Warm Weather Hygge

By definition, hygge (hooga) according to the Denmark website is about "taking time away from the daily rush to be together with people you care about - or even by yourself - to relax and enjoy life's quieter pleasures."   There's a fun little book I read on vacation back in 2018 called The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living and I loved it so much, I bought one as soon as I got back.  There was actually nothing more relaxing than reading that little book curled up on the couch in the sunroom with a cup of tea and is one of my favorite memories of that trip.

Many tend to associate this practice in the cooler months of Fall and Winter because it tends to focus on the act of being cozy.  Snuggling under a blanket, enjoying a warm, healing cup of tea by the fireplace (or fireplace on TV), lighting a favorite candle while doing a calming hobby like cross stitch or scrapbooking.  Being a hyggephant, I can tell you that I never associated warm weather with the practice of hygge.  I associated it with flop sweat, misery and people being loud and obnoxious.  Instead of wishing away a full season of summer, I thought I'd try to see how I could incorporate hygge into the most dreaded time of year for this Fall/Winter girl and here's how you can too.

Decorate with what nature is giving you

What's the first thing we tend to think about when we think of Spring/Summer?  Flowers, herbs and fresh, in season fruit.  Bring those outdoor gifts from nature in.  

Whether you decide to plant your own cut flower garden and grow your favorite flowers from seed or grab a bouquet at a farmers market, nothing perks up your surroundings like flowers.  If you want to try annual flowers to see how they do from seed, consider cosmos, zinnias, snapdragons, statice for filler or sunflowers.  If you're looking for a perennial garden where you can be one and done, go for peonies, dahlias, coneflower, black eyed susans or ranunculus.  Herbs are pretty easy to grow on their own and bring green into the house.  Not to mention they're at the ready to use for cooking.  Double bonus! 

Fruit in a decorative bowl serves a dual purpose as well.

Not only are they pretty but they remind you to eat them as you pass by.  Summer offers all kind of fresh fruit to choose from.  Make sure to rotate citrus fruits every few days so they don't mold resting against each other.  Stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums and avocados create a pretty and unexpected look.  You can go tropical if you're missing a vacation (or Hawaii) and use mango, lychee, rambutans and coconut.

Decorate with natural materials

If you're of a certain age and hear the word wicker or rattan, you will probably harken back to your grandparents sunroom/lanai furniture.  Wicker, rattan and fiber products in general have gotten quite the upgrade through the years and you can find all kinds of pretty baskets, chargers and bowls to place around the house or hang on the wall.  Using wood elements can soften spots like a coat/towel hanger (which translates well in pretty much any season) or sculptures.   Light colored blankets or linen are good to have on hand in case there's a cool night or a thunderstorm rolls in - the ultimate warm weather hygge gift from nature.  

Create an outdoor oasis

I would give anything for even 1/4 of an acre to utilize for all kinds of things but we have about a 10x14' patio and neighbors from the pits of hell so the first thing we did was change the original shadowbox design on our side to closed fencing.  Unfortunately fencing gaps are always an issue so while it's not the prettiest, the current solution is to fill them with backer rod since it matches the paint color.  Eventually we want to change that design.  Before, we had up an outdoor sunshade which did a good job and I highly recommend them if you don't want to hang anything on that fencing.  The Mr put up the long planter on that side and it always looks so nice.  I'm partial to planting things that trail like wandering jews or nasturtiums so it fills in underneath and drips with green or color by June or early July.  There are a myriad of planters and pots out there to choose from to plant all kinds of flowers.  Containers allow you mix and match styles, colors and you can move them to create a whole new look every few weeks.  If you have a small porch or balcony, this is the perfect opportunity to go vertical.  

There are so many vertical planters you can buy or if you're handy, DIY to your personal taste.  You can find some great space saving patio furniture to make the most of your set up.  If you can't keep something up all of the time due to space constraints, you can find something like this cute folding bistro set to keep off to the side.  If you'd like to spend time outdoors at night or have dinner al fresco, add some string lights or solar fairy lights to create ze mood.  Create even more privacy or shield yourself from the sun with a nice tilting umbrella.  

