Designing a Room for Instant Appeal? Leverage Fragrance

For interior designers and home staging decorators, impeccable taste is a job requirement. Décor experts have a secret weapon when it comes to creating the perfect space: fragrance. By decorating a house with candles, professional designers use the power of fragrance to their advantage to encourage fond memories and warm emotions — even to suggest upscale luxury — as soon as guests enter a room.

Decorating With Candles for Interior Designers

Scent Marketing for Real Estate Agents and Decorators

The right scent creates an immersive experience that can enhance the beauty of a home. Our perception of a space is made within seconds of entering it, and scents can make guests feel welcome, make a home desirable, and attract potential buyers. A powerful first impression can even increase a home’s value. These stylish, of-the-moment recommendations for décor and fragrance will help decorators, real estate professionals, and those looking to create an outstanding first impression in their own home.

Fragrance By Collection: Curated Collections for Interiors

Yankee Candle® products can be used throughout the home as part of an interior design. Designers may choose from a variety of collections to incorporate fragrance that suits each room’s design concept. They may also choose the distinctive style of a single collection to tie a house or living space together with a consistent design.

Look to the Studio Collection for a sleek, sophisticated design and trending hues that complement each room. These décor-focused candles make a modern statement, and combined with the perfect fragrance, create an alluring, inviting space.
The versatile Signature Candle Collection with its options in style and size is extremely designer friendly. The elegant and modern styles in this collection offer decorators an opportunity to make a creative statement when staging a house with candles. Cluster different sizes together for a stunning dimensional effect. Use smaller sized Signature candles to provide a modern touch for intimate spaces.
The Original Jar Candle Collection delivers classic style and a bounty of inviting scent options. Perfect for traditional décor with a hint of nostalgia, Original Jar Candles offer rich color, evocative scent, and iconic style. Small Jar Candles can enhance the charm of a kitchen or bath, or add sparkle to a cozy reading nook.

Add the Ultimate Accessory

Let stunning details, glowing cut-outs, and sparkling crackle glass designs create enchanting patterns of light. Candle Holders, Candle Toppers, and other accessory options will add to your room’s design and can deliver whimsical charm or a seasonal nod. Candle accessories complete your look with a personal touch and heighten your candle’s appeal, whether styling traditional, modern, or minimalist. Transform an Original Jar Candle with an Illuma-Lid® Jar Candle Topper with a unique look — find florals, pineapples, chic metals — and let the play of light add to the room’s ambiance.

Let the Mantel Shine

Count on Pillar Candles to create a stunning effect on the mantel. Add pillars to accentuate other décor elements, holiday decorations, or art for an eye-catching look. They can make a creative addition beneath the mantel as well, as part of a faux fireplace. The glow will provide stunning ambiance. The mantel is also a great place for decorative accents like a Herringbone 3-Wick Jar Candle Holder or a hand-painted Tea Light Candle Holder in Vineyard Grapes or Festive Trees. Or, brighten the mantel with Samplers® Votive Candles or Yankee Candle® Minis. Small-sized candles offer a great opportunity to pair with a holder that brings elegance or whimsy to a space.

Use Color

Use color to your advantage as you plan each room. Shop by Color for the perfect scented candle hue. Decorating with candles for rustic or minimalist styles? Make use of a neutral color like soothing Sun & Sand® for a unifying look; add a pop of color for contrast, such as bright Sicilian Lemon against navy décor; or leverage the richness of an orange Spiced Pumpkin candle to draw the eye in a room filled with browns or yellows.

Décor, Room by Room

Living Room/Great Room

The living room or great room is a perfect place for inviting, decorative details. Combined with scent, these décor elements create a finishing touch that makes a welcoming home. A Signature Large Tumbler Candle with its artistic hand-illustrated label style offers the perfect touch for a large room or open floor plan with 65 to 80 hours of fragrance. (If your look skews classic, use a long-lasting Original Large Jar Candle.) Set the mood with Sparkling Cinnamon. Its invigorating scent provides a warm, welcoming ambiance that works well during the holidays. Balsam & Cedar is another excellent choice for seasonal fragrance. Its fresh forest notes fill the air with fresh scent. For creating a candlescape on a table or shelf, try a variety of Samplers® Votive Candles paired with a candle holder that perfectly complements the living room’s style.

