Hygge and wabi-sabi. These two foreign lifestyle and design philosophies come to mind at Desert Breeze Lodge. Perched on granite boulders bordering the Swakop River, overlooking dunes of the Namib Sand Sea’s proverbial beach-break with cosy comfort and quirky style, this lodge is completely unique to Swakopmund’s accommodation offerings, and arguably one of the most interesting in the country.

Hygge is a defining characteristic of Danish culture. Pronounced something like hoo-gah, hygge is the quality of comfortable conviviality, generating feelings of contentment and well-being from an all-encompassing cosiness. Seated by a wood-burning fireplace, lounging on a plush sofa with a dog-eared book while a blanket of coastal mist hangs over the landscape outside, few words manage to pinpoint the ambience quite like hygge does. Surrounded by natural timber details, curled up in bed with a picture frame view of the endless sand sea outside, hygge could very well be just as defining of Desert Breeze as it is of the Danish.

Similarly, a warm fuzziness rushes through your veins when spending a moment paging through the Desert Breeze guestbook. Pages and pages filled with comments and pen colours from all over the world, all praising the brilliant breakfasts, unique design, breathtaking views and unparalleled comfort of the lodge. A guestbook truly gives the best insight into accommodation establishments, and Desert Breeze’s repurposed photographic coffee table version speaks volumes of the hygge experience had by many on the bank of the Swakop River.

Whether staying in one of the twelve en-suite chalets, or sharing the self-catering villa with family and friends, or opting for a garden view from the Jungle Bungalow – comfort, cosiness and contentment are guaranteed. Desert Breeze not only meets every need from coffee, tea and mini-fridge facilities to wireless internet access, but due to its location on the outskirts of Swakopmund also offers welcome respite from the town’s bustling centre.

The lodge’s architecture captures you as you enter the property. Bursts of cobalt blue, burnt orange and lime green draw the eye into the smaller details. Rounded walls, angled roofs, organic wood beams and trusses all poetically juxtaposed by the pale granite they sit on. This is wabi-sabi, the Japanese philosophy that beauty lies in the imperfections of nature. As a design aesthetic, wabi-sabi has been translated into the simplistic and understated mixing and matching of influences.

Desert Breeze showcases precisely how seemingly unrelated items can come together, evoking a sense of adventure and grandeur in the most tasteful manner. Like visiting the home of a well-travelled friend, where shelves are filled with knick- knacks from the other side of the globe and details are divinely influenced by exotic ventures. The design, decor and subsequent atmosphere of Desert Breeze generate similar wanderlust – only, you are already exactly where you ought to be.

The reception, lounge, dining area and viewing deck in the main area are lessons in wabi-sabi. Jute rugs and wall hangings, deep leather couches around a mokoro canoe repurposed as a coffee table, high ceilings with skylights, and yet another wood-burning fireplace. A larger-than-life granite boulder abstractly represents a rhino and commands the way to a delightful lunch or dinner in the open plan dining area. In the succulent garden, so synonymous with Swakopmund, or strolling through the basalt rock sculpture exhibits scattered all over the property, the longer you linger and marvel, the more details are revealed.

Perhaps the only part of Desert Breeze that cannot be translated or interpreted into new-age philosophy, is the view. First the steep bank of the Swakop River and then the apricot coloured dunes, like waves at low tide. Sossusvlei’s dunes might be bigger and redder, yet from the high vantage point of the deck of your Desert Breeze chalet, the masses of crescent hills of sand stretching as far as the eye can see are an experience completely in its own right. TNN