Maximum home cosiness (hygge) with a budget of UK £200 to spend online?
October 13, 2016 4:40 PM Subscribe
I have one book and two Audible audiobooks and have read several articles about the whole Danish concept of hygge, roughly translated as cosiness but also covering belonging and warmth of the group. From the photos I have seen on Pinterest and in the articles it seems cosy winter/ Christmas pattern socks, multiple candles, and a cosy fleece throw or wool blanket are absolutely essential to cultivate hygge. I have moved into a housing association rental in Glasgow so the walls are bare and there's no knick-knacks or decorations, just loads and loads of books.
If I want to make my flat a cosy and inviting place where people might want to pop over in the winter, what should I be buying? I am willing to spend up to £200 in total, Amazon products are handiest as I have the student version of Prime, but that's not as important as getting nice things which create a cosy hygge feeling. Any suggestions (other than spending it all on beer and cakes whih might also be a very hygge thing to do :) )?
You can pick up a wood stove used for £300 and the council / housing association may have a rebate or fund to pay for it and install it using renewables and green energy funding still available. Contact Citizens Advice. They sell great Latvian birch at Home Bargains for £3.99 a bag and it burns quite hot but you can find raw wood you'll have to season for far less in gross.
posted by parmanparman at 4:48 PM on October 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by parmanparman at 4:48 PM on October 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: - spiced cider on the stove
- no overhead light, just lamps with soft white bulbs
- I'm a sucker for scented candles with winter or autumn scents
- lots of soft throw blankets
- slippers for guests to throw on
- old fashioned holiday decorations - cut out snowflakes in the window, popcorn garlands and strung cranberry everywhere.
- old fashioned stuff in general. It's cozier to snuggle up with a mug of tea in an old mug from goodwill instead of matching ikea stuff
I've never heard of hygge but it sounds really nice. The above are all things I've done as a lifelong New Englander to make winter less awful.
posted by pintapicasso at 5:01 PM on October 13, 2016 [8 favorites]
- no overhead light, just lamps with soft white bulbs
- I'm a sucker for scented candles with winter or autumn scents
- lots of soft throw blankets
- slippers for guests to throw on
- old fashioned holiday decorations - cut out snowflakes in the window, popcorn garlands and strung cranberry everywhere.
- old fashioned stuff in general. It's cozier to snuggle up with a mug of tea in an old mug from goodwill instead of matching ikea stuff
I've never heard of hygge but it sounds really nice. The above are all things I've done as a lifelong New Englander to make winter less awful.
posted by pintapicasso at 5:01 PM on October 13, 2016 [8 favorites]
Best answer: Agree with others, the idea is you all get together and sort of make warmth from community (and also some blankets and socks). So a few things on your budget
- throw blankets that you could use when seated
- slippers for the house for you and guests
- agree that a lot of mismatched mugs are nice
- selections of warm drinks: mulled wine or cider, cocoa with marshmallows, really good teas
- agree that area lighting is key, no overhead lights and softer bulbs
- curtains instead of blinds
- a lot of fuzzy indoor socks for you (changing socks in winter when feets are sweaty is a delight)
- flokati rugs
- I like incense but people run hot and cold on it. Warm woodsy scents like cedar and balsam are good. You can also get wreaths that can impart some of that scent
posted by jessamyn at 5:33 PM on October 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
- throw blankets that you could use when seated
- slippers for the house for you and guests
- agree that a lot of mismatched mugs are nice
- selections of warm drinks: mulled wine or cider, cocoa with marshmallows, really good teas
- agree that area lighting is key, no overhead lights and softer bulbs
- curtains instead of blinds
- a lot of fuzzy indoor socks for you (changing socks in winter when feets are sweaty is a delight)
- flokati rugs
- I like incense but people run hot and cold on it. Warm woodsy scents like cedar and balsam are good. You can also get wreaths that can impart some of that scent
posted by jessamyn at 5:33 PM on October 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Lots of good advice above. I find incense a bit strong, but like the more subtle scent from reed diffusers like this one.
posted by gudrun at 6:12 PM on October 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by gudrun at 6:12 PM on October 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: A rug for the floor, the most beautiful one you can afford.
posted by mareli at 6:40 PM on October 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by mareli at 6:40 PM on October 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Those little LED fairy lights from Amazon in warm white. They are MAGICAL. Having said that read the reviews carefully and only buy from a good seller because my first set tried to burn my house down. But the one set I have now have never tried that in the couple years I've had them and they are MAGICAL. Everything is so cozy and amazing when they are on, like a mvie set. I have copper wire fairy lights on the porch and the hanging stars in the dining room.
posted by fshgrl at 8:09 PM on October 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by fshgrl at 8:09 PM on October 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
Best answer: One other thing: make sure you don't accidentally buy a set that don't have a constant on mode. Some of them only twinkle, which is not magical, it's annoying.
posted by fshgrl at 8:11 PM on October 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by fshgrl at 8:11 PM on October 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
As far as I'm concerned, loads and loads of books = cozy and inviting. Can you screw things into the walls? Because some wall-mounted shelves at eye height that you can load down with books will act as wall decoration and interest for visitors, and you can attach hooks under the shelves for storage (and further decoration with tassels and garlands).
