The best fragrances for your home
Set the ambience for working, relaxing and playing by refreshing each area of your home with scent
Smell is the only one of our senses to bypass the thalamus and connect directly to the olfactory bulb (found in the frontal lobe of the brain), which is why certain scents can trigger vivid memories or emotions.
When it comes to perfume, we can devote hours to scouring beauty departments and spend a lifetime trying to find ‘the one’, so why not do the same with your home with a candle, diffuser or room spray.
Rather than choosing a candle or diffuser based on looks, stop and consider why a particular scent may work better in a specific spot, adding a sensory dimension to complement your decor.
How to choose which scents go where? As with tastes in furniture, fragrance choice is very personal but here are a few ideas to get you started.
For the kitchen
Scents based around herbs, spices and fruits work well in the kitchen. They won’t overpower the smell of that delicious stir-fry you’re cooking up, but will ensure your kitchen smells delicious long after the meal is over.
For the living room
Whether you’re relaxing watching TV, hanging out with the kids or entertaining your pals, the living room is a space that gets a lot of use. Opting for an uplifting, energising scent in here will suit most activities.
Look to bright fragrances that feature lime, lemon, mandarin and grapefruit, because citrus scents help to restore energy, lifting the mood by boosting your body’s production of serotonin – our happy hormone. These notes also reduce levels of the stress hormone norepinephrine, so they perk you up while also helping you to feel calm.
Other options could be vanilla – a psychogenic aphrodisiac, which enhances positive sensations – and sandalwood, which has been proven to increase feelings of wellbeing.
For the home office
Clean fragrances like the scent of freshly cut pine trees, eucalyptus, grasses or green leaves all give off stress-relieving properties, making them ideal scents for the home office. As well as aiding mental relaxation and emotional release, natural pine is also an anti-viral agent that can provide gentle relief for sinuses. Other scents known for their naturally soothing properties include jasmine, vanilla and rosewood.
For the bedroom
Lavender, chamomile, bergamot, jasmine, rose and sandalwood all have soothing, calming qualities that help encourage sleep and relaxation. Incorporate these into your bedtime routine and you’ll be well on your way to a blissful night’s sleep.
