Scent: Create Your Own Smell Memories (and a Recipe for a DIY Essential Oil Diffuser)
Freshly mowed grass…Wild roses…Lavender…Jasmine…Balsam Fir.
These are my favorite outdoor scents. What about you? Have you ever given it any thought? That old “Stop and smell the roses” adage isn’t just meaningless. Have you literally done it?
If not, take a moment to think about the scents you love or discover the answer through your own exploration. Why? Because scents impact us more than we realize.
Gather ye rosebuds…
1. Scents can evoke fond memories
Fragrant teas create warmth and calm.
Scent is a wonderful touchstone for memories. My favorite scents above are all tied to specific past memories and I make a point to incorporate them into my yard or home as often as possible. I plant lavender in my garden, harvesting and drying the buds and leaves for colder month uses. The wild roses grow for a short time in June just beyond my fence, but I’ve also incorporated rose bushes into my landscaping.
2. Scents can create calm and relaxation at home
Scent can also lead to a sense of calm & relaxation, or cozied up home feel. It’s too cold here for jasmine, but I adore fragrant jasmine tea, and I love the freshness of a balsam wreath inside the house at Christmas time.
We use scent to encourage and inspire us. And who hasn’t been comforted by the scent of saltwater drifting on the wind? It produces a visceral, physical reaction: heart rate slows, blood pressure drops, minds clear.
The smell of the ocean creates actual health benefits.
3. Fresh scents create feelings of lightness
Fresh air makes us feel lighter, cleaner. The thousands of scented products on the market prove this. We spend millions of dollars trying to create feelings through scent. But there is honestly nothing like the scents that only nature can create. Take some time to sit down and discover your favorite scents and try to add them to your landscape. Or track down those scents via essential oils to diffuse around your home (as needed).
Lavender is great for landscaping, cooking, flower arrangements, and essential oil.
How I use scents in interior design: DIY reed diffuser
Living in an old house has its challenges, including some periodic, well, not so lovely odors. I love a clean, natural scent to my home. The artificial air fresheners and candles always provide a heavy, cloying smell that either overpowers, or feels fake.
Since this is my monthly “house blessing” week (find out about that here in my free 5-day challenge ), I was determined to problem solve this issue today. So I experimented with making my own reed diffuser.
I selected lemongrass essential oil for its clean, herbal scent. I didn’t want pure lemon because while I love lemon, I didn’t want the house to smell like furniture polish on a constant basis. The lemongrass oil adds just the right balance of citrus and herbs for my olfactory pleasure.
I elected to blend this with a coconut oil base for a touch of sweetness, and as it’s July, it provides just a hint of beach scent memory. I used a vintage glass wine decanter, given to me long ago by a dear friend, to hold the blend and the reeds. The combination of the scent and the vessel fed my needs for freshening the air and decorative nostalgia.
DIY reed diffuser for your favorite scent.
Ingredients for DIY essential oil diffuser
Essential oils are a great way to experiment with smell memories, or add a new functional decor element. Try some out and see if it takes your home design to the next level. You can easily create your own homemade essential oil diffuser with some bamboo skewers and a few ingredients:
A glass container with a narrow opening
4-5 reed diffuser sticks OR bamboo skewers
1/4 cup carrier oil such as sweet almond oil, fractionated coconut oil, safflower oil
20-25 drops of essential oil(s)
Place as part of a table top decor scheme, or discreetly tucked out of sight. Flip the reeds upside down back into the oil when the tops dry out.
What’s your favorite scent? Share your DIY reed diffuser on my facebook page here!