It’s Friday, yeay! Even better, it’s the Friday before my birthday this Sunday!!

I love being a May baby. It means that I can always guarantee a warm, sunny, dry day to hold a party on and so often May is actually the best month weather-wise in the UK. Calm, warm, wonderful weather….. okay. So not this year. I write this on the third (fourth?) day of rain, cradling a warm cup of tea and wearing the same trousers and jumper that I was wearing for most of the winter. I’m due to meet up with friends outside tomorrow….. I guess I’d better pack the golfing umbrella.

Today’s book, at least, made me feel spring-ish. It’s got a beautiful terracotta/blue/white/rose gold vibe that is very appealing, and when I saw (in those Amazon ‘Customers Also Viewed’ lists) that Moorea Seal, she of one of my favourite 52 lists series, had a home book as well, I bought a copy and settled down to read it. Welcome to Make Yourself at Home.

An 8inch by 12 inch hardback, the book sits very nicely amongst the other interior books I’ve reviewed: good quality paper, full colour illustrations and nicely set out.

The book is divided into six sections based on rooms of the home: Living Room, Kitchen, Dining Room, Office, Bedroom and a section entitled Nature, which is about using plants, greenery and nature in the home to boost wellbeing.

Each section follows the same basic layout: an introductory essay on what the room means to Moorea, questions to make you think about what you want from that space, a list of tips or ideas connected to that space, crafts and a featured blogger, influencer or writer.

The crafts are not difficult, although they are unusual and may require you to buy stuff you don’t normally have knocking around. There’s a copper pipe blanket ladder, a macrame wall hanging, a moon phase wall hanging and, my personal favourite, a marbled leather mouse mat.

Moorea is beautifully honest in the introductions to each section, which are very personal and based on her life rather than bald advice or highfalutin’ decorating tips. The whole push of Moorea’s style is that new and old live next to each other: the heirloom you inherited off your Nan sits next to the Ikea desk you bought last week, and finding a way to make them work together is important. Comfortable home design doesn’t need to cost anything, so Moorea is a fan of the found or the thrifted.

The book’s style is eclectic boho, rather than minimalist. Moorea has no children, so it would need to be adapted to suit the needs of a family, but the photographs of her home are pretty, and there’s enough visual inspiration here to start you off thinking how it would work for you. Her questions are very transferrable though: what does the dining room mean to you, how do you need it to work, what items here get no use…

Moorea Seal has a web presence on her eponymous website, Instagram and Pinterest as well as her books on Amazon. Sadly, her online store and bricks and mortar store has had to close, but since it’s giving her time to concentrate on her career as a writer, I reckon the high street’s loss is our gain.

As usual, I’ll leave you with a flipthrough of the book.

Today’s header is a shot of the book on my desk, with a St Eval candle and my Christmas mug in the background. It’s as cold as it was at Christmas, nearly, and I don’t see why I can’t use good stuff all year round. The tea in it is pure summer, though, being Rooibos Earl Grey, and very nice as well. I’m hoping, between time out with friends and cheesecake with my parents, to take a few minutes over the weekend to give thanks for another year’s safe journey. As for the presents I’m getting… well. you’ll have to wait for next week, when hopefully I’ll share a post on what made my heart sing this year.

How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.

I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but especially recommended for this time of year are:

Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human.

Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better.

How to Hygge Your Summer: Hygge isn’t just about candles, throws and fireside cuppas (if indeed it is ever actually about them) and this book gives you ideas for creating hygge ready spaces and paces of life throughout the summer.

If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.

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