Cosy is a word that is used in this house on a regular basis. If you are Scandinavian or in my case, married to one, the word practically gets engrained into your vocabulary. The word cosy literally means “comfort, warmth, and relaxation” – a state of being that is necessary in order to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Having visited quite a few Swedish homes over the years I have noticed that they often have a few things in common, in that they are – light, airy, and filled with plants. As Sweden has around 6 cold and dark months per year, Swedes tend to fill their home with green plants, a colour that come Autumn, they don’t get to see for a very long time. Having lived in tropical weather for most of my life, the weather in England to me has been nothing short of gloomy. So when we got around to re-decorating our home this Summer (and had our carpets replaced with wooden floors) I decided to embrace the word cosy and bring a warm, yet light and green feeling into our home. From light coloured furniture and wooden pieces, to the ongoing additions of plants, we have slowly been getting our home and state of mind ready for the dark months ahead.
MID-MORNING FIKA
HANGING BASKET: PIXIE’S MAGIC HOOK | COFFEE: PERCOL | WOOL BLANKET: KLIPPAN | DALA HORSE: GRANNAS
Since becoming pregnant I have come to appreciate slow mornings, giving myself space and time to start my day. I found that since beginning my morning slowly my stress levels have gone down and productivity throughout the day has gone up. Slowing down makes it possible for you to be more present in your own life, and gives you the ability to better connect with the world around you.
We decided to place a hanging rack within reach to our bed in preparation for the busy and sleepless months ahead. We were given a hand-crafted hanging basket from Pixie’s Magic Hook, a perfect storage space for all things you need within arms reach. At the moment it stores a book, our reading glasses, and a night light; but something tells me that in the very near future it will be storing all things baby! The rack also holds a beautifully crafted woolen blanket from Klippan for those cold nights ahead, which quite frankly could not come soon enough.
As far as pregnancy goes I have cut down massively on the amount of coffee that I consume, and have been mostly sticking to the occasional Matcha or Chai Latte which have a much lower caffeine content. I did however indulge in a mid-morning fika last week when I received coffee from Percol, a fair-trade coffee company from London. Fika is a wonderful Swedish tradition which quite literally translates to “taking a break” – one which usually includes several cups of coffee (in my case one cup) and lots of baked goods.
COSY LIVING SPACE
CROCHET PLANT POT COVER: PIXIE’S MAGIC HOOK | FACE PILLOW: BLÄSTA HENRIËT (ETHICAL.MARKET) |GEOMETRIC PILLOW: HETTY + SAM (ETHICAL.MARKET) | CERAMIC MILK BOTTLE: HELEN REBECCA (ETHICAL MARKET)
Creating a comfortable and inviting living space in our home was my number one priority as it is the area where we spend most of our evenings together. For my bookworm husband, a cosy reading space was a must (the only arguments we ever have are about the amount of books he purchases on a monthly basis). I decided to put this little corner together using the second-hand chair and footstool which we purchased a few years back and accent it with a contemporary geometric pillow from ethical.market which is fairly made by Hetty + Sam. The hand-crafted milk bottle ceramic vase also from ethical.market and made by Helen Rebecca fit beautifully with the accents of the pillow.
Our green storage corner which very much brightens up the room has both a fern plant and a palm plant (a great plant choice to purify the air in your home). Our lovely little fern sits snug in a hand-crochet pot plant cover from Pixie’s Magic Hook. A wonderful sustainable addition to the home, made from recycled cotton rope this plant cover can also be used as a small storage space.
The couch, my favourite hang out spot at the moment (there is some major couch potatoing going on as I am nearing my due date – less than three weeks to go, eek!) has been given the addition of a large eco-friendly linen pillow from ethical.market which has been screen-printed in the north of Sweden by Blästa Henriët.
PERSONAL CARE AND WELLBEING
SKINCARE TRIO: SEASCAPE | SMALL BALM: MOA | CANDLE: HOME OF JUNIPER | TOWEL & ROBE: THE MADISON COLLECTION
Personal care and well being has become such a part of my life since becoming pregnant. Sure, I of course lived as healthy as I could prior to pregnancy too but once you have another person to consider in the equation when it comes to your body and state of mind everything changes.
I have been very weary about the products that I have been using on my body for the past 8 months, I have barely worn any make up, and have cut down on the amount of skin products that I have been using – mainly sticking to natural oils such as coconut oil to soothe my skin and soften my hair. I have however been given a few pregnancy safe products from Seascape which I tried out and absolutely loved. You can read more about my review on these products HERE. A product which I am also very much looking forward to using this Autumn/Winter is an MOA organic multipurpose healing balm given to me by Home of Juniper an online retailer with a focus on conscious consumerism. This balm can be used for pretty much anything from chapped skin to soothing a cold.
