Cents and Scentsability

The feel of a home goes beyond what you see; your other senses pick up on subtleties that add to your perception.  Thinking back on holiday memories, you may see piping hot dishes surrounding the grand turkey serving tray, or spirals of whipped topping rising above your favorite slice of pie.  And it is likely that the smells of the holidays wafting from the kitchen, the dining table, and maybe even the outdoors play a role in how you look back on Thanksgivings and Christmases gone by.  You can give those scents a boost and play up the holiday fall factor in your home and treat your family and your guests to more than what you dish up.

Wall plug-in scent diffusers can work around the clock for you to spread a light fragrance through the air.  Bottles of room spray can be spritzed in the dining room before dinner or in the entryway before guests arrive, but the scent can dissipate pretty quickly.  Scent warmers have grown in popularity.  There are versions that hold a waxy disc over a burning tealight candle that melts and distributes the fragrance, and there are wall plug-in versions that use a light bulb to accomplish the same task.  There of course is always the traditional route of scented candles to create a warm glow and inviting scent at once.  To pull some double duty, utilize bottles of body spray that are fall-focused and use them as a room spray as well.  At quite the price cut off of perfume and cologne, body sprays and mists can make for a very pleasant addition to any room in the home just by a quick spritz and a little coin.  Any of these methods can add that extra dimension of fall scent as you host guests this Thanksgiving. 

 The scent options are seemingly endless, with various stores carrying a slew of spray options to candle selections.  To play up a traditional fall scent, look for versions that have words like "autumn," "fall," "leaves," and "woods" in the title.  These typically are reminiscent of earthy spice notes.  For the more dessert oriented sweet smells, you can never go wrong with a vanilla based fragrance.  Also see what you think of scents centered around cinnamon, cookies, cranberries, candy, pumpkins, and other fall spices.  You can choose a signature scent and offer it up throughout your home, or pick a couple of varieties that blend well together and use them in different areas for some variety as you move from room to room.

You can also think outside the candle holder and opt for more natural additives.  Pour some vanilla in a shallow baking dish or cake pan, and pop that in the oven on low, or alongside a batch of cookies.  The heated liquid will diffuse the scent right out into your kitchen.  Roast shelled nuts on a cookie sheet to use in a dessert or in candy making, but take advantage of the smell that is generated for a time. 

Play up your sense of smell and indulge in the many scents of autumn, all while minding your holiday cents this Thanksgiving.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star November 11th.