Add some hygge cosiness to your holiday cottage...

Hygge is a word on many an interior designer’s lips at the moment - it is a Danish ritual of enjoying life’s simple pleasures. Friends. Family. Comfort. It translates to being peaceful, cosy and feeling like you are wrapped in a huge warm hug whilst drinking hot chocolate (or wine!) in front of a roaring fire. Perfect interior design for a holiday cottage.

So how can we decorate our cottages to help give us this feeling? Cosy means many things in design - it can be charming, intimate, relaxed, even handsome... Let’s take a look at some wonderful examples shown by our Yorkshire holiday cottage owners.

Here at Gateways, you can already feel yourself unwinding in front of the fire. Recline on a large comfy chair in soft velvet fabric surrounded by plump cushions and cosy throws.

Top tips when decorating a cosy cottage

Tip 1. Think about your colours

Keep colours neutral but also earthy. Pale duck egg blue and sage green are colours that work well in cottages along with creams and off-whites. It wouldn’t be advisable to use garish colours such as cerise pink or turquoise, yet dusky pinks and deep blue’s work very well. We love the sophisticated colours used throughout Butterfly.

Tip 2. Make cosy areas

Create a couple of 'snug' areas if possible such as a window seat with lots of lovely cushions, or place a couple of relaxing armchairs next to the fireplace adorned with a throw and a small table to place drinks and books.

Tip 3. Lighting can make all the difference

Always have an option for low soft lighting as well as overhead lights. Use lamps with low wattage, warm white bulbs and have the main lighting on dimmer switches.

Tip 4. Add a touch of luxury

Make both the bedrooms and bathrooms as luxurious as possible in the holiday cottage - this doesn’t mean having to spend a small fortune. Good quality cotton bedding and super soft towels make these areas feel cosy yet luxurious and of course, good mood lighting, candles and plenty of scatter cushions keep the bedroom cosy and warm. The bed at Foxglove Cottage looks very inviting – don’t you think?

Tip 5. Use fabrics wisely

We are lucky to have such a wide range of fabrics to choose from when creating the perfect holiday cottage, from faded florals, stripes and checks in linen or cotton to more heavy duty wools, velvets and tartans. Once your design has been chosen, a mixture of all these materials can be used in different textures and colours to add extra charm to your holiday cottage. We love the use of fabric at Blue Plain Dairy in Nidderdale.

Tip 6. Mix old with new

Finally, mixing old with new works very well in creating a cosy, comfortable feel in any type of property.

Old furniture sanded down and painted adds personal style, whereas an old antique chest of draws with rustic handles adds character. Don’t worry too much about natural wear and tear of well-loved objects and pieces of furniture, it all adds charm.

Gorgeous Cottages are a handpicked collection of the finest holiday cottages in Yorkshire. Interested in becoming a Gorgeous Cottages owner? Drop an e-mail to [email protected] or call 01642 263 249.