What Are the Rules for Interior Design? Texture, Layers, and the Perfect Interior Design Scent
- Peter Thomas
- Jun 24
- 4 min read
When it comes to the principles of interior design, texture is everything. From cashmere throws and rustic woods to polished ceramics and layered linens, combining materials is the key to designing a home that feels inviting, lived-in, and uniquely yours.
But have you ever considered the role of interior design scent in your space?
Why Interior Design Scent Matters in Your Home
Interior design today is multi-sensory. While your eyes take in the colours, lighting, and layout, your nose does something just as important: it emotionally anchors you to a space.
A carefully chosen interior design scent enhances emotional connection, helping create a home that feels personal, grounded, and memorable. It’s often said that scent is our most powerful sense linked to memory, and when used intentionally in interiors, it creates atmosphere, depth, and comfort.
In fact, scent is one of the most underutilised elements in home styling. A carefully layered fragrance can set the mood, create a calming or energising atmosphere, and even trigger positive memories, all while complementing the aesthetic choices you’ve already made.
This is why the same rules that apply to visual design, layering, storytelling, and balance, can (and should) be applied to home fragrance.
What Does It Mean to Layer Fragrance in Your Home?
Layering fragrance is much like layering materials or colours. It adds dimension, interest, and a sense of intentionality to your space. Just as you wouldn’t decorate a room with only one fabric or one colour, your home’s scent should be multi-dimensional.
A layered scent profile typically consists of:
Top notes: The first impression - usually fresh, citrusy, or green.
Heart notes: The emotional core - often florals, herbs, or spices.
Base notes: The lasting foundation - woods, musk, amber, or resins.
This structure makes a fragrance feel complete, with each phase unfolding over time, much like a well-styled room draws your eye from one detail to the next.
Best Ways to Add Scent to Your Home
Different rooms and routines call for different methods of scent delivery. Here are the most effective and stylish ways to bring fragrance into your home:
1. Home Fragrance Mists
Perfect for instant freshness, fragrance mists are ideal for quickly uplifting a space. Use them to reset the mood after cleaning, to freshen soft furnishings, or as part of a morning or evening ritual. They’re especially effective for layering scent throughout the day.
2. Fragrance Oils for Diffusers
Fragrance oils provide long-lasting diffusion and are great for maintaining a consistent scent in living rooms or bedrooms. A few drops in a diffuser or oil burner can deliver hours of subtle fragrance. Oils are also useful for building a strong scent foundation in your home.
3. Decorative Pot Pourri
Pot pourri is having a modern revival. High-quality botanical blends not only scent your space but also act as a tactile design feature, bringing both aroma and visual interest to side tables, shelves, or entryways. The slow release of fragrance makes pot pourri ideal for continuous, low-maintenance scenting.
Tip: Combine These Formats for Maximum Impact
To create a rich and long-lasting scent story in your home, try layering different scent delivery methods:
Use fragrance oils to establish a base.
Add a pot pourri bowl for slow-release ambient scent.
Refresh the atmosphere with a light mist as needed.
This approach mirrors the way designers mix textures and materials, resulting in a home that feels deeply personal and cohesive.
How to Choose the Right Home Fragrance for Your Style
The best home fragrance reflects your aesthetic and the mood you want to create. Here are some examples of scent moods that pair beautifully with interior styles:
Modern Coastal: Think fresh, aquatic scents with notes of citrus, mint, and light woods.
Romantic & Floral: Florals like rose, jasmine, or freesia layered with soft fruits and musk.
Earthy & Rustic: Notes of cedarwood, eucalyptus, and amber for grounded, woody interiors.
Warm & Cosy: Scents with spiced cocoa, vanilla, or patchouli are perfect for soft, textural spaces.
Final Thought: Why Every Well-Styled Home Needs a Signature Scent
You’ve spent time curating the perfect furniture, textiles, and colours. But if your home doesn’t have a signature scent, it may be missing that final, invisible layer that ties everything together.
Just like the right lighting or a statement piece of art, the perfect home fragrance elevates a space and makes it memorable. It adds identity, warmth, and mood in a way that visuals alone simply can't. Scent is the invisible thread that ties your interior design scent story together.
Looking for Layered, Story-Driven Home Scents?
At Gingham Florals, we specialise in home fragrance mists, botanical pot pourri, and scented oils, all designed with layered scent profiles that evoke emotion, atmosphere, and beauty. Each product is thoughtfully crafted to complement your interior style while telling a story through scent.
Discover our full fragrance collection at www.ginghamflorals.com and find the perfect scent for your home.
Found this article useful or inspiring? We’d love to hear from you, leave a comment below and share how you use fragrance to style your home!"
Interior design works best when guided by a few timeless rules—balancing texture, incorporating layers, and even considering the subtle power of scent. These details transform a space from ordinary to inviting. While designers set the foundation, the finishing touches often rely on skilled professionals. That’s where Superior Decorating Ltd excels. Their expertise as a trusted painter and decorator ensures that walls, finishes, and color schemes are executed flawlessly. From residential projects to larger commercial spaces, their role as a dependable commercial decorator makes them stand out. To see how they bring design principles to life, visit superiordecorating.co.uk. With the right partnership, texture, layers, and atmosphere come together for a truly cohesive interior.
This is such a wonderful article, I teach community classes and recently invited an Interior designer to talk to our class, I will most definitely be passing on this article. I love the description of Rockport and am going to treat myself to a room spray. Will you be writing more about the fragrances in the blog like you did for Dawn Orchard?