Great rooms work on more than sight. Light, materials and even sound shape how a space feels when you walk in. Scent is the layer most homes skip, and it's the easiest one to change.
what a building can teach a fragrance
Take Bennelong Apartments on Sydney's East Circular Quay, better known to locals as "The Toaster". Designed by Andrew Andersons with PTW Architects, its curved glass façade sits between the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and catches the light off the water all day.
Most of us won't live there. But the idea behind it, warm materials set against cool glass and open space, is something you can bring into any home.
inside santal woods
Santal Woods (formerly Santal 66) is one of our most loved scents. Creamy sandalwood and cedar form the heart, cardamom adds a little spice, and papyrus brings a dry, leathery edge.
Violet and iris soften it, so it never tips into heavy. Amber sits in the base and lingers after you've left the room.
"We wanted Santal Woods to feel warm and grounded without getting heavy, the way a well-designed room does," says Andrew O'Keefe, director at kirri.
where it works best
- Living room: a 200ml reed diffuser near the entry, so it's the first thing guests notice
- Bedroom: a few sprays of the 50ml room spray over linen before bed
- Home office: Santal Woods oil in your kirri diffuser, starting on delicate
Which room would you scent first? Tell us in the comments.
kirri has no affiliation with Bennelong Apartments or its architects.
