Light-hearted! Anyone noticed how posh people's homes smell really nice inside? Not perfume, just generally. What is it?

[localnotail]

This, basically! Something I've been wondering idly for a long time, since I was a kid. I remember going to my wealthy middle class friend's houses and wondering how they smell so nice - I cant explain it, general very nice, clean, warm smell, like maybe so many nice new thing? Like maybe you get inside an expensive furniture store, plus something else I cant quite explain. But its definitely there! I can always tell if someone "posh" or not (in my head) depending on how their house smells. I never mentioned this to anyone up until now as I think its a bit weird, sniffing around people's homes ))

I would add that I have been to posh homes - mainly big old houses - that totally stank of cat wee, mouldy dust and boiled veg, but its still different somehow, still mixed up with that nice affluent smell. The smell is also there even if the house is filled with old tat or ordinary IKEA furniture. Also, when I say "posh" - I mean middle class, kind of very comfortable wealthy lifestyle but not aristocracy, obv.

So would like to know if I'm a bit mental or is there anyone else who noticed that? What is it? Your thoughts ))

I'm not posh but always get comments on how nice my home smells
My friend says she can tell something is mine (book, present, card) by the way it smells

Its money, honey. And if posh enough, a touch of damp and wood smoke.

Furniture polish? Proper beeswax stuff, I mean, not the spray bottles.
Fresh flowers?

Well I understand, I almost added "the smell of money" in my OP - but what is it? Like, the composition of it? these people cook like the rest of us, sometime don't clean very well, so how is it smells like this?

I know what you mean.
I think it’s the lack of clutter, or at least clean clutter. Slightly bigger homes so easier to clean and have less clutter. More expensive Washing powder so holds its smell better.
quality wooden furniture smells lovely and a financial ability to keep on top of things, so paint and repair regularly.

Was only thinking this the other evening, I had to drop off a couple of items at two houses, both invited me in, the first one smelt of animals and it really wasn't pleasant at all, the second one , Jesus, it was like a mix of hairdressers, spa, just gorgeous, I immediately said your house smells amazing in the hope she'd tell me but she didn't, she was very thankful for my comment, I actually came home googling hairdressers and spa smells scents to buy 🤣

But what is there to polish if they don't have lacquered wooden furniture? My former MIL was obsessed with cleaning, but her house just smelled very, vey clean - not posh.

Also, flowers smell fresh, this is kind of clean warm smell, like a warm wool blanket plus something else.

Probably regularly opening windows for air and posh candles/diffusers, fresh flowers ?

youre not wrong on the aristocrat ones, used to go with a family member regularly as a kid to quite big posh properties as work experience as he did all sorts of stone masonary type things and I always thought they smelt rank, of wet dog and damp 😂

I agree. It's hard to put your finger on exactly what makes it smell so nice.

😂We are very middle class and house does NOT smell nice. It smells of wet dog and horses and the gunk in the bottom of the sink that dh refuses to put in the damn bin after washing up.

Dh does have a very middle class auntie though who has a lovely smelling house. This is despite having 3 large dogs and also puppies occasionally and 2 horses. Whenever we go to her house, I think, ah, yes, this is lovely!

Best I can gauge, her trick is regular cleaning. She has never worked outside the home since she had her eldest (who is nearing 40 now), so I presume she cleans the house regularly. She also has super posh like £50 candles everywhere. I imagine they just smell nicer than the Tesco own ones I use!

Everyone always comments that our house smells nice . I have reed diffusers , electronic diffusers and scented candles / incense sticks going at various times so i think there's always a remaining scent around .
Also everything is clean and tidy so nowhere for bad smells to linger .

1. Being able to have the heating on enough so that there's no damp/mould in the house and washing dries quickly. Washing that dries too slowly smells rank.
2. Having enough space to dry and air clothes.
3. Not having fitted carpets. The middle classes have fewer fitted carpets and the carpets they do have are replaced more often (money). Carpets really hold smells.
4. Being able to afford a cleaner

I think it's regular deep enough cleaning plus having the heating on more. And something about objects having space to breathe and not being packed tightly to go musty. My exMIL sometimes had just a single item in a drawer, such was her affluence of built in storage, plus only buying what she needed (albeit an expensive long lasting version).

It is the sweet, sweet smell of wealth

Seriously, the only thing I notice is they are less likely to smoke and use synthetic air freshening products. If it smells like a spa they aren't posh.

It's usually plug in air diffusers. I've asked a friend this before who is an interior designer. She swears by those plus scented candles. They will likely have a cleaner so no mould, mildew or human smells.

Unfortunately if you have pets those scented products can be quite aversive so it's hard to get a balance. Cleaning well definitely helps though.

my home smells of warm cookies (mainly chocolate chips) - does that make me posh?

In my house it's the sweet smell of dogs.

Wow, OP, I was having this exact conversation with DP last night.

We came to the conclusion that cooking was a big part of what distinguished our working-class homes from our posh friends.
We decided that there are two elements to this:
Firstly, our working-class mums cooked with lots of oil and oven-able beige so our houses always had an underlying smell of grease. This was compared to our posh friends where cooking smells (when they were detectable) were always a bit more spicy, herby, deeper, more pleasant and homely.
Secondly, our houses were small so cooking smells traveled everywhere into every room. This, again, in contrast to people with bigger houses who could kind of sequester cooking away from other parts of the home, so smells weren't as pervasive.

For me, there was also smoking which, like cooking smells, permeated everywhere. Even though my mum used to "only" smoke in the kitchen, the kitchen was attached to the living room, the stairs were practically in the living room. So is wasn't exactly isolated.

This, of course, in addition to everything that people have listed above.

I think it's the lack of musty smell, coupled with "naice" washing detergent etc. and also discrete diffusers about the place.

What do spas smell like? Expensive skincare products? I've never been to a spa.

Earl Grey tea.

Our house smells lovely for a couple of months after we get the carpets cleaned . So again, just money to do all the upkeep very regularly I think.

Natural fabrics- 100% wool or silk rugs, solid wood furniture, cotton/ wool/ linen curtains instead of the plastic/ chemical based fabrics most homes are full of.
And a cleaner probably! That's my guess.

I’m going to suggest very expensive candles dotted about the place.