Scent Your Home to Suit Your Style

The right scent adds to an atmosphere can add a sense of calm and contentment at a time where Covid-19 is causing grief and stress everywhere.

By Elsa Kruger

The interior of your house is a reflection of your personality. Your space is not only about how it looks, but also how it smells. Because of COVID-19, most people have spent a large part of this year at home. It has made us more aware of our inner need for a warm sense of security and homemaking. Scented house items like perfumed candles, diffusers and aromatic oil burners experienced a high point in online sales and are popular gifts. The right scent adds to an atmosphere of calm and contentment.

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What's your style?

Millennial minimalism - A no-frills space with nothing standing around unnecessarily, gathering dust or making the room feel ‘busy’. The style is free of clutter. Scent it with a diffuser and reeds that allow the clean, green fragrances of peppermint, blue gum and freshly cut grass to linger in the room.

Sea and sun - This style creates a beach-house feeling, even if it is not at the sea. Orchids, lilies and roses add scent and colour. Highlight the atmosphere with aquatic fragrances that call to mind the smell of the earth after a thunderstorm, or the sweet saltiness of a sea breeze.

Contemporary - This house is super trendy and represents everything that is ‘in’ now. It is filled with metal and glass with neutral colours providing the top note. A tangy, zesty scent like orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit or naartjie in an oil burner emphasises this style. (Incidentally, grapefruit is apparently also a smell that tickles the libido…)

Zen - Simple, but not minimalistic. The presentation is asymmetrical with interesting, playful touches. White, beige and light wood or bamboo represent this style. It calls for indoor plants like palms and large windows that let the light stream in. Scent this look with citrus fragrances combined with warm spice notes like cinnamon and cloves in an incense burner or subtle diffuser.

Industrial, raw and rustic - The loft apartment concept that started in abandoned New York warehouses is the inspiration for this style with its exposed brick walls, high, open ceilings and visible piping. Provide a warm atmosphere with nguni-skin mats, cosy woollen blankets, raw brick fireplaces and large plants. Use aromas of sandalwood, cedar wood and oud in candles and diffusers.

Urban modern - Chunky furniture alongside heirlooms, sophisticated but comfortable, identify this style. It appears softer than the contemporary style, with sculptures that are used as so-called ‘statement pieces’. Jasmine, cinnamon and nutmeg mixed with the scents of moss and grass add glamour and a feeling of elegance and ‘old money’. Large, dramatic candleholders and oil diffusers are showy display pieces.

Scandinavian, farmhouse - ​Simple, with wooden interiors and finishes. The look is organic and unpretentious, inspired by the Scandinavian concept of hygge, which means a cosiness that makes you feel happy and calm. The farmhouse or lodge style is similar. Wood and smoky incense are the fragrances that belong here.

Mediterranean - Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain own a piece of your heart. Pillars, arches, balconies and ornate woodwork represent this style, also warm terracotta colours and ochre, stone walls and big windows. Scents of fresh herbs like basil and rosemary as well as lavender and vanilla emphasise the charming atmophere.

Eclectic - Everything-in-one style, a combination of eras, colours, styles and trends that can look chaotic if it’s not put together properly. Otherwise wonderfully harmonious, interesting and unique. The scents for this style are wood, Oriental and green. Use sandalwood and patchouli.

Bohemian - This is the style of a free spirit, more or less like Frankie in the hit series Grace and Frankie with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Macramé hangers, plants and more plants. (Even a dagga plant somewhere in a corner!) Moss and wood scents belong here in large candles on wooden candleholders. Also incense of sage and jasmine and potpourri bowls standing around.

French, shabby chic - A very feminine style, represented by the lived-in elegance of the timeless antique pieces. A light or pastel palette and floral accents are characteristic. Light wood, beige and cream colour in the rooms. Soft floral fragrances and dry wood aromas as well as the smoky smell of a fireplace set the tone.