Creating a great home, everyone knows, is about color, space and light. It’s about choosing the right furniture, fabrics and accents.
But more and more, people are using fragrance to express individuality and set the right mood in their homes.
It’s not only a question of personal style. A growing body of research tells us that pleasant scents can make us happier, relaxed and more alert.
“There are about 86 active studies validating the effect of odors on mood states,” said Alan Hirsch, a neurologist and the director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Center in Chicago. He has studied how odors can affect perception of room size, aid learning and arousal, and reduce the desire to eat.
“I think we are just on the cusp of what is going to be a huge trend toward using smells functionally in the home,” Hirsch said. “I think we’re going to be seeing interior decorating with smells in the future, the same way we do with color.”
Already, researchers are working on fragrance-infused fabrics for the home, said Terry Molnar of the Sense of Smell Institute.
“The technology is there to microencapsulate fragrance into fabric, so that every time you open your drapes you will get a whiff of scent,” Molnar said.
For now, the growing ranks of the scent-conscious are snapping up candles, room sprays, and plug-ins that diffuse fragrant oils and solids. According to the Consumer Specialty Products Association, home fragrance products brought in $2.7 billion in sales in 2004. That’s projected to increase to $3.6 billion in 2006.
“There has been significant growth in recent years as the type of product has changed along with consumer demand,” said association spokesman Bill Lafield.
Not only have the scents themselves changed, so have the delivery systems. Among the new products: a revamped version of Glade PlugIns that allows consumers to customize scents. And Proctor & Gamble’s ScentStories, introduced last year. The device “plays” disks that cycle through five scents meant to evoke experiences such as “Relaxing in a Hammock” and “Exploring a Mountain Trail.”
Consumers’ embrace of enticing scents for the home makes perfect sense to Pamela Dalton, a research psychologist at Philadelphia’s Monell Chemical Senses Center.
Because the sense of smell appears to have evolved to warn against things that might hurt us (such as spoiled food or fire), “odor can be very powerful,” she said. So when a new smell enters our environment, it helps us pay attention.
“If you have a cleaner in the kitchen that smells of cucumber and sage, probably just the novelty alone can make some of the job you have to do seem like less drudgery.”
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A nose for nesting
Several companies offer a wide range of essential-oil-scented fragrance, laundry and cleaning products for the home. Among them are:
The Good Home Co. This extensive line, which ranges in price ($10-$22), is available at Nordstrom, Anthropologie and www.goodhomeco.com.
Cucina This kitchen collection, along with other home fragrance lines ($8-$42), is available from www.fruits-passion.com.
Caldrea This line ($8-$40), also quite extensive, is available at some Sur La Table stores and at www.caldrea.com.
Williams-Sonoma Scented items ($8.50-$39.50) are available at the company’s area retail stores or at www.williams-sonoma.com.
Restoration Hardware Cleaning and laundry products in a choice of six scents ($12-$22) can be purchased at the retailer’s area stores and through www.restorationhardware.com.
Alora Ambiance The line ($45-$76) features air-freshening items such as diffusers and candles. Products can be purchased at www.aloraambiance.com.
–KRT
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasqaule@tribune.com) and Chris Courtney (cdcourtney@tribune.com)
