why we love the word gezellig

Gezellig at Home’s spring table linen collection.

Do you have any favorite words? I do! Gezellig, the Dutch word that roughly translates to warm and inviting, is one of my favorite words to say.

The way the Dutch g sounds a bit like a hissing cat that is then instantly calmed by the double l’s that proceed the final g. I pretend that I’m standing in a beautiful field, surrounded by tulips and wearing clogs when I say it. And while gezellig is a fun word to pronounce, it is absolutely wonderful to experience it first hand. 

I was introduced to gezellig by our Dutch au pair, Naomi. She had been in the U.S. living with another family when she asked to be matched with a new family. She wasn’t sure why it wasn’t a good fit, but she knew she didn’t feel welcomed there.. About a year into living with us, we got to talking about what makes a home feel like home, and that’s when she told me about gezellig. 

While gezellig doesn’t have a direct English translation, it has a feeling that is unmistakable. Naomi, after six months in a place that felt foreign, walked into my home and immediately felt like she was at home, too. And she was. Naomi lived with us for five years before she returned to The Netherlands. She is happy to be home with her mother and sister, but she misses the home she made here with us. 

In meeting new clients, I love to share my experience with Naomi and her feelings of gezellig. When decorating, my priority is to give my clients a space that immediately feels like home when they walk through the front door. 

Are you looking to create a more warm and inviting feeling in your home, especially at your dining room table? Do you imagine sitting down for a meal with family and friends at a beautiful table that was easy for you to style? Let me make it easy for you to bring gezellig into your own home with my curated collection of table linens.