What is Scent-scaping?

Have you ever walked into a spa and felt instantly relaxed? Or how about when you walk into your kitchen and your favourite meal is cooking and you feel immediately happy? Perhaps the smell of gingerbread brings back happy childhood memories, or the scent of a warm greenhouse takes you back to visits to your grandparents. Fragrance has great power to trigger memory – and that’s a scientific fact. When we smell a particular scent, it can trigger a sense of nostalgia, or even specific memories. This is because our olfactory system is connected to the limbic system, allowing scents to directly access our memories and emotions. 

Fragrances that stem from essential oils can also have a physical effect on us. When inhaled, the scent molecules in essential oils travel from the olfactory nerves directly to the brain and especially impact the amygdala, the emotional centre of the brain. This is why you will find soothing scents in spas, or in show homes – the managers of that space want people to feel relaxed and content. 

Scentscaping, therefore, is simply the use of scent in your home to create the ambience and atmosphere you want, whether for day to day life or for special occasions.

How to scent-scape your home

As we discussed in our previous post – Your Guide to Fragrancing Your Home – there are many options for bringing scent into every space: candles, reed diffusers, electric diffusers, and wax melts. To this we can add room sprays, of course, too.

When scent-scaping you have three considerations: where will I place room scents, how shall I scent the space, and what scents should I choose?

For most, the hallway, the first space you enter when arriving home, is the space you want to welcome you in with a relaxing fragrance. In this space, it’s safest to use a reed diffuser, or an electric diffuser on a timed schedule. A reed diffuser will release a soft fragrance into the air all the time, whereas an electric one will send more intense bursts of scent into space. 

Next, where do you spend most of your time? The living room, your bedroom and your bathroom, plus the kitchen/dining area, of course.

In these spaces, you have the option to light a candle or some wax melts on entry, knowing you will be in place to supervise it for some hours. Bedrooms are perhaps the only exception to this – you really don’t want to fall asleep while a candle is burning. 

The scent you choose should be driven by the feeling you want to experience. There are so many home fragrance options available it can seem quite overwhelming, which is where the current recognition that choosing a signature scent for your home is a wise idea. There is a risk that should you opt for a different scent in every room, they can clash and confuse the senses. By choosing a signature scent – either one single fragrance used throughout the home, or a single scent family, you avoid these clashes.

How to choose your signature scent

First, think about the mood you want to create. If you want to create a relaxing, calm atmosphere for instance, choose fragrances with notes like lavender, jasmine or chamomile to help create chill vibes. A favourite here is the NEOM Complete Bliss candle, which they also make as a reed diffuser and as an oil for their electric diffusers. 

Citrus scents are energising and usually make things smell clean, and fresh. One of our colleagues raves about the Mango Thai Lime scent from Jo Loves, again in a diffuser or candle form. It’s bright and zingy and, she says, gives her lift after a busy day. This one is perfect for the hallway and the kitchen (to light after cooking) but in the living room she switches to the more indulgent, soothing Amber, Lime and Bergamot. Because there’s a crossover in ingredients, the two scents layer, rather than clash.

Woody, spicy scents create a feeling of luxury and richness, a warm and cosy atmosphere to relax into. We found the perfect option at local home fragrance company, Chase and Wonder. Not only are their candles and diffusers made from ceramic with really beautiful designs, but their Library Candle and diffuser has a rich woody scent, underpinned by spicy pink peppercorns and fruity pomegranate. This scent is ideal for every room, but if you fancy something a little lighter for the hallway or bedroom, their Butterfly Lady diffuser sits in the same scent family, but with calming lavender and orange, too.

If you find yourself always more drawn to floral scents, there are so many beautiful scents to choose from. Fragrant jasmine is known for its ability to calm and help with depression. Lavender and rose can actively calm, and help with anxiety and insomnia.Try the White Rose candle from Floral Street, this one is ideal for placing in every room, or Aery Dream Catcher, with lavender, patchouli and orange, which comes in a candle and a diffuser.

Scent-scaping your home will enhance your feeling of comfort and calm, and can even contribute to a more relaxed, content mental state – what’s not to love?

Eddie – Friday 3rd November 2023. (Picture used from Norwood Road, Stretford).