It doesn’t matter where your home is (concrete jungle, rural retreat, or coastal cottage), how big it is, or even if you rent or own it. Ultimately, your home should enable you to live well. It should transform your life for the better and make you feel happier the moment you enter through the door.

A home that enables you to live well is not about keeping on top of trends and constantly changing your home’s aesthetic to achieve the latest ‘look’. Current fashions and trends are all transient. Tastes change quickly and the next interior trend emerges before you have even let the paint dry on ‘that’ accent wall.  

Fundamental elements of interior design, however, will stand the test of time. These are the elements that you won’t change your mind about, that unify to create a space that makes you feel good.

Think of the Welsh word ‘cwtch’ for example. Cwtch has two direct definitions. 1. A cuddle or hug. 2. A cupboard or cubbyhole. These definitions, however, only in part explain what is meant by cwtch in Welsh. It is far more than the sum of these individual parts. It is a word to express feelings of intimacy, safety, warmth, togetherness, and cosiness that can only come to be with the mergence of multiple different elements to generate the perfect atmosphere. Because the perfect atmosphere and how that makes you feel will never go out of trend.

Cwtch is to Wales, what hygge is to Denmark (and koselig to Norway, gezelligheid to The Netherlands, lagom to Sweden, and gemutlichkeit to Germany). Whilst not all exactly alike due to unique cultural traits, they are similar notions and represent to each of these nations, ways of living well and being happy.

In this blog, we are going to explore five steps to a home that can make you happy and how cwtch could be the key to living well.

Step 1: Minimalise 

Minimalism may seem a surprising choice for the first step to a home that can make you happy, and wouldn't be the first thing that springs to mind when you consider creating an environment that makes you feel cosy, warm, safe, and secure. It may even seem at complete odds with this.

The key to becoming minimalist, however, is becoming intentional in what you own. Surrounding yourself only with the things that you love or need. To a minimalist, this will be about creating a space that is simpler and less cluttered. A less cluttered space can lead to a less cluttered mind. To a calmer, less stressed you. A you who owns less but is more directed to the things that matter most. No distractions.

Minimalism is an individual process, however, and how this looks from one person to the next will be completely different. Perhaps minimalism is not the right word here. There will be people reading this to whom surrounding themselves with only meaningful things that they love or need could not possibly be described as minimal. Perhaps they could be described as maximalists. Living in a world of bold personal expression with an eclectic collection of worldly possessions.

So, Step 1 is really about intentionality, meaning, need, and love and creating the interior space that is a reflection of your personality and uniqueness. It is about applying your formula for joy to your home, however that might look.

Step 2: Create an atmosphere that wraps you in a cwtch

An antidote to the cold, the dark, the scary. A way of comforting, soothing, and inducing calmness. How can this atmosphere be created in your home?

Let’s start by thinking about a moment, a moment in a day that you love. That you wouldn’t change. That fills you with joy. Mine is a simple thing. It’s a cup of tea in bed in the morning (ideally whilst reading a good book). I do this every morning. No matter what time I need to get up. It’s the one thing that I will not negotiate on (trust me, my partner’s tried). The tea in bed is here to stay.

Now, let’s extract from this moment, what it is that makes me feel so good. For me, it’s simplicity. Being grounded in the here and now. In comfort and warmth, in a safe, cosy space. It’s my cwtch.

So how could you make your home more cwtch? Try creating a cosy reading snug with a sheepskin rug. Sitting wrapped in your favourite throw in front of a roaring fire. Candlelight. Hands wrapped around the perfect mug.

It’s doing the simple things that make you feel good, in an environment that maximises this feeling.

Step 3: Lighting to soothe the soul

There is a special quality about a roaring fire, gently flickering candlelight, or the warm soft glow from a lamp. They make a room more inviting, draw you in and you don’t want to leave. The light soothes you. Few things could be more cwtch.

This is not true of every light, however. Think offices with fluorescent strip lights. The kind of lights that glare at you, give you an instant headache whilst robbing you of your sanity at the same time.

Carefully chosen lighting, however, can transform your space. Try introducing candles and lamps to your room and play with the light, shadows, and the feelings and intimate spaces that they create.

Step 4: Natural, organic materials and textures

Have you ever heard of ‘biophilia’? It describes a human’s innate drive to be connected to nature.

If you close your eyes and think of where you feel calm, tranquil and at peace, you are likely to imagine yourself in a natural setting. This is because a connection to nature reduces stress and positively affects wellbeing.

Bringing natural, organic, and tactile materials into our home can help to enhance our feelings of being closer to nature by mirroring the landscape.  

A growing body of evidence suggests that interiors rich in wood have a range of benefits for health and wellbeing.

Play with creating cosy retreats within your home environment. Try introducing wooden, handmade furniture and functional items into your home. Handmade pieces from natural materials are more tactile and introduce more warmth than mass-produced items. They will call out to be touched and what’s more, will speak of the hands of the people that created them. 

That’s why at Casgliad, we celebrate our makers and artists and think that knowing who the maker is, makes a piece more meaningful.

Step 5: Indoor plants

In addition to a wood-rich interior, bringing the outside in, in the form of greenery and indoor plants can also help to enhance our feelings of connectivity to nature and in doing so, help to alleviate stress. The health benefits of indoor plants are not just limited to their ability to alleviate stress, however.

Studies have indicated that indoor plants can improve mood, increase productivity and improve attention. It is even thought that they can positively impact physical health by reducing blood pressure and fatigue. All on top of looking simply beautiful.

If like me, you aren’t naturally green-fingered, try starting with some low-maintenance indoor plants (monstera deliciosa aka the Swiss Cheese Plant is my favourite) and become more adventurous as your confidence grows.

So, the key to a home that makes you happy? It’s not about having the latest ‘look’ or design trend but instead is about creating an atmosphere of cosiness and intimacy that won’t go out of fashion and that nourishes your soul. It’s about making very intentional but personal choices in everything you own. It’s about seeking connections to nature and natural materials. No two people would follow these five steps and create the same home. It’s about creating a home that speaks to you and speaks of you.

Sara Griffiths