Have a Nicely Scented Home

By Elli Davis, March 17, 2011

What do you notice when you first walk into someone‘s home? Often times you notice its scent before you see the decor. The scent of a house is actually much more important than it may seem. Make sure your home smells nice — it will help make a good first impression.

When people walk into your home, you want them to feel comfortable. No one can be completely comfortable in a malodourous home. Of course, they probably wouldn‘t tell you that they don’t find your house the nicest place to be, but chances are you wouldn’t have frequent visitors, no matter how stylish or modern your home is. Simply put, if you want your friends to love hanging out at your place, you have to make it smell good.

Cinnamon sticks by Robin

The way a house smells is extremely important when you’re trying to sell it, too. One of my clients refused to buy a really beautiful house just because the lingering smell of cigarettes was so overwhelming. No matter how great a place looks or how reasonable its price, it could be tough to sell if its odour is unpleasant.

Here are some tips for keeping your home smelling fresh. First of all, keep the windows open as much as you can during the day because it‘s always helpful to get some fresh air from outside — especially during spring, when the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, and the air is just fantastic.

You can also make use of what you might already have at home; try using cinnamon, orange peels, flowers, or pine cones for instance. Scented candles help as well. When done with a bit of an artistic flair they can both nicely decorate and freshen up your home.

Sometimes it can be just one thing that smells particularly bad, for instance, the carpet. If the carpet is old, there is not much you can do about the age and it might be necessary to throw it out. It might be best to simply replace wall-to-wall carpeting with wood or vinyl flooring and get a few smaller throw rugs for decoration.

Most problematic, in my opinion, is the smell of cigarettes. The easiest solution would be to smoke outside if you don’t want to quit, although not everyone is willing to. I have heard a few helpful tips for alleviating cigarette odour from your home. The most common is to leave a bowl of vinegar in the affected room for some time — this eliminates the smell very effectively, apparently.

Do you have any other tips that might help? Please share them if you do — it is important to have a nicely scented home!

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