How to ‘Hygge’ Your Sofa Two Different Ways

This season, the buzzword without a doubt is ‘Hygge’.  (If you haven’t heard it yet, where have you been!)

The Hygge trend (pronounced Hu-gah!) is a Danish concept – there’s no literal translation; essentially it’s about that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when sitting by the fire at home, surrounded by candles, family, home cooking.  It’s a down to earth and nostalgic sense of homeliness and warmth.

The next room on our decorating list is the living room which is looking empty and cold at the moment, so I wanted to cosy things up on and around our new sofa from DFS:

The sofa, called ‘Zinc’ is British made and part of a collaboration with French Connection.  It’s a hugely popular design as you’ll see if you hop over to the DFS gallery where lots of customers have shared their pictures of it in their homes.

It’s a gorgeous shape – contemporary with hints of mid-century modern design – and high quality.  We went to view the Zinc sofa at our local DFS showroom and as soon as we sat on it I loved the firm yet spongy seat pads and the woolly texture of the fabric.  As a rule we’ve tended to buy leather sofas, so fancied trying a fabric sofa for a change (although the Zinc does look amazing in leather, too).

Now it’s here in our room, it feels quite robust and I’m hoping the material will be fairly resistant to our cats’ claws as it feels nice and densely woven.  Gorgeous buttoned back cushions and piped edges give it a refined finish.

We chose the 4 seater sofa as it’s a great size, in fact our tall teenager can stretch out fully on it.  You could definitely sleep on it the odd night if required, so it’s a versatile sofa.

We opted for the charcoal combination with geometric scatter cushions, but also really loved the teal and blue combination in the showroom – however grey is very on-trend and universal right now, suiting most design schemes.

So first up, I created a fairly neutral scheme.  Scandi style rooms tend to be simple and pared back, so I just added our grey faux fur throw and a couple of grey cushions to the sofa, then styled some neutral accessories and candles around it.

I love playing with different accessories this way and tried a few other items, too:

White accessories work well for the Nordic look, teamed with greys and natural materials, such as wood, metal and wool.  (The checked wool blanket was a lovely gift a while back from Art of the Loom – I don’t think I’ve featured it on the blog yet, but it’s such a quality, warm blanket for the chilly weather.)

Next up, I fancied trying a richer look, something a bit more ‘luxe’.  For this alternative look, you can just add some colour, such as red and gold:

I spread a pixel throw in red (from Dwell) over the sofa.  It has a fab design in lovely berry tones and the material feels warm and fleecy – ideal to banish any chills.

A latte and a selection of magazines must be on hand when you want to snuggle on the sofa, so the gold magazine rack and Kare floor lamp (also from Dwell) are good options.  Add a furry throw – and a splash of Baileys in that latte – and you’ll never want to leave your sofa!

Candles are a must-have when creating a hygge atmosphere.  I got a couple of little gold tealight houses last Christmas and adore them (but they do get really hot!).

Its pretty cosy and inviting, don’t you think? I tried not to make it look too over the top Christmassy – not just yet.  (Hopefully I pulled it off?!)

So there you have it.  Two different looks to help ‘hygge’ your sofas.  Which version do you prefer, the cooler more Nordic hygge mood or the warmer, red and gold one?

In collaboration with DFS

 

 

 

© Copyright 2016 Antonia, All rights Reserved. Written For: Tidylife