The finishing touch to a beautifully styled room might be something you can’t actually see.
We spend hours choosing the right sofa, agonising over paint colours and finding the perfect coffee-table object, yet scent can have just as much influence over how a space feels.
Now, a growing interiors trend known as “scent-scaping” is encouraging us to think about fragrance as another layer of home design.
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The concept, recently explored by Vogue, involves intentionally using different scents to shape the mood and atmosphere of a room.
Publications including Architectural Digest and Homes & Gardens have also explored the growing intersection between fragrance, interiors and wellness.
And it makes sense. A beautiful room can look perfect, but there is something memorable about walking through the front door and being greeted by a scent that instantly makes the space feel like home.
Research backs up the emotional connection, too.
A 2021 survey of 2,000 consumers conducted by independent research firm Ask Your Target Market found that more than half of respondents said having a home that smells good made them feel relaxed, accomplished, confident and more organised.
That suggests fragrance is moving beyond its traditional role of simply masking unwanted smells. Instead, scent can become part of the ritual of being at home.
The question is no longer simply, “What smells good?” It is becoming, “How do I want this room to feel?”
Your home’s signature scent
Fragrance can also become part of the personality of a home.
Consumer research commissioned by Scentsy found that 75 per cent of respondents believed the way a home smells reflects the person who lives there, while the same proportion believed scent can leave a lasting impression on visitors.
It is easy to understand why. Just as we gravitate towards certain colours, textures and decorating styles, we tend to develop favourite fragrances that we return to again and again.
For Australian aromatherapy brand ECO. Modern Essentials, that shift is also changing the way people think about the products they use to fragrance their homes.
Diffusers have traditionally been viewed as functional wellness products, often tucked away on a bedside table or bathroom shelf. But increasingly, they are being designed to earn their place alongside the books, lamps and decorative objects already taking up valuable real estate on the coffee table.
ECO. Modern Essentials has been tapping into that shift with its range of diffusers, designed to pair aromatherapy with considered interiors.
The brand’s diffusers can be used with its range of 100 per cent pure essential oils, allowing homeowners to customise the fragrance of their space while also choosing a diffuser that complements their decor.
According to ECO. Modern Essentials Brand Manager Olivia Copping, customers are becoming increasingly conscious of how their wellness products look in the home.
“We’re seeing customers become much more considerate about how a diffuser actually looks in their home,” Copping said. “They still want the mist, lighting and aromatherapy benefits, but they also want something they’re happy to leave sitting on the coffee table.”
The popularity of the brand’s Marble Diffuser has reflected that demand, with the product proving difficult to keep in stock.
That idea has now been taken a step further with the new Coral Diffuser, which has a coral-pink finish and sculptural silhouette designed to make it feel like part of the room rather than something that needs to be hidden away.
For Alissa Geddes, ECO. Modern Essentials’ aromatherapist, the appeal is about combining aesthetics with the atmosphere created by scent.
“If you’re a fan of the warm glow of a salt lamp, you’ll love this diffuser with the light on,” Geddes said. “It creates that same cosy warmth at night or during the day.”
Used with essential oils, the diffuser becomes another way to make a home feel considered, from the scent that greets you in the hallway to the calming fragrance you choose for a bedroom at night.
Interior design has always been about creating an environment that makes us feel a certain way. We have simply become accustomed to doing it visually; that is where scent-scaping comes in.
Now, fragrance is joining the mood board.
The new Coral Diffuser is available from ECO. Modern Essentials, alongside its range of 100 per cent natural essential oils.