If you can't make holes in the walls, those sticky Command hooks are actually quite good. They make ones that are velcro strips so you can hang framed pictures (make sure it's got acrylic instead of glass if anything, sometimes extreme temperature differences can cause them to become less sticky, but this has only happened to me once in 5-8 years using them).
On the smaller hooked kind you can string fairy lights, garlands, homemade bunting, or wreaths. You could make a wall for photos of good times that you build gradually - print out your digital photos (most drugstores in the US have machines for this, unsure about Scotland) and put a clip or or clothespeg on it. Use brightly colored yarn and make a loop from the clip, and hang on a wall of small hooks. Adjust and replace as the whims take you.
If you've got a tapestry or other big piece of pretty fabric, use fusible fabric tape to make a rod pocket and stick a dowel that's a couple inches longer than the width through, and rest the dowel ends on some of the larger hooks (if you have an angled wall you can do this top and bottom). Paint the ends of your dowel so it looks finished.
You can also hang curtains in places that aren't windows, like a bare corner of a room with a chair in front of it and maybe a small table with a lamp, or along the edge of an open archway that you mostly keep tied to the side but let hang when you want to make a more intimate space.
posted by Mizu at 1:39 AM on October 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you can't make holes in the walls, those sticky Command hooks are actually quite good. They make ones that are velcro strips so you can hang framed pictures (make sure it's got acrylic instead of glass if anything, sometimes extreme temperature differences can cause them to become less sticky, but this has only happened to me once in 5-8 years using them).
On the smaller hooked kind you can string fairy lights, garlands, homemade bunting, or wreaths. You could make a wall for photos of good times that you build gradually - print out your digital photos (most drugstores in the US have machines for this, unsure about Scotland) and put a clip or or clothespeg on it. Use brightly colored yarn and make a loop from the clip, and hang on a wall of small hooks. Adjust and replace as the whims take you.
If you've got a tapestry or other big piece of pretty fabric, use fusible fabric tape to make a rod pocket and stick a dowel that's a couple inches longer than the width through, and rest the dowel ends on some of the larger hooks (if you have an angled wall you can do this top and bottom). Paint the ends of your dowel so it looks finished.
You can also hang curtains in places that aren't windows, like a bare corner of a room with a chair in front of it and maybe a small table with a lamp, or along the edge of an open archway that you mostly keep tied to the side but let hang when you want to make a more intimate space.
posted by Mizu at 1:39 AM on October 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Hello, fellow nesting Scot! People have mentioned blankets - I'd specifically recommend lots of those fleece blankets you get in different colours - they're cheap and common even in supermarket household sections, so you can buy several. Choose some warm colours, fold them up over the back of your sofa to add colour and softness to the decor, and when you sit down, build yourself a huge fleecy nest.
posted by penguin pie at 3:53 AM on October 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by penguin pie at 3:53 AM on October 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: We keep a twin-size comforter (duvet/quilt/whatever you call it) on the sofa (in a cheerful polka-dot quilt cover). When we're not using it it's folded up on one end of the sofa, but we are basically always using it if we're sitting on the sofa and it's not hot out. We started using the comforter like this because we were too lazy to put it away after someone spent the night on our couch, but it is really great for snuggling (solo or together).
So, yes, nthing blankets! But don't limit yourself to throw blankets - bed-sized blankets do not need to be confined to the bed.
posted by mskyle at 4:20 AM on October 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
So, yes, nthing blankets! But don't limit yourself to throw blankets - bed-sized blankets do not need to be confined to the bed.
posted by mskyle at 4:20 AM on October 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Hello fellow Glasgow-dweller from your local, friendly Dane!
Hygge doesn't so much have to do with interior design, but more a state of mind. I think the UK/US translation of the word (as expressed by Pinterest!) conflates hygge with 'hey, it's getting cold outside, so let's snuggle up!'. That's understandable but you can achieve hygge all year round in all kinds of weather.
So, having said that, if you want to make your home hyggeligt try thinking about how you can make your guests feel comfortable and happy.
I associate a hyggelig home with a place I feel welcome, a place where the host doesn't care about boots on the carpet (or if she does, she provides slippers instead of making a fuss), a place where I don't worry about messing things up by sitting down, a place where I am accepted and made to feel good. A hyggeligt home is somewhere I want to stick around for a few hours or more.
If you want to buy anything to evoke hygge, think chunky mugs and a big teapot. But hygge is more a state of mind than anything you can buy.
posted by kariebookish at 5:56 AM on October 14, 2016 [15 favorites]
Hygge doesn't so much have to do with interior design, but more a state of mind. I think the UK/US translation of the word (as expressed by Pinterest!) conflates hygge with 'hey, it's getting cold outside, so let's snuggle up!'. That's understandable but you can achieve hygge all year round in all kinds of weather.
So, having said that, if you want to make your home hyggeligt try thinking about how you can make your guests feel comfortable and happy.
I associate a hyggelig home with a place I feel welcome, a place where the host doesn't care about boots on the carpet (or if she does, she provides slippers instead of making a fuss), a place where I don't worry about messing things up by sitting down, a place where I am accepted and made to feel good. A hyggeligt home is somewhere I want to stick around for a few hours or more.
If you want to buy anything to evoke hygge, think chunky mugs and a big teapot. But hygge is more a state of mind than anything you can buy.
posted by kariebookish at 5:56 AM on October 14, 2016 [15 favorites]
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posted by parmanparman at 4:43 PM on October 13, 2016