Page 39 - Reside Magazine Briggs Freeman
P. 39
Reside — Fall 2025
Designing for the here is a moment in every remarkable home when something
senses is the height T intangible takes hold—not in the contours of the space
or in the choreography of materials, but in the air itself. Scent,
of luxury—it can elusive and difficult to define, is emerging as a silent signature
transform a home, in luxury interiors that is as powerful a design choice as
a statement piece of furniture or a subtle architectural flourish.
room by room, writes of Scent”—an ambitious exhibition curated by olfactory expert Robert Müller-
In October 2025, Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf will open “The Secret Power
Jessica Klingelfuss Grünow, exploring scent as both science and art. “Scent is the most
underestimated of our senses,” says Müller-Grünow. “It’s the only one directly
connected to our limbic system, which governs emotion and memory. Scent
is the only sensory stimulus that cannot be filtered rationally, so it triggers
immediate emotional reactions.”
Working across the luxury sector with his firm Scentcommunication,
Müller-Grünow brings deep insight into how smell functions psychologically.
And as homeowners look increasingly beyond aesthetics to create truly
immersive living spaces, the Kunstpalast exhibition could not be more prescient.
“Home fragrances can influence mood, mask undesirable scents, and create
an atmosphere that reflects one’s personality and interior design style,” Müller-
Grünow explains. “Luxury properties are pioneers in that sense: some have
already integrated fragrance systems into the
home at the planning stage, allowing various
fragrances to be actively controlled.”
The design world, too, is tuning into the
emotive potential of fragrance. “Scent can do as
much as marble or paint to shift the mood
of a room,” says Edinburgh-based interior
designer Carla Mackay. “I’ve experimented
with scent layering, especially in entranceways
where I want to make a warm first impression—
cedar wood, clove and orange are especially
inviting in autumn.” In open-plan spaces, Mackay
favors reed diffusers, used sparingly to avoid
overwhelming the senses. “In bedrooms, I use
candles and linen sprays for curtains and
bedding. Chamomile is gentle and mellow;
when grounded with cedar wood, it feels warm,
woody, and enveloping without being sharp.”
Fragrance designer Katie Astle echoes this
interior-minded approach. “I think of a home
like a story and each room is a different chapter.
There’s something beautiful about having
Far left: Signature scents, such as Steam Eau
de Parfum by Perfumer H, inspired by the mist
rolling over the hills of a forest, are becoming as
much of a design choice as paint or marble
Left: L’Artisan Perfumeur’s Amber Boule
not only dispenses soft notes of amber and
vanilla, but is an objet d’art in itself
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