mahabis candles // creating hygge in your home

There’s something about lighting a couple of candles that can transform any space into a cosy sanctuary. The combination of soft flickering candlelight, subtle fragrances and a tranquil ambiance creates the perfect ingredients for the Danish tradition of hygge.

Hygge. It’s a word that’s getting thrown around a lot lately. But there's little wonder that we’re all seeking a little inspiration from the happiest nation in the world. Commonly misconstrued as a purely aesthetic conception, there is much more to hygge than simply placing blankets and lanterns around your living room. To truly invite hygge into your home, you have to evoke a sense of warmth that touches upon all of your senses.

This is where candles come in as a key feature of hygge. The visual appeal of candles is obvious; the warm wavering light emitted from the flame of a candle is a much softer and ambient way of lighting a room, instantly encouraging cosiness. Close your eyes, though, and you’ll still feel the essence of hygge smoking its way out of the wick. A carefully selected scent can make you feel content, as can the soft sound of a cotton wick crackling. Physical warmth radiates from the flame, as does a sense of calmness.

Picture a room in winter with no candles in it. Cold, unwelcoming and with harsh overhead lights. Even if piles of blankets, throws and cushions were nestled on comfortable armchairs, it would still feel like there was something missing. Prior to this current fascination with hygge, candles were always considered an essential item when creating an essence of calm. Hygge takes ‘cosy’ one step further, and turns a simple feeling into a fulfilling lifestyle, but candlelight is at the base of both feelings. 

Introducing candles into your home can do more than just create hygge. The gentle element of candlelight helps with focus and concentration, providing the perfect conditions for anyone who works from home during the winter months when the light starts to fade mid-afternoon. Basking in warm, flickering candlelight can also relieve stress, as you instantly feel calmer in more relaxing surroundings.

Choose your fragrance carefully when selecting a new candle. Your sense of smell is connected to your emotional receptors and different scents can actually evoke different emotions in people. Soft floral fragrances such as jasmine are calming and tend to have positive effects on those smelling them, helping them to relax. Warm, musky and spicy scents, such as cedarwood are ideal for creating a cosy ambiance in a room.

One of the most endearing attractions of candles is how they can help you to achieve a sense of ‘home’ no matter where you are in the world. Try taking your favourite candle with you on a work trip, and your impersonal hotel room will immediately feel cosier. Lighting a familiar scent in an unfamiliar space can help transport you back home through memories and association, relieving homesickness.

It’s little wonder that we have all become so reliant on candles during the winter months. This season’s fascination with hygge is only serving to further endorse the importance of candlelight in transforming your home into a cosy sanctuary. Learn from the Danes and fully embrace candles in your home, placing an abundance of candles in the rooms that you spend the most time in.  

Strike a match, light the wicks, and sit back and relax whilst watching the flames flicker.

Check out the latest addition to the mahabis classic range: the mahabis candle. Available in six relaxing scents, our candles are the ultimate accessories to your downtime. Match with your mahabis slippers, or buy multiples to qualify for a discounted price. Find out more here.