Designer Tip: Clustering small or medium sized candles with complementary elements is a favorite decorating effect. Remember the rule of three – use one scented candle arranged with a vase and a curio or organic element (such as a rock or birch bundle) for a graceful trio.

Bedroom

When it comes to capturing a sense of personal style, the bedroom is the most important room in the house. Decorators and scent marketers have a knack for making it feel like a place of comfort and serenity. Whether the bedroom has a contemporary design or is more traditional or timeless, décor-enhancing details offer pleasing fragrance and subtle glow. Try ScentPlug® Diffusers for continuous, flame-free fragrance in the design of your choice. Match a romantic décor style with one or more Yankee Candle® Minis on a bedside table or dresser. Mix and match in pastel hues and romantic floral scents. Floral Fragrances.

You can also make fragrance and style the focal point with a display on a dresser. Arrange Signature Pillar Candles for a design element that enhances the space’s intimacy. Add a mirrored tray, and match cozy, earthy scents from the woody family with a plant, decorative stones, or crystals. The contemporary shapes, trending hues, and essential oils of the Studio Collection are ideal for those seeking curated candle collections for interiors like the bed and bath.

Designer Tip: Use a contrasting color in an otherwise monochromatic room. Choose the dark hue of MidSummer’s Night® in a predominantly neutral-colored room that has an organic feel. The scent is an intoxicating, masculine blend of musk, patchouli, sage, and mahogany cologne.

Foyer/Entryway

Set a friendly tone for guests or prospective buyers as soon as they cross the threshold. Creating a first impression is a snap with a well-chosen fragrance, and candles provide ambiance with a warm glow. Choose a candle in a rustic or contemporary style in a fragrance that’s warm and welcoming — clean and fresh, light florals, and nature-based scents are exceptional selections for entryways. Fragrances such as Sage & Citrus and Home Sweet Home® will set an open, inviting atmosphere.

Designer Tip: Baking cookies for a warm, homey feel used to be a trade secret for showing homes to prospective buyers. Instead, simply light a Christmas Cookie™ candle in the foyer or kitchen and let traces of rich butter and creamy vanilla bean fill the room. Sparkling Cinnamon (choose a festive 3-Wick Candle) is an inspired choice as well — its invigorating cinnamon and hint of clove impart a welcoming glow.

Dining Room

Candles can transform a dining room. Perfect for use in traditional or contemporary styles, clustering candles into a creative candlescape can add a personal touch to any space. Use a single color in varied heights by placing Signature Large Tumbler Candles with Signature Small Tumbler Candles. Yankee Candle® Minis are equally stunning for adding a glow to a dining room table. Include additional elements with a nod to the season (choose a seasonal accessory that fits the room) to enhance the candles’ welcoming glow.

Designer Tip: An oversized collection of candles can create a sense of abundance. When shopping for a bountiful display for a table, buy more than you think you’ll need to conjure a stunning, luminous effect.

Bath

Master baths are a perfect place for adding glow and fragrance that creates a relaxing atmosphere and a sense of pampered luxury. Take advantage of the rosy-hued Pink Sands™ to create an exotic island escape that incorporates the scents of sweet florals, bright citrus, and a hint of vanilla. Or bask in a feeling of freshness with Clean Cotton®. The bright white color of the Signature Collection’s premium soy-wax blend gives a crisp clean look when enjoyed in a Signature Large Jar Candle or a design-conscious Signature Pillar Candle. Use the purple of Lemon Lavender or the smooth blue of Ocean Air to add a pop of color.

The bath is an excellent place to play with size and style combinations when decorating with fragrance by room. Pair a Signature Large Tumbler Candle with a Signature Medium Jar Candle or a Signature Small Tumbler Candle in a blend of complementary fragrances. Or, light a group of Yankee Candle® Minis or Samplers® Votive Candles to create a welcoming and romantic candlescape. The Studio Collection also fits seamlessly into any bath that has a contemporary feel. Concentrated Room Sprays are a stylish option and a smart decorator’s secret. They have the benefit of room-filling fragrance at a touch, and the discreet, minimalist designs and patterns of an accompanying Fragrance Dispenser offers a stylish combination of décor and scent.

Designer Tip: Matching scented candles to the décor creates a lush design effect for the bathroom and adds a sumptuous, spa-like feel.

Looking for more interior design tips? Browse Inspiration for ideas for decorating, creating candlescapes, upcycling, and more!