Shea Simmons
We’ve all spent quite a bit of time around the house over the last year and a half or so, and that’s now being reflected in our home interiors. The latest design to emerge is based on the Norwegian hygge trend, but with a twist.
You could think of this new style, called friluftsliv (pronounced, free-loofts-liv), as the nature-focused version of hygge. If you’re unfamiliar, hygge is a Danish term that roughly translates to “coziness.”
Hygge is an aesthetic and concept that prioritizes creating comfortable and relaxing spaces, usually indoors. Friluftsliv is similar, but it specifically targets bringing the outdoors and nature into the home.
Kristin Bartone, designer and founder of Bartone Interiors, explained that this trend brings nature’s positive impact on health and well-being inside.
“By infusing natural elements into our interior spaces, we stay connected even when we are indoors,” Bartone said. “Designing this way helps reduce stress and increase environmental stewardship.”
The popularity of this trend also happens to coincide with the explosion of people venturing into plant parenthood. From plant influencers covering their entire apartments in greenery, to those converting IKEA cabinets into greenhouses, bringing nature inside has been a thing for some time now.
But according to Dayna Isom Johnson, Etsy trend expert, live plants aren’t the only way you can embrace friluftsliv.
“Shoppers can embrace [the trend] by incorporating items that help connect them with nature, like landscape-inspired wall art, indoor planters, or organic materials,” Johnson said.
If you want to friluftsliv-ify your space, a few hardy houseplants are a fantastic place to start. If you’re not so great with living things, though, as Johnson mentioned, there are plenty of other ways you can incorporate nature into your décor.
[Via CNN]
