Whether you’re looking for a clean and crisp aroma for your bathroom or a relaxing and soothing scent for your bedroom, these are the essential oils you need.
Your foyer
In the entrance of your home, alongside your welcome mat, a fragrant essential oil can encourage visitors to enter with calm and ease. For this area, experts recommend opting for an essential oil that’s been shown to reduce anxiety, such as orange or cinnamon. “Orange essential oil is an emotionally uplifting oil,” says Maat van Uitert, essential oil expert and founder of FrugalChicken. “The major chemical constituent is limonene, which has been shown to reduce anxiety, lower heart rate, and ease stress.” Another favorite fragrance to use in the home is cinnamon, a classic scent that recalls memories of baking and childhood. “Cinnamon signals ‘fun’ to our memory centers and is a great way to welcome a guest,” says Kac Young, PhD, doctor of naturopathy and clinical hypnotherapy and author of The Healing Art of Essential Oils.
Your kitchen
For a clean, crisp scent for a room in your home you most likely prefer to keep spick and span, opt for lemon essential oil. “Lemon is antibacterial and a stimulant so it has natural purification properties built in,” says Dr. Young. “It’s also a sense awakener—it clarifies the mind, dispels anger and provides a sense of new energy. It’s like a breath of fresh air in a stuffy room.” If you want your kitchen to feel cozy, cinnamon essential oil is a must. “Cinnamon elicits feelings of warmth and comfort, and since cinnamon is so prevalent in baked goods, many people associate cinnamon with warm memories of baking, sipping hot apple cider, and spending time with family as a child,” says van Uitert. “More than other scents, cinnamon evokes a sense of security and well being.” Since cinnamon can be quite powerful, she suggests diffusing it heavily.
Your living room
According to experts, the best essential oils for your living room depend on the activities you enjoy doing in that room the most. If you want to relax after a long day and forget about stressful events, van Uitert recommends fir needle oil. “It’s sweet, relaxing and connects us with nature.” That last part is important, as scents that remind us of nature have been linked to lower blood pressure. She recommends adding one to two drops to your favorite potpourri mix or diffusing up to ten drops in a diffuser. “Fir oil has a powerful and sweet scent when inhaled directly from the bottle, so if you’re stressed and need a quick pick me up, carry some in your pocket.” If use your living room as an office or spot to catch up on work, van Uitert suggests rosemary essential oil. “It stimulates creativity and activates our memory,” she says. “Inhale directly from the bottle to experience the scent or diffuse one to two drops as you work.”
Your dining room
This is probably not be the room of your home where you sit down for every meal, but rather where you dine for special occasions—all the more reason to make sure it smells appetizing! In addition to choosing an essential oil that’s welcoming, you’ll want to select one that revs up your appetite, such as bergamot. Do avoid strong scents that may distract you from eating or suppress your appetite such as peppermint or ginger. Van Uitert recommends copaiba, an essential oil derived from the trunk of a South American tree. “Copaiba has a low-key but refreshing, woody scent that will enhance the space and create a calm, peaceful atmosphere without overwhelming you.”
Your bedroom
This is the room of your home you’re likely to spend the most time in. Not only will you want to choose an essential oil fragrance that you enjoy, but you’ll also want to opt for one that’s calming, relaxing and can help you get ready to fall asleep. The rich, floral scent of jasmine can do just that, as well as evoke feelings of intimacy. But the scent is powerful, so van Uitert recommends diffusing just one to three drops in water for the best results. “You can also place a single drop in candles as they burn to enjoy the scent.” If you want to start your day feeling empowered, she recommends keeping a bottle of frankincense essential oil nearby or on your night stand. “The earthy scent of the resin reconnects you with nature and will help you feel more grounded.”
Your laundry room
“The laundry room is an often forgotten about part of the home, and one that can trigger stress because it reminds us of household chores,” notes van Uitert. For this reason, she recommends selecting a relaxing scent that will leave your clothes smelling even nicer than your detergent. Try a combination of lemon and copaiba essential oils. “The bright, cheerful scent of lemon will inspire you to feel happy and refreshed and, if you dread doing laundry, the warm, woodsy scent of copaiba will relax and ease your worried mind.”
Your bathroom
It’s inevitable that your bathroom won’t always smell as fresh and clean as you’d like, so to keep it light and airy, choose an essential oil like lemon, eucalyptus, or tea tree. Not only do they possess antibacterial properties, but they are associated with stimulating the mind. If you enjoy a nice, long bath after a hectic and hard-won work day, you’ll want to choose an essential oil that induces feelings of relief and relaxation, like lavender. “The linalool chemical constituents in lavender oil help you relax because they signal your brain’s temporal lobe, where you’ll be reminded of past positive experiences,” says van Uitert. Just one drop of lavender essential oil in a bubble bath is all you need to fill your bathroom with a relaxing, floral scent.
Your garage
This might not be an area of your home you think to freshen up, but you probably spend more time going in and out than you realize. Why not keep it smelling nice with some peppermint essential oil? “The menthol and limonene chemical constituents found in peppermint essential oils stimulate the emotional centers of your brain, which motivate and uplift you—a perfect pick-me-up before work or for when you just arrive home,” says van Uitert. “The menthol constituents also give peppermint oil its characteristic strong scent, so it’ll mask any off odors in your garage.” For an immediate benefit, invest in a personal diffuser for your car.
Your deck or patio
If you’re lucky enough to have a deck or patio, you might as well put it to good use—and ensure that it has a pleasant, fragrant scent. Two essential oils that van Uitert recommends for either area are citronella and fir needle. “Citronella does double duty outside. The bright scent caused by the limonene constituents uplifts your mood while keeping bugs away, which lets you enjoy the space even more.” Fir needle, she says, is especially ideal if you live in an urban area, because the scent connects you to nature and help you relax.
Your basement or attic
If you use your basement and attic to store belongings, van Uitert recommends diffusing with cedarwood. “It has a warm, uplifting scent that can elicit feelings of nostalgia and coziness,” she says. “From a practical standpoint cedarwood will also keep insects away from your possessions and keep the space clean.” Place two to three drops on a cotton ball and store inside boxes you’ve filled with your belongings to keep them smelling fresh.
