Creating Cozy
Cozy Corner, Carl Larsson, 1894
“For me, creating cozy is a way to embrace the darkening season and to more easily accept the sun setting earlier and earlier each day. It’s a self-care ritual that helps me to settle into the autumn and winter season with more ease.”
Shelagh: I've been thinking a lot about cozy, particularly as we are offering a workshop in November called Creating Cozy. I’d like to start our conversation by connecting to our bodies and our senses. What does cozy look, smell, sound, feel, and taste like?
Christine: Cozy has a texture. It’s natural fibers.
Shelagh: For me it’s soft, like my sheep skins. I feel that light impacts a sense of cozy – an overhead light versus a lamp versus candlelight. I think softer lights add to that cozy feeling. And then, of course, there’s scent!
Christine: As soon as the snow came last week, I switched the scent that I am diffusing to bergamot and cedar. It just made me feel cozy and wintry.
Shelagh: How does cozy sound to you? Some people might say that a crackling fire is the sound of cozy.
Christine: Or when it snows, you know, how it just dampens all the noise and you can almost tell that it snows when you wake up in the morning, the muffled sound.
Shelagh: Mmmmmmm. Yes, almost like a blanket of quiet. Feeling cozy is like being in a cocoon or a nest. It feels safe and protected. It feels nurturing.
Christine: Cozy feels unrushed and slow. It feels like a place where you can unwind.
Shelagh: I know for sure that cozy isn’t something you can purchase. I think in our culture, we can get into thinking, Oh, I need this, and I need this, and I need this to create a cozy space. But it's not about consumerism.
Christine: Exactly.
Shelagh: For me, cozy is an invitation to slow down, to turn inward, and reflect.
I don’t think I can have a conversation with you about cozy without touching on the concept of hygge. I’d love to hear from you about what this means to you, particularly with your Scandinavian roots.
“Hygge is a feeling of coziness, comfort and being peaceful at home. Contentment, being present and comfortable are a really big part of it. It’s not pretentious. You’re happy with your house. You’re happy with what you have. It is ‘I am here now’. ”
Christine: Hygge is a Danish concept that means coziness, comfort and being peaceful at home. Contentment, being present and comfortable are a really big part of it. It’s not pretentious. You’re happy with your house.. You’re happy with what you have. It is I am here now. This is my space to enjoy. My time to enjoy.
There's also the aspect of celebrating outdoor life. So part of hygge to me is that you don't hide away from winter. Like, you make sure that you get out to embrace it.
Shelagh: What is one simple way that you have experienced hygge?
Christine: When I lived in Sweden, where we lived, the sun doesn't come up until 9:30 a.m. So breakfast was in semi darkness, but instead of turning on all the lights, we turned on the kitchen light and let it spill into the dining room. Then you just have little tea candles. We would light candles for breakfast.
Shelagh: I love that! For me, creating cozy is a way to embrace the darkening season and to more easily accept the sun setting earlier and earlier each day. It's a self-care ritual that helps me to settle into the autumn and winter season with more ease.
Christine: Yes, there are so many things that are hard about winter. Like you think…Oh no, I have to go out and plug in the car. We joke that it takes us 10 minutes to get ready for a dog walk because we have to put on all our layers. So when you are doing those harder things, coming home to feeling really peaceful and content is really important.
Shelagh: The other night, my husband and I let the house naturally go dark with the setting of the sun and lay down on our couch together. He was at one end, and I was at the other end and we put the sheep skin over us and we just laid there. To me that’s hygge!
Christine: Yes! Creating cozy shouldn’t be a lot of work. It’s not fussy.
Shelagh: It’s authentic.
Christine: Yes! And we’re hoping our upcoming workshop will inspire people to create cozy this winter as a way to embrace the season and slow down.
Hygge at Home Diffuser Blend
This warm and woody scent is wonderful to diffuse at home in your cozy corner. It’s made with Bergamot and Virginian cedarwood essential oils.
Bergamot essential oil is expressed from the skin of the fragrant citrus fruit just before it ripens. If you like Earl Grey tea, then you will love bergamot essential oil – as it is the primary flavor of the tea. Bergamot’s aroma relaxes, restores, and calms.
Virginia Cedarwood essential oil is steam distilled from the wood of wild cedars in the United States. Inhaling cedarwood’s warm and deeply woody aroma can support you in feeling grounded, centered, and present.
Recipe
4 drops bergamot (Citrus bergamia)
3 drops Virginian cedarwood (Juniperus virginiana)
Diffusing Tip
Always diffuse essential oils intermittently. Do not run your essential oil diffuser all day long. It is best to diffuse for 30 – 60 minutes and then 30 – 60 minutes off. This is more effective as both our bodies and our nervous system habituate to essential oils after this time.
Do not take essential oils internally and do not apply undiluted on the skin. Always consult a professional aromatherapist if you have medical conditions. Use caution when using essential oils with children.
