There’s no denying the convenience of working from home; it has become a normal part of life for many of us, during lockdowns and beyond.
But working from the kitchen bench, dining room table, sun room and (let’s be honest) bed, can cause the lines between relaxing home life and
Scent is a wonderful way of creating invisible boundaries that use fragrance to compartmentalise each space in your home, to help bring distinct lines between work and play. This wellness trend is known as “scent-scaping” or “fragrance zoning” and it’s a lovely way to encourage some self-care rituals and help switch your frame of mind between work life and home life when working from home.
“Scent-scaping is a growing trend where aromas and mood-boosting ingredients can help balance or stimulate our minds or simply calm our senses and introduce moments of self-care,” explains Michelle Feeney, founder of fragrance brand Floral Street.
“Spritzing a favourite perfume or placing scented candles, diffusers or even freshly picked flowers in different spaces in our homes can help ‘zone’ the day, transitioning and maximising your time. Many homes have become offices or workspaces over the last few years and having to facilitate additional functions can make it challenging to separate areas of our lives, but fragrance has the power to do that.”
To begin, you might choose to place a different scented diffuser or candle in the obvious zones of the house, such as the bedroom, living room, home office and kitchen. Each space then has its own signature fragrance and, in turn, a unique atmosphere to reflect how you want to feel when you’re in each part of the house.
“I love a light and bright feel to my kitchen, so I burn Grapefruit Bloom candles that really uplift that space and feel like freshly squeezed juice in the morning,” shares Michelle. “But then in the evening the midnight tulip diffuser creates a cosy and intimate mood with its rich, spicy, dark floral ingredients.”
If your home is on the smaller side and you don’t have the option of physically dividing your spaces, scent is a lovely way to signal a change from one mode to another. You may choose to start your day by lighting an energising candle in the morning while you exercise or eat breakfast, then switch to another scent as you gear up for a day at the “office”. When it’s time to down tools, snuff out your work candle and light another one to transition you into a relaxing evening mood.
There are no rules when it comes to what scents you “should” choose for each zone, mode or mood — the beauty of fragrance is that it can be as instinctual as you like.
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Advertise with NZME.But if you need some direction, citrus scents such as grapefruit and orange are great for a bit of an energy boost; rose and vanilla are lovely for times when you need to foster a little calm; frankincense and other earthy scents like sandalwood help encourage concentration and productivity; and, of course, lavender is the holy grail when it comes to inducing sleep and relaxation.
Home fragrances for ‘scent-scaping’ at your place
