The most successful rooms appeal to all our senses, as Vogue beauty and wellness editor Hannah Coates explains.
What maketh a room? While a layering of excellent fabrics, natural textures and good lighting are high on the list of things that sort the wheat from the chaff, it’s the way a space smells that truly conjures up a sense of familiarity, warmth and comfort. The best rooms beckon most – if not all – of our senses, but scent is undoubtedly one of the easiest to play with.
Fragrance has a powerful ability to evoke emotion because everything we smell is processed by the areas of the brain that also deal with feelings and memory. Explaining why you never forget the smell of your mum’s perfume, your olfactory system (rather magically) can transport you to moments in time, places or people at the drop of a hat, and can subsequently be a great way to boost your mood.
You rarely experience a scent in solus, either. Whether it’s a bouquet of beautiful flowers or the relaxing flicker of a candle, we often enjoy their fruits via our eyes too, which is great at stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for our rest and digest mode – the opposite of fight or flight) and ushering in a state of calm.
Bringing the outdoors in is a great place to start. Our innate human need to be around nature (also called biophilia) means that, when we tap into Mother Nature’s many plants, herbs and flowers, frantic minds are quickly eased – not to mention that greenery and other botanicals look great on a bedside table or kitchen worktop. Meanwhile, hanging some (long lasting and relatively inexpensive) eucalyptus in your shower is an easy way to transform your morning. As aromatic as it is healing, it decongests, reduces inflammation and pain, and alleviates tension – you can’t go wrong.
As a scented candle devotee, I believe there is nothing quite like marking the end of a busy workday with a match and some wax – look for notes of sandalwood, sage, lavender and jasmine to usher in chill time successfully. Similar effects can be gleaned from the same notes blended in aromatherapeutic bath oils, which do an excellent job of easing tense muscles and equally tense minds. In the cooler months, I also love to add in those that harness invigorating pine, fir or spruce as much for their congestion-clearing wonders as their cosy aromas.
A luxurious room spray can also be misted when occasion calls for it, but diffusers are lower maintenance and do their work in the background – place them where you, or your visitors, will pass by for optimal exposure. Oh, and if all else fails, simply bake some bread. There are few smells in this world that can beat it.
Warm up to Amber & Cedarwood
This autumn, we’ve launched a delicious new fragrance combination of Amber & Cedarwood, a heartwarming mix that brings together these two base notes with hints of grapefruit, saffron, vanilla and leather. Created to evoke a cosy, fireside mood, it’s the perfect final layer in a sitting room, snug or hallway. Available as single- or triple-wick candles made from vegan-friendly plant wax, as well as in diffuser form, the new mellow room scent comes in recycled brown glass jars. It joins our ever-popular English Fig (perfect on a late summer’s evening), Sea Salt & Driftwood (with hints of basil and ocean mist) and Rosemary & Thyme (great in a kitchen thanks to its refreshing herbal and citrus tones).