No balcony or patio?  Hanging plants around a window in an apartment and on a side table can create the feel of an outdoor space when one isn't available.  You can do some flowering plants like African violets on a window sill, anthuriums, begonias, orchids, bromeliad and cyclamen to add color.  If you can finagle a chair by the window or if your couch is already there, you can make this a great place to start the day.

Savor food, family and friends

One of the main principles of hygge for the Danish is togetherness.  The point is to share the cozy whether it's one other person or a gathering of your closest people that make you smile.  This means picnics, cookouts, walks in the park, going to the farmers market together or an outdoor patio coffee sesh.  The point of hygge is to savor what you're doing or preparing.  Pick up an inexpensive juicer and make your own lemonade to put in an insulated carafe to bring along or juice Valencia oranges for mimosas.  A trip to a local farm to pick berries to bake a summer pie to share.  If you're doing an evening get together, set the mood with some battery operated candles.  A little on the introverted side?  Grab your fellow introverts for a book reading date together under a tree.  Is there a drive in not too far away?  Grab your sweetie or some fellow movie lovers and watch the movies under the stars.  (Here's a directory of drive in's by state.)  However you decide to spend time with others, it doesn't have to be fancy or overblown, you just have to enjoy the people you're with. 

Light the Way

Candles are the cornerstone of hygge and that doesn't stop just because the days are longer.  A seasonal candle can set the perfect atmosphere to wind down for the night.  One of my favorite scents is eucalyptus lavender, or you could go with sage and citrus for a brighter scent.  If you are worried you'll fall asleep with a candle burning, they even have a nifty battery operated candle diffuser.

Roasting Marshmallows/S'mores

Perhaps one of the most quintessential summertime activities is roasting marshmallows and making s'mores.  You can go classic with the graham crackers, Hershey bars and marshmallows, or you can put together a s'mores platter.  There's nothing like giving people options in addition to the old faithful.  Grab a big ol' board and start slathering on the goodies.  Additions for graham crackers can be Fudge Stripe cookies, Stroopwafels, sourdough pretzels, or whatever you fancy.  For the chocolate, peanut butter cups are a pretty popular choice, caramel filled chocolate bars taste amazing or slather on some hazelnut spread or some cookie butter.  If you don't have room for a bonfire in your yard, no worries, a tabletop firepit to use indoors or out is a fun option.  If it's a rainy day or getting outside isn't easy for you, this indoor s'more maker will get the job done.  We have extendable roasting forks that we travel with because s'mores are our vacation thing no matter the time of year.  Your back and hands will thank you from not having to lean way forward to set that baby ablaze.  

Gardening (whether you have a green thumb or not)

If you're lucky enough to have any kind of space to garden, you may already be in it!  If you kill plants just by looking at them, you might think there's no point.  Back in the day, victory gardens were planted during both World War I and II to supplement the food supply. They were in families backyards, public parks, and even schools to encourage people to grow their own food. During these hard economic times, it may be the perfect time to try your hand at your own victory garden.  The most important thing to start with are foods you actually like.  No sense in growing something you don't like just because it's easy.  What are some of the easiest to grow?  Lettuce and spinach as well as carrots and radishes which are all cooler weather crops that do well in dappled sun.  You could also do peas, bush beans, zucchini, and strawberries.

You can use an 18" planter to plant your lettuce, spinach and radishes together so you can move them into the shade in the hot months.  You can even plant in food grade 5 gallon buckets.  There are some great videos online on how to do that from Epic Gardening and The Gardening Channel.  There's nothing more hygge than pouring some time and energy to care for a living thing and reap the rewards for your efforts.  Even if you just try one planter this year, it could be a new summer hobby in waiting.

Do any of these warm weather hygge activities appeal to you?

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