Happy Hygge New Year

As the Christmas decorations are packed away for another year, it's a good time to do a home re-set. As much as I enjoy all the decorations, I also enjoy the opportunity to slowly rebuild my decor. A few days of empty shelves and bare table-tops gives me some space to reimagine. During this season I like to decorate with candles, books, and wintery touches.

Mike and I are both avid readers and we have a growing collection of history and historical fiction books that will stand the test of time. I gathered the hard cover books from various shelves in our home and created new groupings on our living room shelves. Books are a wonderful decor element. While I was selecting hard cover books I went through my growing piles of paperback books and sorted the "keepers" from those I'm ready to gift to friends. I ended up with four bags of books that I'm ready to gift. I obviously hadn't sorted and purged in a while!

I read a post the other day that made be chuckle. The article was about decorating with an "Old Money style". Here's the definition of "Old Money style", "Old Money style isn't about price tags. It's about restraint, timeless taste, and an unapologetic love for traditions. Think linen-bound books, antique finishes, and a healthy dose of intellectual energy. If New Money screams, Old Money whispers. And your bookshelf? It should whisper in a soft Oxford accent."

I'd never thought about decorating with "intellectual energy", but I suppose that is true. Not sure it has much to do with old or new money. I want my home to feel interesting and unique to us. Decorating with our book trophies (yes, that's a thing), artwork from our travels, and collections of family photos tells our story.

Over the holidays we were able to have some nice family photos taken and of course captured a few precious poses of our granddaughter. I curated a collection of gold frames to display these photos as a cohesive collection. I've debated frame colors and tried dark wood, white, and now metallic gold. The gold stands out and provides some warmth.

I've styled the mantle with frosty evergreen, soft winter trees, and a soft note to "Let it Snow". The coffee table brings together a grouping of antique vases filled with frosty evergreen grounded on a pretty silver platter. I echoed the vases filled with frosty evergreen on the shelves. Other shelves feature travel vignettes one featuring Germany and the other featuring Denmark.

Overall, it's a calming effect. Light the candles, turn on the fireplace and cozy up with a good read. Time to savor this hygge season.