Isn’t it amazing how the smell of a certain flower can transport you instantly back to your childhood, bringing memories of a grandparents garden or your mum’s perfume?
Up to 75% of our memories are stimulated by our sense of smell and it’s something that we can use in our homes to create a welcoming, relaxing and ambient environment with aromatic oils, candles and diffusers.
Each room in our house has a different purpose and selecting your scents carefully can elevate the energy and feeling of the space and sensorially mark out each zone for its specific use and feeling. The kitchen, for example, will suit fresh, energising citrus and minty aromas whilst your bedroom and sleep will benefit from being enveloped with calming, grounding scents so that as soon as you walk into the room you start to feel relaxed and calmer.
Here are our room by room recommendations of how to create a sensory journey in your home:
Hallway: visitors to your home will always appreciate a welcoming scent but you can also use aromas here to instantly make you feel ‘at home’ a return to somewhere you feel safe and comfortable, so choose an aroma that makes you smile, something calming but that’s not going to make you feel sleepy. Reed diffusers are great in an entranceway, constantly scenting the area and not adversely affected by draughts and breezes. Something delicately citrus and floral would be perfect for this area, I love our Chakra or Anahata blends to give a welcoming vibe.
Living room: this area should feel calming, somewhere to relax and wind down at the end of the day or replenish watching TV or reading. Lighting a candle on an evening is a lovely ritual to signify the end of your working day or the start of some time to yourself. Warming, grounding smells are the perfect choice here so go for something like sandalwood, oud, natural vanilla or Tonka bean lifted with delicate florals or citrus such as geranium, jasmine, bergamot and mandarin.
Work/study space: energising, uplifting aromas are needed here and there are even some essential oils that are proven to aid memory, focus and concentration so utilise them here with an electrical diffuser. Rosemary, basil, eucalyptus, grapefruit, orange and ginger are great choices to keep you clear headed and productive.
Bathroom: Reed diffusers are great in here too, simply put them in and forget about them, apart from enjoying the aroma. Light, fresh aromas work well, think citrus (grapefruit, lemon) floral (geranium, ylang ylang) and/or minty (eucalyptus, spearmint) with some depth from jasmine, cedarwood or neroli. I also love to light a candle in the bathroom when I’m enjoying a relaxing bath at the end of the day. Chamomile, vetiver, lavender, orange, marjoram, jasmine, bergamot and frankincense are all oils that I like to use in relaxing blends – take a look at our Serenity and Empower blends that feature some of these oils.
Kitchen: Fresh aromas work in here and you can also utilise the deodorising and insect repellent properties of some essential oils too. Any minty smelling oil would work, along with citrus and herby smelling oils to create a foody zone. Lemongrass is a fantastic insect repellent along with peppermint and eucalyptus. A reed diffuser on the window ledge or an electric diffuser gently sending out the oils all day work particularly well.
Bedroom: If you only create one aromatic sensory zone in your home make it your bedroom. Not only will you benefit from the relaxing and sleep inducing properties if you choose to use essential oils and products with essential oils, simply creating the ritual of lighting your relaxing candle or preparing an oil diffuser will signal to your brain that it is time to relax and wind down. Create your sensory sleep ritual about 20-30 minutes before you want to go to bed. Similar aromas to my relaxing bath would be my choice here, a good quality high altitude lavender, chamomile, vetiver, valarian, bergamot, orange, mandarin, marjoram, frankincense, sandalwood and jasmine are among the oils I choose. If you’d prefer to use a reed diffuser you can create the ritual before bedtime by using a pillow mist or pulse roller on your wrists and throat.
Guest Bedroom: to make your spare room even more welcoming you can use scents to make a relaxing, calming environment for your guests but make sure that you choose subtle, gentle oils that are not too overpowering. Our Chakra blend would be ideal here or a gentle citrus aroma such as mandarin.
So are you ready to create your sensory home?
This journal post was written by our founder Sam.
