Add Some Hygge to Your Home

Add Some Hygge to Your Home

PHOTO COURTESY POTTERY BARN

Pottery Barn’s Veranda Round chandelier adds warmth.


Bring out the hygge at home by adding rustic and romantic chandeliers, votives, and candleholders.

February is just the month to warm up those dark corners and poorly lit rooms — and add a little romance. Chandeliers, it turns out, are utterly warm and cozy, pure hygge, and in case you haven’t heard, hygge is everything in decorating these days. Many of us can’t spell it, let alone say it right. It’s hot; it’s hip yet throwback; it’s heartwarming. So add a little cozy romance this Valentine’s season and fill your homes with rustic, uplifting chandeliers and lighting features.

Hygge (pronounced “HUE-gah”) is, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment of well-being and regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture.” Basically, think Uggs and candlelight. It’s a Scandinavian notion of warmth and comfort: bringing positivity and contentment to your life — and home. (Remember, Scandinavians are supposedly the happiest people on Earth.)

When talking about your home, proper lighting is essential to the concept of hygge. Take a look at a few chandeliers and lighting touches for ideas of what warming up and candlelight can do for any room.

Is your living missing a little spark? Be like the resorts in Tahoe and cozy up your room (of any size) with a statement chandelier that’s welcoming — and not like grandma’s at all. Pottery Barn offers a prize of chandelier, the Veranda Round chandelier in bronze finish ($499), that suggests a wagon wheel and fat candles. It’s reminiscent of something that would be hanging in Yosemite or your fave ski lodge and does the trick while servings as a conversation starter for your guests.

Got a corner of your bedroom that’s dull and ignored? Warm it up with one of a romantic chandelier from Birch Lane. Consider the Alexandria 26-inch wide bronze pendant light (style 4F355, $399). The airy globe construction with beaded dangling pendants offers visible (candlelike bulbs) and naturally warm lighting that’s sophisticated yet open, letting the light sparkle just enough.

How ’bout a little something extra for your slightly beat-up bathroom? A smaller chandelier set by the vanity and decked out with a little bling makes for a fun surprise every morning — and a warm greeting each night. Check out this shiny but still cool chandelier, the Burlington 5-Light Empire chandelier ($299) from Birch Lane drenched in pearls. Your bathroom will thank you.

Or just place hygge-expressing lamps and candles all around the house. Alabaster stone candleholders (Egypt) from Overstock will work on your office desk or your bedside table or even on the kitchen counter — because who couldn’t use a little calming in the kitchen. The short one is $33.74, while the taller hurricane pillar is $91.34.

Classy birch votives ($9.99) from Cost Plus can fit in anywhere from the mantle to the mudroom. (Also great gifts anytime of year!) Or try an assortment of candleholders (fake candles work well and might be wise if you have toddlers or terriers). For real glam, grab a small chandelier off Pottery Barn Kids and place it in the laundry room. There’s always more room for a little hygge.

Faces of the East Bay