How to Make Your Home Smell Beautiful
There's nothing quite like walking through the front door and being greeted by a fragrance you love.
But creating a beautifully fragranced home isn't necessarily about using more fragrance. Where you put it, the size of the room, the products you choose and even how accustomed you've become to the scent can all make a difference.
So, where do you start?
Choose fragrances you genuinely love
This sounds obvious, but it's very easy to get caught up in descriptions telling you what your home should smell like.
There really are no rules.
If you love fresh citrus fragrances, use them. If you're happiest surrounded by rose and jasmine, wonderful. And if you'd happily have something dark, woody and ambery in every room of the house, that's fine too.
Your home should smell like your home, not somebody else's idea of it.
Think about the size of the space
Room size makes a considerable difference to how you'll experience home fragrance.
A single reed diffuser might fragrance a hallway or bedroom beautifully but seem much more subtle in a large open-plan living area.
The same applies to candles. A smaller candle that works perfectly in a bedroom may struggle to make itself known in a much larger space.
Before deciding that a fragrance isn't strong enough, think about the space you're asking it to fragrance.
Put your reed diffuser in the right place
Where you position a reed diffuser can make a surprising difference.
Some gentle movement of air can help carry the fragrance around the room, which is one reason hallways can work so well.
Avoid placing diffusers directly beside radiators, in strong sunlight or next to open windows and strong draughts. Heat and excessive airflow can make the liquid evaporate much more quickly.
And always protect the surface underneath, diffuser liquid and beautiful furniture are not a combination we'd recommend!
Use candles when you want them
One of the lovely things about a candle is that it's not permanent.
You can choose a fragrance to suit your mood, the season or simply what you fancy that evening.
You don't have to match it to your reed diffuser either. Choose something complementary, or switch to something completely different.
Just remember the practical bits: place candles on a stable, heat-resistant surface, away from draughts and anything that could catch fire, and never leave a burning candle unattended.
Don't forget about fragrance blindness
If you've had the same reed diffuser in the same room for weeks, there's a good chance you'll stop noticing it as much.
That's called olfactory adaptation, essentially, your brain becomes accustomed to a smell that's constantly around you.
Someone visiting your house may notice your diffuser immediately even though you can barely smell it yourself.
Changing fragrances occasionally, or simply spending some time away from the room, can make you notice it again.
Let the seasons change your fragrance
This is one of our favourite reasons to change things around.
Fresh florals, citrus and green fragrances can feel wonderful when spring arrives, while autumn often has us reaching for richer woods, spices and warmer fragrances.
And then there's Christmas when apparently perfectly sensible people suddenly decide that their entire house needs to smell of oranges, cinnamon, Christmas trees and pudding. We're completely in favour.
Fragrance can become surprisingly connected to particular times of year, which is one reason smelling an old favourite can bring back memories so quickly.
Don't try too hard
You really don't need a complicated “scent story” or a fragrance strategy for your house.
Use a reed diffuser where you'd like continuous fragrance. Light a candle when you fancy one. Change fragrances when you're bored with them and bring out your old favourites when the seasons change.
Most importantly, choose things that make you happy when you smell them.
That's probably the best recipe for a beautifully fragranced home.