I have never given much thought to the towels we bought for our home. These were products that in my mind were solely used to dry ones skin without a second thought as to what brand they come from. I can now tell you that my mind has changed once coming across The Madison Collection who’s soft and luxurious towels and bathrobes far exceeded my expectations. I have come to appreciate that ones home is their sacred space that needs to be invested in. It was something that I took for granted whilst living in a warmer climate, as most of my time was spent outdoors. But having lived in the UK for a few years now, where the winter is not so pleasant, suddenly every space and product in my home gained importance.
And of course no room can have a warm and relaxing atmosphere without lighting a candle. As someone who loves candles I have made sure to place some in every room of the house, they do wonders to cosy up a room on those colder Autumn nights and I very much look forward to using the stag candle from Home of Juniper.
THE ETHICAL AND ECO COMPANIES BEHIND THIS STORY
ABOUT: Pixie’s Magic Hook is an online collection of eco-friendly crochet home decor. Handcrafted in the UK by Tunde Balazs using 100% recycled cotton rope, her beautiful creations have a diverse range of uses. Tunde started this small business out of her love for crochet but also as a way to support her three children whilst taking care of them at home. As all of her items are hand-crafted they can be colour customised to suit your home aesthetic.
HOME SPACE: Mid-Morning Fika & Cosy Reading Corner
PRODUCTS:
Crochet Storage Basket Deep storage basket, made of 100% recycled cotton rope. Ideal desk, nursery, bathroom storage, plantpot cover.
Hanging Storage Basket Ideal storage in nurseries and kids’ bedrooms, great for storing nappies, soft toys or pyjamas.
WHERE TO BUY: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Pixiesmagichook
– ETHICAL.MARKET –
ABOUT: ethical.market is a UK based online retailer with a selection of ethical brands who care about the impact of their supply chain and believe in full transparency. This great retailer was co-founded in 2013 by Raquel, after learning about the hidden costs of cheap clothing and the terrible toll taken on workers in developing countries. ethical.market place stock a range of affordable and design led products by talented independent designers which show that one does not need to compromise on their aesthetic in order to shop ethically.
HOME SPACE: Cosy Reading Corner
PRODUCTS:
Hetty + Sam Duck Egg & Copper Green Geometric 100% Cotton Cushion A modern, contemporary cushion featuring a green and copper geometric design fairly made using eco-friendly ink.
Blästa Henriët Large Eco-Friendly Cushion with Linen A cushion with natural linen responsibly hand screen-printed in Northern Sweden using eco-friendly inks and carefully crafted by hand in South West London.
Helen Rebecca Ceramics Milk Bottle Ceramic Vase with Landscape Painting Porcelain milk bottle shaped vase cast from vintage milk bottles fairly handcrafted in the UK.
WHERE TO BUY: https://ethical.market/
ABOUT: The Madison Collection is a an sustainable luxury homeware company that produced bathrobes, towels and cotton accessories which are enjoyed worldwide in homes as well as luxury hotels and spas. This brand’s mission is to protect and improve the environment, promote workplace wellness and support clean water rights. They do this by ensuring that all of their luxury good products are manufactured ethically and sustainability and through social impact partnerships. You can read more about their green manufacturing practices HERE.
The Madison Collection has been awarded the Butterfly Mark, sponsored by Positive Luxury, in recognition of their commitment to social and environmental sustainability. You can head over to Positive Luxury’s website to find out all of this brand’s positive actions.
HOME SPACE: Personal Care and Wellbeing
PRODUCTS:
Bordado Towels – Environmental designed, this trimmed in universally appealing grey, towel is made using soft, luxurious, lightweight and 100% cotton. Generously sized so wrap it up, bathing rituals completed!
Bordado Hooded Bath Robe – Hooded Bathrobe – 100% combed cotton with beautiful millennial grey trim. For every bathrobe sold a ceramic water filter is gifted directly to one Haitian or Dominican family.
WHERE TO BUY: https://themadisoncollection.com/
– SEASCAPE –
ABOUT: Seascape is a sustainable natural bath and body brand, with all ingredients sourced from he beautiful island of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Their soothing products are free from parabens, silicones, SLS, petroleum, artificial colours and artificial fragrances. Seascape does not test on animals and all of their products are suitable for vegetarians. Their bottles and packaging are also recyclable.
