Thursday 16 February 2012

Hygge

Hello,

I never know with blogs whether just to launch right in or whether there should be some sort of explanatory first post. I've been wanting to do the latter but have been sitting here for a good while not knowing where to begin!  I think perhaps I should start with a confession - I am bad at blogging.  I am GREAT at creating blogs, and have had all sorts of grand plans and enthusiastic starts over the years, but keeping them going? Not so much.

This maybe because my previous ideas have been a bit too ambitious (sewing blog?!), even though they all essentially come back to the same thing - a sort of yearning to share the all the little things in life that make me happy.  Which is where Hyggelig Hjem comes in! 

What is Hyggelig Hjem....

Scandinavian culture has fascinated me for as long as I can remember, and when I first heard about the Danish concept of 'hygge' it was like a lightbulb going on above my head - finally a word that sums up my life philosophy!  It doesn't translate into English directly and so my understanding of it may be somewhat misplaced... Here is a translation from 'Hygge and Lort':

Tea light holders from "Hus & Hem"
"hygge is a danish concept that is difficult to describe, let alone make a direct translation for. it means a lot of things, but its essence is found within the gestures and rituals that are performed to create a mood or setting that is convivial, warm, cosy, comfortable, and generous – an act of hospitality directed towards friends, strangers or even oneself.  the cliché is that you light candles even on the most banal occasions, just to make it a bit more special. of course, it is more than candles, but everyone in denmark would agree that things are just a bit more hyggelig, if you fire up the tea lights"

For me, it seems to sum up the idea that I was trying to explain to my good friend the other day - trying to find pleasure and happiness in the small details of everyday life.

Which brings on to the second inspiration for this blog, and what do you know, it's also Scandinavian!


The aforementioned good friend gave me this book for Christmas, having tracked it down after watching me lust over it in a shop in Stockholm (see why she is a good friend?!), and it is truly inspirational!  'Detaljer Hemma' means details of the home, and the authors are a married couple from Stockholm who visited 32 homes, taking pictures of all the little details that communicate what a home means to them.




You can read more about it, including an interview with the authors, here.

So yes, Hyggelig Hjem is a combination of these two ideas, a sort of mixing bowl of details from my own life at home and things that inspire me from other people's, I hope to include photos and recipes and ramblings along the themes of:

cooking tasty, good and hearty meals (and eating them...)
the changing of the seasons
crafting and sewing
breadbaking
galavanting outside
homemaking
vintage style
exploring new places
taking pictures of things that make me smile

But for now I have rambled too much so more later.

Sarah x

2 comments:

  1. What a lovely concept for a blog! X

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Louise! I've been enjoying looking at your lovely blog a lot :D x

    ReplyDelete