Creating Luxury Home Scents

Making a house smell clean and fragrant has long been an aim of homeowners, and now businesses are catering to Austin luxury homes for unique, ambient scents that linger in every room. Department stores, boutiques, hotels and restaurants have cultivated identifying smells for decades, and now homeowners are seeking out that same effect in their private spaces, often wanting the degree of personalization found in perfumes to wear. Companies like Apothecary & Atelier offer tailored fragrances for people and homes, creating customer-specific, ambient scent.

Realtors understand that when showing a home during an Austin home search, smells can greatly influence people’s opinion of homes, which is why open houses may feature fresh baked cookies or lit candles. Those welcoming scents also can create a warm, welcoming atmosphere to come home to every day. Homeowners can borrow a few simple tricks from custom scent companies and Austin Realtors to create a pleasant fragrance in their homes using essential oils and everyday household items:

1) Absorbing Odor:  Place an open box of baking soda in the refrigerator, cabinets, shelves, or closets to absorb odor. Place a bowl of vinegar in a room and soon the vinegar will absorb other odors. After unwanted odors are absorbed, the room can be replaced with pleasant scents.

2) Cotton Balls: Freshen a bathroom by dipping cotton balls into essential oils and placing them in a container.  Eucalyptus, lavender, and ylang ylang are especially nice in the bathroom.

3) Simmering Water: Scent a home by adding fragrant household items to a simmering pot of water. Orange peels, vanilla extract, almond extract, allspice and cloves or any mixture of the above create a lasting scent that will fill a whole home. Essential oils also can be added to simmering water to create an aromatic affect.  Soothing choices include eucalyptus, peppermint, orange, lavender, cinnamon and vanilla.

4) Light Bulbs: Some stores sell special containers that fit around a light bulb and hold essential oil that will heat up and perfume a room when the light is lit.  This effect also can be created simply by dabbing essential oils on a cool bulb.

5) Spray Bottles: Febreeze is popular for its odor absorbing properties and fresh scents, and an easy at-home version consists of a simple mixture of water, baking soda, and essential oils.  This mix can be spritzed anywhere to help eliminate odors and leave a pleasant scent.

6) Garbage Disposal: Grind orange or lemon peels in the garbage disposal with water to release the aromatic fragrances found in the oils on the peels.

7) Vacuum: Put a small amount of baking soda or squeeze a small amount of citrus juice into a vacuum bag before vacuuming to help eliminate odors and leave a fresh scent behind.