Seven Easy Ways to Set Up Your Home for Happiness with Danish Design

\ huge-guh \

"A quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders feelings of contentment and well-being." — Oxford Dictionary

\ arh-byts=glae-the \

“You always want to take as much advantage of natural light as possible, so I always think a lot about how I can bring more in,” said Johansen Keating.

Short of installing new windows or skylights, Johansen Keating says to use lighter paint colors, especially on walls closest to windows. “Because a lighter wall won’t ‘steal’ light like a darker color will.”

Natural light is wonderful, but you also don’t want to be bombarded by the sun. Use curtains, blinds, and other window coverings to control the amount of light at different times of day. Close curtains and pull blinds for better comfort during summer heatwaves and winter cold spells.

Depending on the home, the space, or budget, it’s not always possible to get natural light in all directions; and, of course, there’s always nighttime; so, it’s equally important to think about your artificial lighting.

“I sometimes see houses where you flip a switch and the whole main floor turns on. This is not just a waste of electricity, it also means you can’t set the mood you want,” said Johansen Keating.

Her rule of thumb is the more artificial lighting options you have, the better: “You’ll want to have variations of light in your space to create different lighting choices for different activities and times of day.”

She recommends installing dimmer switches and dimmable bulbs in high-use spaces to create ambience.

Installing Wi-Fi-connected smart switches or bulbs can further refine your lighting experience. Group and label different lighting zones, entire rooms, or groups of rooms, and set up lighting schedules. Control it all from your smartphone.

For total ease of use, connect your smart lighting to a leading smart home ecosystem, like Google Home, Amazon Alexa, or Apple HomeKit, to set the mood with your voice.

There are no hard and fast rules with color, but when painting a room, Johansen Keating says she mostly prefers light beiges and whites.

To add personality to a space, she makes frequent use of accent walls.

“Sometimes I’ll paint one wall black or light blue. But I wouldn’t paint the whole room that way because then it becomes too much of one element.”

Give prized artwork the emphasis it deserves by displaying it against a white or black backdrop. For a cohesive look, you can draw on the colors in your signature works for use in furnishings and home décor.

When it comes to picking the colors and materials for your space, try not to overuse a single element.

“Some colors and materials are more calming and soothing than others, and yet they all serve a purpose,” said Johansen Keating.

For instance, if you have a lot of wood in your dining room, you can balance it by adding a contrasting element, like a white dining table. Add vibrancy to rooms with colorful accents on napkins, candles, pictures, flowers, and other home décor.

Bring nature into the home with plants and other earthy elements to promote growth and joy.

“Plants are not only good for the air we breathe, they are joyful to be around,” said Johansen Keating.

There is such a thing as too much greenery: “Balance is key. You want to bring natural products into your home, but in doses, so that everything is balanced.”

And remember, “dead plants are the worst,” says Johansen Keating. “But if you can’t keep plants alive, artificial beats no plants at all.”

“Your system is actually very Danish,” said Johansen Keating referring to ecobee’s line of smart thermostats and remote temperature sensors. “We prize temperature control because people can’t thrive and flourish if they’re not comfortable.”

She recommends designing a smart thermostat schedule tailored to your daily activities: if you’re home during the day, set the temperature at a comfortable 72–75°F; the same goes for the evening; cool things down overnight, and save energy by using your equipment less when everyone is out.

If you have a forced air HVAC system, Johansen Keating recommends adding a humidifier to keep your home from becoming uncomfortably dry during the colder months. Plants also bring moisture into your home.

At one time or another, everyone has experienced that feeling of being brought back in time by a certain smell.

Clutter was already an issue in many North American households before the pandemic. Now, with more online shopping and fewer trips out, clutter is easier than ever to accumulate and harder to get rid of.

For Johansen Keating, winning the war against clutter is the first step to an improved homelife.

She says that one of the biggest challenges in dealing with the problem is that we often don’t see the clutter in our own lives.

To get over this mental hurdle, she asks her clients to picture how it would feel to open their front door for the first time.

Try it yourself. Are you greeted by a tangle of shoes and laces, enveloping furniture, piles of clothes and half-finished projects, and other thieves of joy? Take stock of those feelings.

Now, imagine taking everything out and only bringing back in what you want. Do you feel lighter?

Johansen Keating’s distaste for clutter is palpable—and personal.

In her native Denmark she was tasked with using interior design to lower noise levels at a number of daycares.

Johansen Keating would arrive to a typical daycare scene, walls painted in loud primary colors and a wide assortment of colorful toys scattered from one end of the room to the other.

“Kids are very active, and they should be,” said Johansen Keating. “We are sensitive to that.” Still, she could see how the design, or lack thereof, was creating a stressful environment for the children and educators—that it was too much.

Hygge (coziness)

• Baking, cooking, eating, and just being together. Time with family should always feel special.

• Make sure you have a nice, comfortable temperature or a blanket and warm tea or cocoa to snuggle up with.

Arbejdsglæde (work-joy)

• Get up and move around frequently throughout your workday.

• Always have a home base but create other nooks to shift to.

• Take a walk.

• Drink water.

• Open a window for fresh air.

• Invest in comfortable furniture.

• Listen to music you enjoy.

• When you peer up from your computer, make sure you are looking at something that gives you a good feeling inside.

Mette Johansen Keating, founder and creative director of mettespace, is one of Canada’s preeminent experts in creating and designing outstanding offices, homes, and workplace spaces. Her roster of clients includes a wide array of today’s most progressive companies and organizations including technology innovators Mozilla, WattPad, and VarageSale, Canada’s top tour company, G Adventures, as well as Sun Life Financial, the University of Toronto, the National Ballet of Canada, the Centre for Social Innovation, and the Danish Consulate.

Mette has discovered that many organizations develop a strong vision without factoring in their workspace as a reflection of those ambitions and goals. “Your office is a hidden resource,” Mette says. “It is a key component to support your growth. It is how you attract and retain top talent. It is also a stage for your brand and how it sells to your clients and customers.” In taking a human-centered approach, Mette is able to bring a workplace to life resulting in strong market appeal, great employee engagement, and wellness, and as a result, a more dynamic and productive working environment.