Seascape has been awarded the Butterfly Mark, sponsored by Positive Luxury, in recognition of their commitment to social and environmental sustainability. You can head over to Positive Luxury’s website to find out all of this brand’s positive actions.
You can read more about the wonders of Seascape products in a previous post HERE.
HOME SPACE: Personal Care and Wellbeing
PRODUCTS:
Unwind Lotion body Lotion containing 100% natural essential oils of Jersey Lavender to soothe and relax and exotic Ylang Ylang to balance the mind and ease tension.
Soothe Body Mist Containing 100% natural essential oils of Jersey Lavender to relax and calm the mind, mandarin to rejuvenate the senses, and a selection of other essential oils to delicately fragrance and refresh.
Soothe Sleep Oil 100% natural essential oil of Lavender to relax and calm, as well as other essential oils to balance the mind and deliver a gentle fragrance. Use on pulse points for a relaxing good night’s sleep.
WHERE TO BUY: www.seascapeuk.com
– KLIPPAN –
ABOUT: As a family business which started in Sweden in 1879, Klippan has become a leader in home textiles. This brand offers unique products such as blankets, throws, cushions, table linen and home decoration made out of pure fibres. In order to manage production and fully control the quality of their products, all of their blankets and throws are made in their own factory. All lamb’s wool used in their products comes from New Zealand and can be traced back to the individual sheep farmer. In this way the brand can ensure high quality whilst being eco-friendly. For the last few years Klippan has also been able to offer throws and blankets made of wool from farmers running sheep breeding using ecological principals (eco wool). You can read more about their eco wool HERE.
HOME SPACE: Mid-Morning Fika
PRODUCTS: Wool Blanket a mix of marino and lambs wool blanket to keep you warm and cosy through the colder months.
WHERE TO BUY: www.scandinaviandesigncenter.com
– HOME OF JUNIPER –
ABOUT: Home of Juniper is an only retailer for the home and gift giving, with the focus on conscientious consumerism. They treasure the stories behind the products they sell, and research the companies and individuals that they work with. This great retailer are proud to support British designers and makers, while also support ethical craftsmanship from further afield!
HOME SPACE: Personal Care and Wellbeing
PRODUCTS:
MOA Apothecary Balm made in England organic multipurpose healing balm that is great to prep for the fall with temperatures dropping. moisture chapped skin and lips
Gold Stag Candle made ethically in the UK by family run company with at least 10% from the purchase of each bee candle will go to BBCT. A British charity, they help protect and research our lovely bees.
WHERE TO BUY: www.homeofjuniper.co.uk
DISCOUNT CODE: use “nataly20” for 20% off entire shop until the 25th of September.
– PERCOL COFFEE –
ABOUT: Percol is a fairtrade coffee company based in London ; this company believes in good coffee from seed to cup. Providing people with a good cup of coffee is important to the people behind this company, but so is making sure that the people and environments that grow our coffee are supported, respected and protected. This company was the first ground coffee on shelf to bear the Fairtrade mark as well as the first coffee brand to use single origin and single estate beans leading to more awareness about the provenance and characteristics of different coffees. Since then, they have also chosen to support the Rainforest Alliance, Soil Association and, of course, our own initiatives too.
Sign their petition to make coffee cups recyclable HERE.
HOME SPACE: Mid-Morning Fika
PRODUCTS: Barista Gold – a classic instant coffee that is smooth and bright!
WHERE TO BUY: Tesco, Ocado, Waitrose, and more!
– GRANNAS –
ABOUT: Handcrafted traditional Swedish wooden horses produced hand-crafted by this company since 1922. The horses can be bought online or you can visit their lovely factory in Nusnäs. It is absolutely worth the visit! (my husband and I drove there prior to our wedding to have horses made as wedding favours).
HOME SPACE: Mid-Morning Fika
PRODUCTS: Dala Horse – hand-crafted wooden horses painted with traditional Kurbits technique. These little horses make for a great addition to the home.
WHERE TO BUY: www.grannas.com
This post was sponsored by multiple brands, each of which I myself selected for this collaboration. As always – all content, suggestions, and opinions are all my own.
Inspiration for this post was taken from Leotie Lovely‘s great post about how to make one’s life and home more hygge sustainability. It is a must read for all those looking to join the hygge movement in the most genuine and sustainable way.
Literally Nataly 
Nataly, your home is absolutely beautiful! I love this clean Scandinavian style! In my opinion, a clean and clutter-free space is essential for a slow and conscious life! ❤