Rustic Hygge

Hurd & Honey

Imagine for a minute, you're on the open road, sharing life with the people you love, listening to Bon Iver, and watching the sun rest behind the pines. It's beautiful, it's glorious, and you feel a warmth that you can't describe. I like to call it "rustic hygge" - or a sense of living life feeling deeply connected to our surroundings in nature. 

What if we could take this feeling and apply it to our homes? 

Pop Sugar

The Sun

We don't necessarily have to live in minimal footprint houses or use log homes alpine to achieve this "rustic hygge". Canal boat living may keep us closer to nature, but just like yurt living, it doesn't guarantee a full connection to rest. 

This cosy living experience takes practice, and begins with how we live with the sun. When the sun rises in the morning, we should wake, and slowly make our way into the day. Sit outside with a cup of coffee and read our devotional, or have a slow conversation. Make this slow start a habit, and a practice. When the sun begins to set, we slow down again, dimming the lights, and removing the technology. This is the perfect time to cozy up with a book or simply fall asleep. 

One of the reasons people find it much easier to decompress while away in nature, without a WiFi signal, is because they're urged to respond to the rhythm of the day. All other living things move with the sun. We have come away from this pattern, from this rhythm, and it is taking from us, especially our health.

Sweet Home

Materials

Our living situation may not allow us to move in rhythm with the sun, and hopefully one day we will all be able to. Not everyone has the luxury of working during the day and resting at night. Even so, we are able to somewhat control the materials we choose to have in our home environment. 

Choosing natural items will keep us connected to our natural world. Wood, wicker, rattan, burlap, stone, etc. These materials come from nature, and have rustic qualities. They're earthy, but not necessarily primitive, and can look wonderful in any style of home. 

Style Caster

Lighting

Our lighting choices matter, and oftentimes modern lighting options are less representative of what our world is like, naturally. In the evenings, candlelight or lamplight is sufficient, and bright blue-tint LED lighting will not serve our rest well. 

We also tend to keep our windows covered and closed up, especially when the weather is too cold or too warm. But we need this natural light, it's no wonder so many of us are Vitamin D deficient. Keeping our furniture away from the windows, opening our curtains, opening our windows, and letting the nature flow in is a simple recipe for better health. 

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We all must do what we can to get out in nature, when we can. And if we can, we should live as close to it as possible. It will bring healing to our lives.

*This is a collaborative post.

Hurd & Honey