How to Make Your Apartment Smell Good: 13 Simple Ways
June 23, 2022 by Julia Weaver
https://www.redfin.com/blog/how-to-make-your-apartment-smell-good/
Have you ever walked into a room and suddenly felt happy and calm? That’s because smell significantly influences our mood by tapping into our emotions and memories. Fragrances can also impact your apartment’s ambiance and tone. But how can you make your apartment smell good? There are countless ways to freshen up your apartment, from candles and diffusers to scent machines and room sprays.
We reached out to the experts to get their recommendations and best tips on how to make your apartment smell amazing. So whether you’re living in an apartment in Boston, MA, or a rental home in Tucson, AZ, here’s how to make your apartment smell good and the best scents to use in different spaces throughout your home.
Opt for a clean smell
Smell is the first thing someone notices when entering your home. You have one chance to make a first impression with the scent. Generally speaking, a “clean” scent is the way to go – it’s appealing to everyone and will give the impression your space is clean, even if it isn’t. Another popular option is a baked scent – like banana bread or coffee cake – it tends to be warm and inviting.
However you choose to make your apartment smell good, make sure it’s 100% soy wax. It won’t produce black smoke or soot and won’t cover your home in a black film like other waxes can. For a quick pick-me-up, consider complimenting your candle with a natural room spray and/or wax melts (flameless and can be on while you’re away!) – MC Candle, a family-owned business based in Phoenix, AZ
Try different scents for different rooms in your home
Scented candles can evoke so many sensory responses. Burning one of our Serenity or Sanctuary candles with Lemongrass, Eucalyptus, and Lavender notes can turn your bath into a spa retreat. Lemon Verbena can brighten up your kitchen, while a Country Spice makes you feel warm and homey, like something delicious is in the oven. The proper candle can add as much personality to your home as your furnishings. – Nature’s Light Candles, hand-crafted candles in West Jefferson, NC
It’s important to know that each room calls for different scents. For the bedroom, we recommend calming fragrances with ingredients like Amber, Musk, Rose, and Jasmine. These scents are soft but dominant, helping you create an oasis in your sacred place. In bathrooms, you need something clean. Citrus, Eucalyptus, and flowers like Magnolia will keep your bathroom refreshed. For living rooms, we recommend soft, welcoming scents with ingredients like linen, Powder, and Sandalwood, which most department stores and hotels use in their entryways. – Che Lux Boutique, hand-poured candles with clean fragrances
Find candles that use high-quality fragrances
Scents have multiple benefits for physical and mental well-being. We pay close attention to the energy and atmosphere the scents create in a home. We live in a society of continuous change that involves daily stress. Therefore Costa Candles was born with the idea of alleviating this stress to enjoy the present moment. Choose the highest quality fragrances for candles to help you find the energy you need to stay peacefully active through the day or embrace your home with the necessary serenity and calmness after a long day. – Javier & Leena at Costa Candles, candle maker with stores all across the world
Use essential oils to create a homey and comfortable atmosphere
Essential oils are a natural and effective way to make your apartment smell good, set the mood, and create an atmosphere that makes your apartment homey and comfortable. Depending on your mood, you can choose a relaxing, energizing, or balancing blend, from room sprays to diffuser blends. Choose from our Restful blend to unwind and relax, Energize, a bold and bright blend to boost mood and focus, or Forest blend to bring balance to your day and connect with the outdoors. Using essential oils to support your mood is a great way to make your experience personal to you. – Bethany Unger, CCA, Founder and CEO of B Divine Aromatherapy
Tailor the scent to the mood you want to create
Choose fragrances to help set a mood or ambiance you want to create. To make your apartment smell good, opt for a candle that has a layering effect that allows your senses to take trips to the seashore, beginning with citrus, then lavender note in the middle, and ending with an earthy tone. Or maybe an invigorating herbal fusion with hints of fresh-cut basil, clary sage, and mint leaves. These candle scents will leave your home feeling clean and refreshing. Vanilla, citrus, or woody candles will make your space feel warm and cozy. Finally, choose candles made from all-natural, clean-burning wax such as soy wax which doesn’t emit any soot or release toxins when burned. – Great South Bay Candles, high-quality candles that were healthier, have a wonderful aroma, and burn longer
Fragrance choice varies by person, choose your favorite
Nothing makes a space “feel like home” more than filling your space with scent. Whether you prefer candles or melts, soy wax is a great vehicle to carry fragrance throughout your space without fearing toxins. Once you commit to soy candles or melts, the only worry is selecting the best scent for your home. Fragrance is a very personal choice and is usually chosen based upon a positive memory, an all-time favorite, or selected for a particular mood (calming, uplifting, soothing). Seasonal choices are always fun, as well. Refreshing summer scents might include Hawaiian Breeze, Mokapuni, Peach Bellini, or Watermelon Lemonade. Fall should include festive scents such as Apple Pumpkin, Pumpkin Spice, or Snickerdoodle. Winter is a time for comfort smells or to refresh your space with outdoor smells like Aspen Winter, Balsam & Cedar, or Frozen. Spring is for cleaning or florals: Fresh, Nordic Spa, Sun Washed Linen, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Magnolia, or Rose. – LeAnn Jenkins, CottageGoods, hand-crafted natural candles, lotions, and soaps in Jones, OK
Making your apartment smell good doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive
You can do a few simple things to make your apartment smell good and keep your space fresh and inviting. First, make sure to keep the kitchen clean. When cooking, open the windows to ventilate the area and prevent odors from building up. Wipe down surfaces regularly and take out the trash often. Use air fresheners or scented candles to mask unpleasant smells in the bathroom. Don’t forget to clean the toilet and shower regularly. In other areas of the apartment, keep pet beds and toys orderly and vacuum regularly to prevent dust and dirt from accumulating. Following these simple steps, you can keep your apartment smelling good all year round.
