The Hygge “Wood Cabin” feeling

Whether you’ll be spending the end-of-the-year holidays in a cozy log cabin nestled into a snowy forest or in your suburban family room you’re probably interested in making sure your space is welcoming and deeply relaxing, helping you stock up mental energy reserves to help you effectively deal with the challenges of the new year.

You’ve also probably been hearing about “hygge” for years, and know that it has something to do with Scandinavians making the most of the many months they’re confined indoors—but you still wonder—what is hygge and how can I apply it?

Even though hygge (pronounce HOO-gah) seems all warm and fuzzy and something some Danes and Swedes dreamed up when snowed in on some long winter night (and maybe it was) its core tenets are supported by neuroscience research.

Warm, slightly dimmer light (as from, for example, candles and fireplaces, perhaps) is a core principle, nearly indispensable for hygge.  In multiple articles, for example here, LINK we’ve discussed how relaxing humans find being in this sort of lighting and how it has tied to, for example, creativity and also to getting along better with other people (which sometimes requires more than just a little cleverness).  This sort of lighting, in short, improves our mood. Looking at dancing flames (when they’re in a fireplace or at the end of a candle, not when they’re racing across your living room rug), is also mentally refreshing, helping to beat back a year’s worth of mental exhaustion.

Hygge design incorporates natural materials—in visible wood grain on surfaces, stonework around fireplaces, fleecy throws on sofas, etc.—and seeing those materials also helps cut stress levels and help people restore their cognitive reserves.

Spaces that score big points for hygge design often feature relatively more curving lines than straight ones – in 2-dimensions on fabrics, floor coverings, wallpapers, etc.—and 3, in the shapes of chair armrests and legs and tabletops, for instance.  In spaces where curves predominate, we’re calmer, more relaxed, while when straight lines are more plentiful our brains are flooded with thoughts of efficiency and action.

People in spaces featuring hygge design give people the feeling that they, or a group that they’re part of, own a space, that it’s their territory.  They share that locale and sharing leads to forming and strengthening social bonds.  Someone might be cuddling alone (or with a good friend!) under a woolen throw in the front of a fireplace, for instance, and that blanket defines their territory.  The same goes for arms on chairs and the edges of rugs, and even more atmospherically, the reaches of that candle/firelight mentioned.  Where the light is clearly a different zone from where the light isn’t, and that space can welcome all who can comfortably spend time in it (without crowding others, etc.).

Often people in a hyggelig (the adjective form!) space feel that they are secure, with views into the nearby area, as people experiencing biophilic design do (discussed here). Being in biophilically designed spaces has a range of positives, from mental refreshment to interacting positively with others, to effectively integrating information and resolving challenges, just for starters.

A bonus: when people gather in hyggelig zones, they often sip warm drinks—grog or hot chocolate, maybe—and when people have recently held something warm in their hands, they have more positive opinions of other people, which is almost always a good thing.

‘Tis the season for hygge!