IS YOURS A HAPPY HYGGE HOME?

By SHAGORIKA EASWAR

In the fall of 2020, Estelle Marandon took a leap of faith and left Paris to join her friends Gesa and Charlotte in the forest of Fontainbleau.

Just around 60 km southeast of Paris, it offered a different world.

A calmer life enriched by its surroundings, with more space at home, a burgeoning garden, and a relaxed ambiance. But a country house is different from a cosy apartment just steps from modern conveniences.

Coming Home to Nature is filled with gorgeous images, and explores the challenges and the unexpected joys in a candid, chatty manner.

The friends answer questions ranging from what will it mean for your daily existence (and your children’s)? to how to start a fire without burning tons of newspaper.

A section on how to hunt for bargains lists some of the things you may wish to start collecting.

Among them:

“Vases of all sizes, but particularly huge ones. Just stand them on the floor and place long branches in them, depending on the season.

“A rocking chair. A roaring fire in the hearth, a good book on your lap, and the gentle rocking of a comfortable chair. That’s what you signed up for.

“Old wooden toys for the living room. It’s a way to remind your guests that you harbour the soul of a child (and they are an attractive alternative to the horrible plastic toys that your kids leave all over the place).”

There are tongue-in-cheek confessions, too.

“What do I wish I’d known before I took the plunge? That it’s hard to chop wood with a hatchet!”

Delicious French country recipes. And a section on a few home truths.

Country living may not be for everyone, but for those considering it or even those who are tempted by the idea, this is an invaluable resource.

*   *   *

Meik Wiking, author of the million-copy best-seller The Little Book of Hygge asks if we can design our homes to make us happier.

“Can we design for wellbeing? Can we create better homes where we not only live, but thrive? The answers to these questions had been under my nose all the time. Because growing up in Denmark means you grow up with two things: Design and hygge.”

And hygge, as Wiking reminds us, is the art of creating a nice atmosphere.

“It is about being with the people we love. A feeling that we are safe, that we are shielded from the world and can allow ourselves to let our guard down.”

But design goes beyond beautiful chairs, he continues. It can, among other things, provide tools to enhance the quality of life.

Remember that small design changes can have a big impact. Switch the lamps around or try out candles during dinner. There is nothing wrong with starting small.

More tips:

Plants add life.

Books offer exploration and contemplation.

Rugs and paintings give warmth and texture and transform the sound of voices into the voices secrets are exchanged in by lovers.

Replace the uniform light from above with pockets of light that guide you to the best places.

A simple thing like a round table allows everybody around it to make eye contact with everybody else.

The book that will inspire readers to make changes in their spaces also includes tips for home-made hygge – from a recipe for preserved lemons to encouraging one to growing something on your windowsill.

And the admonition that there is nothing hygge about wasting food.

There’s a lovely endorsement of hygge he received from a mother of two young kids who wrote to him about having been familiar with the feeling of hygge but not knowing it had a name.

“Before now I would have spent an afternoon with my two kids. We’d have been on the sofa with some tea and some biscuits and spent the entre afternoon there. Earlier, I would have called that a lazy afternoon. Now I call that a hygge afternoon.”