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 ))

@Thistooshallpass. that sounds like it would cause a constant migraine!

agree with this^ there are a lot of factors at work.
I haven’t got much experience with posh houses but I’ve noticed that cheap washing powder smells much stronger so maybe it’s all little things together.

And mud 😁

Clean house, adequate ventilation, not overheated, but comfortable. No scents, candles, diffusers as they give me a throbbing headache. That's me. I don't care much about what people think of me, but I do keep the important bits clean and the smell of diluted bleach is my favourite!

No dogs, cats or animals helps enormously since that is the first thing that people notice, and whether or not animal owners acknowledge it, pets do smell, and moult too.

Large old draughty houses, so more movement of air. Fires drawing up the air. Beeswax polish, flowers. Hard floors.

Now we've downsized and are cosier dog smells more of a challenge. I wash the throws on furniture often. And spray every morning with the gorgeous natural lavender water spray from M&S. Clean carpets twice a year. scented candles, plug ins aggravate asthma and are bad for pets.

Yes, exactly this.

The obsession with synthetic air-freshening stuff/scented candles on Mn is one of the things that makes me think it skews lower-middle-class.

I'd imagine it's very expensive candles. Just being very clean produces an absence of smells, surely?

Beeswax polish
Wool
Leather + polish
Hard floors
Spices and herbs
No scented plug ins etc. (if you use these, you're not posh)
Good quality cleaning and laundry products
Ventilation
No fried food or takeaway smells

I would say its definitely not candles and plug-in air fresheners, or any other air fresheners. One very expensive show home I went to had amazing scented rocks I remember that - I even nicked one - I later found out they are Sicilian brand, Ortiga )) But the smell is definitely not air freshener/ masking "nice" chemical smell, if there are candles they are quite sophisticated smelling and not overpowering. I actually don't like over the top "nice" smells or smells of chemicals.

My thinking is what contributes to the smell I'm describing:
wooden floors, clean natural fabrics
all the clothes, shoes, etc is top quality - wool, leather, etc
everything that is used in the house is good quality/ natural - toiletries, cleaning products, etc
regular replacement of the fabrics and furniture, so you get nice new stuff smell
regular cleaning - probably by the help
ventilation/ adequate heating
no greasy cooking, good extractor fan - also, separate kitchen so smells don't travel

on top of that, I have no idea

You stole a scented rock?

yep. I needed to know what they were, as it smelled AMAZING

As you may have noticed, I have a thing for smells.

Hard floors and washable rugs. I moved into a cottage with tiled flooring downstairs from a house with fitted carpets, and, my goodness, it's much easier to keep the smell of dog under control when you can wash the rugs, or hang them outside to air a couple of times a month, and mop the floors with Zoflora or something.

Other smells are also available.

Please say more about the scented rock. I don't understand.

Is it naturally scented? Or does it undergo some kind of process to become scented? Does the scent wear off? Do you need multiple scented rocks to create a strong enough smell or is one enough? If one is enough does the rock look attractive enough to actually have on show in the house? If you need multiple rocks, don't you end up with a 90s pebble-display-bowl thing happening wasn't there a whole thing about this on MN about 10 years ago??

These are amazing. They are not really rock, they are hard lumps of tree sap, look a bit like amber. They are quite small, there were a lot of them so its not like I actually nicked a huge rock and dragged it home ))

https://www.ortigiasicilia.com/en/house/scented-crystals

I love that you stole a scented rock from a show home 😂

Oh so they're like little crystals? I was picturing big fireplace rocks. God even the tin is beautiful.

Found your scented crystals (not rocks):

ORTIGIA, Ambra Nera Scented Crystals amzn.eu/d/7LNSVU0

Yep, that them! I described them as "rocks" as that's what I thought they were ))

They also sell them at Fortnum & Mason, that explains the poshness of it all

(I might buy that as Xmas present for myself, how sad is this? 😅)

How long does the scent last?

That aroma is called money. Money for a regular cleaner, money for new carpets/furniture more often, money for a bigger house where the shoes and dog food/basket may not be so noticeable.

They have all sorts of guest soap, diffusers, perfums, I'm gone!

Also, didn't those TV cleaners, Mrs Pink, or Hinch or whatever was her name, said that she cleaned the house with fabric softener?

I've smelled those Ortigia 'crystals' and thought they were sickly and not very nice -- rather heavy? But then in general I think that artificial scents in a house smell as if you're trying to cover up something. In a showhome, it's generally the smell of emptiness and new rugs.