oil, and turn it on. It’ll automatically shut off after one or three hours, depending on how many times you push the “on” button. It also has a cool light feature that changes colors and keeps you mesmerized in the dark.

If you’ve never played around with essential oils before, get this variety box and have fun experimenting with different combinations.

Hygge Tip 4: Toss a Cozy Blanket Nearby

What’s cozier than a lush, velvety throw blanket you can drape over your shoulders when you’re chilled? Pretty much nothing.

My office has lots of windows, and this is an old, old house, so it can be pretty drafty and chilly on cold, windy days. This super-plush micro-polyester fleece blanket is ultra-soft and warm, and it comes in a bunch of sizes and colors. Every morning, I sit in this chair with my coffee, blanket draped over my knees, and catch up on the news. It’s my favorite time of day, made possible by blankets.

Bonus Hygge Tip: Get the Exterior Lighting Right

And for the outside too – why not? Just because you’re not planning on lounging by the poolside over the winter months doesn’t mean you can’t gaze out onto a beautiful warmly-lit yard. Wearing those fleece pajamas (maybe in blue this time) and holding a cup of hot cocoa. Hanging outdoor lights make a beautiful addition to the scene, especially when they reflect off the snow and make the whole yard glow. I love looking out onto the back yard at night, awash in light and color. But I’d suggest putting them up before the dead of winter takes hold. Oh, and make sure you can turn them on from inside the house – a wireless outdoor outlet remote control makes this super easy and somehow more fun too.

What do you do to stay happy and sane during the cold months? How do you hygge? Let us know in the comments, and maybe we’ll take a page out of your book!

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