When picking scented candles and some of the best scents, some recommendations are Lemon, Basil, Lavender, Cinnamon, and Vanilla. – Smell the Scent
Find a unique fragrance to match your personality
I believe that scents are tied to our memories. Remember that when hosting, your guest will think of you and your home whenever they come across that fragrance again. Find a unique natural fragrance that matches your personality and home. A farmhouse-style home and baking lover should choose a warm, inviting aroma that doesn’t clash with what’s in the oven. Or an outdoorsy hiker with a rustic cabin would do well to have an evergreen fragrance to freshen the room. – Grace Warner, Rust and Wicks, soy candle maker in Comptche, CA
Transform your apartment using fragrance
To pick a scent for your apartment, ask yourself what type of mood you’re in or what mood you want to invoke. For example, if you want to transform your indoor space into a Summer evening outdoor campsite, unique scents such as(our) Toasted Marshmallow Espresso is a great alternative. Seasonal scents like iced tea, pumpkin, or evergreen are a great way to help you prepare your home and get you in the mood for the upcoming season. Calming scents like lavender, vanilla, or apple will be a fantastic option if you feel a bit stressed or anxious. Some scents like lemon, lime, or orange are also popular for practical purposes. These citrus scents are highly recommended for the kitchen to combat cooking and food odors. – Sonya Dixon, Dixon Candle and Bath, handcrafted scented soy wax candles in Scranton, PA
Combat negative energy with this essential oil combo
It is important to consider others that may be living there, whether they have two legs or four. Using essential oils in your home or apartment are enjoyable, offer therapeutic value, and are kid-friendly and pet safe. Yuzu, Tangerine, Lavender, Red Mandarin, Bergamot, and Lemon are a few uplifting, relaxing, and cleansing essential oils. My favorite combination of oils to make your apartment smell good and combat stagnant or negative energy is five drops of Bergamot and five drops of Yuzu. Diffuse for 20-30 minutes, giving yourself a 2-hour break in between. Remember – more is not always better, so be gentle to yourself, your kids, and your fur babies – don’t overdo it, and always allow your pet to leave the room if they are not enjoying the aroma you have chosen. Don’t have a diffuser? Place a few drops of desired oil or a combination of oils onto a cotton ball in a closet or safe space away from pets or children to freshen up a stinky garbage can. Add the oils to a cotton ball and place in an empty trash bag, aromatherapy with every toss. – Janna Setterholm, Professional Aromatherapist & Alchemist for Koru Oils
Welcome guests with an inviting aroma
Trendy scented candles come and go. But, serving your guests a sweet-smelling atmosphere will always attract and never go out of style. I recently gifted a Snickerdoodle candle to a girlfriend as a housewarming present. She shrieked with happy delight and proceeded to light the candle right away. All evening the smell of Snickerdoodle cookies greeted the guests of her new condo even before she did. I listened as people walked in and exclaimed, “What’s that smell?” The only downside to having your apartment smell this good is that people may expect cookies. – Candlehaven, a supplier of candle making supplies
Consider how you want to feel
When considering scent choices for the place you call home, consider how you want to feel when you’re there. For a ‘homey, comforting’ feel, vanilla-based scents with possibly the addition of cinnamon or coffee. Think lavender or herbal blends for a calming, more serene atmosphere. For a more refreshing vibe, look for ‘brighter’ fragrances like vivid florals or stronger herbals like sage, mint, and rosemary. And just as you would layer fragrance on your body with cleansers, lotions, and colognes, layer complementary fragrances in your home with linen sprays, diffusers, candles, and flowers or live stems. – Gretchen C. Maser, offering Earth-friendly products for your family and your home
Lavender can induce relaxation, tranquility, and comfort
We recommend Lavender to make your apartment smell good because it is antibacterial, which helps kill household odors. It’s also great for Aromatherapy, inducing calming and relaxing feelings, which is how you want to feel in your home. Lavender is a natural insect repellant; it appeals to everyone as a scent and is a great sleep aid. – Victoria’s Lavender, providing pure and natural ingredients in quality products