Home Fragrance- Quandaries

I adore scented candles… There is nothing like candlelight to create instant atmosphere and mood in a room. And if it is a top notch scent- all the better! Living in a condo in Los Angeles, however, provides a tricky predicament with regards to home fragrance. In urban cities, many modern spaces have a combined living room / dining room. We live in a three-story condo in Santa Monica and the middle floor consists of this plan, with the kitchen just off of where we dine. So many spaces are using this open floor plan- my question is what do you do regarding home fragrance?

The first thing I love to do at twilight time when the sun starts to set is light a candle. My favorite scents for the home are: fig, verbena, almond, vanilla and tuberose. Right now, for example, I have Fig by Henri Bendel burning on our entry table. The scent is so earthy, green and delicious and the warm, amber glow that comes from this candle adds a sense of luxe to our room.

The predicament lies, however, when it is time to eat dinner. I never have my scented candle burning while cooking food or eating it for that matter. I attended a dinner party about a month ago where a large cranberry candle was placed right in front of me as I tried to eat my salmon and engage in conversation with the person across from me. The scent was so distracting and powerful I suddenly felt claustrophobic!

At home, as I am sure most people are, I’m very sensitive to scent. If we’ve had fish for dinner, I don’t want to light a scented candle immediately so that the room suddenly smells like fish and jasmine. Not a good combo! Luckily I live in a very temperate climate and can have the windows open all night. To compromise, I usually wait an hour or so after dinner to light my beloved candles. I know I could always use unscented in the living room/ dining room which makes the most sense and just stick to scented candles in the bedrooms.

I would love to hear how you daily connoisseurs scent your homes…

My favorite candles include: Diptyque- Baies, Amande, Figuier and Tubereuse. Votivo: Moroccan Fig and Jo Malone: Spring Jasmine.

I also adore high quality incense in Sandalwood, Nag Champa and Celestial Patchouli.

Image courtesy of: independent.net-genie.co.uk