Do you want your home to be a place of warmth and good memories? A place to anticipate love and belonging? Consider the five senses – sight, touch, sound, taste, and smell. They all affect your overall feel and memories of a home. The right atmosphere can ease tensions, encourage rest, and lift your mood.
Soothing scents go a long way in creating a peaceful, relaxing, and welcoming atmosphere. But having a home with an inviting aroma takes effort and intention.
When the aroma of baking bread is in the air, I’m immediately taken back to a childhood memory. When I was ten years old, we lived in a house that had a steep hill right behind it. My brothers and I would grab our sleds and race to Lovelock Hill on snowy days. We would sled for hours in the freezing temperatures with neighborhood friends. By the time we returned home, we were exhausted, cold, and very hungry. And when we opened the door, we would be greeted by the scent of homemade bread that my mom would have waiting for us.
We would sit by the crackling fire with a mug of hot chocolate and a huge slice of crusty bread with the soft insides, slathered with butter and honey, warming us up from the inside out.
My mom could have been doing anything while we were gone for hours. Yet, she intentionally chose to take the time and effort to create a welcoming and cozy home for us to return to.
I love having those memories. And I want to create pleasant memories of home like this for my children.
One of my favorite books about creating an environment of love in your home is Family Fragrance, by J. Otis and Gail Ledbetter. This is what they have to say about scent:
The more prominent senses like sight and sound get greater press than the others. But it might surprise you to know that the sense of smell is the vanguard of the senses. Think of it! Whatever we cannot see, taste, touch, or hear is recognized and interpreted through our noses. There are only three genes in each cell that control eyesight, but one thousand genes in each cell control the sense of smell. Experts say that the nose can differentiate between a thousand aromas. As the most direct sense, it can immediately enter the inner core of the brain, which governs emotions.
Fragrance in the home implants memories that our brains return to over and over. Another scent that brings me back to childhood? Fresh linens on the bed. My mom would dry our sheets on a clothesline in the hot sun. I remember snuggling into bed at night as a kid, falling asleep to the sunny scent of summer on the sheets. Ahhh… I smile now, just thinking about it.
There are many ways that aroma can make our homes more pleasant while instilling warmth and a sense of comfort and belonging. If you’d like to create a home so inviting that you and your family can’t wait to get inside when you pull into the driveway, consider these ten scents that can make your home feel more welcoming and impart good memories:
1. Freshly Baked Goods
- Cookies – Whenever I’m baking cookies, the kids come running from their rooms with anticipation of a hot, delicious treat. Cookies also make for a quick and easy dessert to serve to guests – both children and adults.
- Cinnamon rolls – My mom taught me how to make cinnamon rolls at a young age, and I remember those happy moments in the kitchen with her and the intoxicating scents of yeasty dough mixed with cinnamon and butter.
- Bread – Homemade bread is the ultimate comfort food! We never tire of having a variety of scratch-made breads with our meals.
2. Essential Oils
Aromatherapy can naturally reduce stress and anxiety, prompting your brain to engage in a state of calm. My favorite essential oils are lavender, cedarwood, lemon, chamomile, sandalwood, jasmine, and ylang-ylang.
3. Scented Candles
It’s easy to create a relaxed mood and memorable moments by lighting candles. Every Christmas eve, my family dines by candlelight. The soft light adds beauty and warmth, while the scent of vanilla is pleasing. Even a simple meal is more special and memorable when eaten by candlelight.
One of my favorite candles is the wood wick candles in a jar. They produce the soothing sound of a crackling fire and are available in a variety of luscious scents.
4. Bouquets of Fresh Flowers
One of my favorite spring and summer activities is planting seeds and growing a flower garden. It adds to the beauty of the backyard, creates a gorgeous space, and the scent is divine. The most fragrant flowers that I enjoy are jasmine, lavender, lilacs, and daphne. Plant these with colorful, easy-to-care-for flowers like marigolds, zinnias, and sunflowers. They are steps away to cut and create a beautiful bouquet for indoors that fills a room with its pleasant aroma.
5. Meals that are Cooking
The scent of your favorite meal cooking can create feelings that make you feel cared for and loved. You eagerly anticipate dining at the table with loved ones to enjoy the mouth-watering taste and experience the comfort of good food together.
6. Fire in the Hearth
A crackling fire is always cozy and welcoming. Especially with wood that smells pleasant while it’s burning. Great-smelling firewoods are birch, apple, pine, cherry, and cedar. (Make sure your wood is fully seasoned.) Some woods burn faster than others (e.g., pine is a softwood that smells wonderful when it’s burning but won’t last long), so you want to combine fast-burning wood with long-burning hardwood like maple or oak to keep the comfy smells and heat going all night.
7. Drinks
Good drinks tantalize the senses.
- Hot drinks can comfort the soul. Some favorite aromas come from coffee, hot chocolate, eggnog, hot apple cider, herbal teas, and gourmet coffees.
- Cold drinks are refreshing on a hot day, and it’s easy to make them scented with slices of lemon or sprigs of fresh mint.
8. Spices and Herbs
Fresh herbs are amazingly flavorful and add wonderful scents to home-cooked meals, as well as your home garden. Fresh herbs have powerful health benefits, are full of vitamins, can help boost your immune system, and emit an incredible fragrance.
- I like adding rosemary sprigs to the bouquets in my home. The rosemary provides an aroma of freshness.
- Cinnamon always smells wonderful in foods that are baking in the oven.
- My family enjoys adding freshly picked basil to our homemade pizzas for flavor and the pleasing taste.
9. Popcorn
When my kids smell popcorn popping, they know it’s time for a family movie and snuggling on the couch!
10. Citrus
Fresh cut citrus releases a vibrant scent that awakens the senses. Cut oranges for a snack, put lemon slices in water, or squeeze oranges for fresh juice.
As you intentionally ensure your family experiences home through the five senses, you create lasting memories. Having an atmosphere where family members and guests feel at peace, and want to linger and experience the homey delights of comfort, is a place they’ll long to return to time after time.
