Indoor Outdoor Living, Hygge for Summer

5 easy tips for creating the perfect indoor outdoor living space by Jessica Doll, a California-based travel, life, and style blogger.

The Danish tradition of Hygge has become a lot more popular in the states this past winter and I’m really excited about it. Having just attended the Swedish Midsummer celebration here, it really reminded me that the concept of hygge and cosiness can also be applied to summertime festivities as well. Today I’m taking some time to share with you how you can relate hygge to indoor outdoor living, and how you can bring some indoor cosiness to your outdoor space for summer parties, entertaining, or just enjoying some time in the outdoors.

Living in California means that our spend-time-outdoors season is quite long. Where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the climate is typically moderate year-round and we love nothing more than to take advantage of our outdoor space. From living it up at our cabana club during hot days, to hanging out in our own yard dining out, roasting s’mores, or growing our garden, being outdoors is something we are big fans of.

1. Choose your furniture wisely.

When choosing your furniture for your space, choose pieces that will last and also bring people together. Have a small space? Opt for a lounge area with a coffee table instead of a full dining set. If you need to go even smaller, try just a couple of lounge chairs with a side table. Your goal should be to have furniture that is both functional, and welcoming. We have several folding lounge chairs that we picked up from Ikea that are so comfortable they make it hard to want to get up from them.

2. Bring the indoors out!

Temporarily, of course. I love to drag items from inside out in order to make our space more cosy. Our summer nights tend to get chilly, so bringing a blanket and some pillows out to help us keep warm is just par for the course. Our outdoor furniture stays rather clean, but if something were to happen I can always just pop them into the wash and they’re good as new to bring back indoors.

3. Add warmth with plants.

Plants add such a warm touch to a space, and why not add many for outside? The inside of my house slightly resembles a jungle, so I like my outside to do the same. I aim to decorate with plants that are both functional, and beautiful. My favorite plants that serve a purpose are: citronella, orange, lemon, lime, herbs, and strawberries. While other plants are my favorites because they are low maintenance like: succulents, passionflower vines (attract butterflies), and ground cover.

4. Entertain, and do it often!

Don’t wait for a special holiday to invite friends over. Part of hygge and the indoor outdoor living concept is that it should be celebrated with friends. Life is a celebration, and sometimes just getting together for some snacks and good wine is all it takes to revamp a summer slump. Invest in a proper tray to easily carry items from inside out. I use mine even for when we decide to enjoy dinner outdoors.

5. Invest in proper storage and care.

The worst thing that could happen is for you to do work hard putting all of this together and have it ruined by inclement weather. The coffee table in the photo above opens up for storage. We like to keep our furniture covers inside when we’re not using them, along with anything else that may be too fragile to be in the elements. Be sure to keep waterproof covers on everything and always pay attention to the finish. Your outdoor goods might need some cleaning and preservation from time-to-time.

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Indoor outdoor living design doesn’t have to be as complicated as you make it out to be. Hopefully with the tips above you will be able to master your outdoor space and have guests over in no time.

Do you have an outdoor area you use regularly? Any tips for indoor outdoor living?

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Comments

Responses to “Indoor Outdoor Living, Hygge for Summer”

  1. You are definitely right – the hygge invasion is here! I think it’s a good thing though, in these tumultuous times.

    I love your outdoor set! We’re moving into a new rental home soon with a decent patio space, so I’m excited to move beyond our prior apartment balcony-sized set. Do you find that your furniture stands up to the elements? It rains *so much* during the summer, and things here get sticky, icky, and warped!

    1. Congrats on the move! The furniture I have (here) is lightly finished. I don’t think it would hold up to a lot of water well unless it’s covered when it’s raining, but humidity might be ok. We keep ours covered when it rains, which might be a pain to do if it rains a lot there. On top of my thoughts, it does look very well rated on the website too. We also have these fold out lounge chairs from Ikea that are a lot easier to put away in inclement weather. We don’t cover them but just tuck them under an overhang and they’ve been good for years now.

  2. Living in Denmark (the birthplace of hygge), I very much enjoy reading about how people are getting their hygge on across the Pond. I don’t really associate hygge with summer, but maybe I should because your outdoor space looks meget hyggeligt 🙂

    1. Mange tak! I’m a little jealous that you live in Denmark, it’s still my favorite of all the places we’ve gone and visiting family there is always a plus. I know hygge is typically a winter thing but I’ve been channeling it since.. ohh.. last November and it’s helping me along. 😉

  3. Leigh Anne Borders

    Okay, I am going to either show my age by this comment or look like a fool but I have never heard of hygge . It sounds like an interesting concept. I love that outdoor space. It looks divine. If I had a place like that to escape to, I would stay put for hours with a great book.

  4. I have never heard of Hygge, but I can say it’s beautiful and I love the outdoor set up. The white is so fresh and pretty. I agree entertaining often is a must. We love having guests over.

  5. I love the idea of bringing hygge into summer. And that outdoor furniture is totally gorgeous!! And I’m blown away by how affordable it is! Will definitely keep this in mind for our outdoor setup when we finish our patio area!

  6. This post actually makes me sad because we just moved out of our house (we leased it for a few years because we moved to Italy) and we had to sell our beautiful patio furniture…that looked much like this!! This is stunning!

  7. Heather Hanson

    What is your source for patio furniture covers??

  8. Great tips for creating a warm and inviting outside living space. I will be hosting a few outdoor parties over the summer and your tips will come in handy. I need to go buy some plants. While I have flowers and plants outside, I have nothing for the seating area. I need some colorful pillows, too! 🙂

  9. I love the minimalist decor of this outdoor furniture. I love this and it just spruces up the outside area. I love the plants to it brings a pop of flair to the scenery too!

  10. We have a shorter outdoor season here in Chicago. We make the best of it by living outdoors as much as we can. I love being surrounded by the flowers and our herb and vegetable gardens. It really brings a sense of peace to this crazy world we live in.

  11. Your outdoor living space looks beautiful and welcoming. Great tips on keeping up the maintenance on your outdoor furnishings, it can be so easily overlooked. We love enjoying our gazebo — at leaset when the Juen Bugs aren’t sharing it with us. LOL

  12. I’m obsessed with the lights! They make it look so cozy and inviting!
    -gabby

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