TAKE a deep sniff. How does your home smell? Of baking, coffee and fresh flowers — the scents that supposedly sell. Or stale laundry and dirty dog? Whatever the whiff, you can change it without resorting to some totally toxic air-freshener. There is now a scent to suit every conceivable sensibility.

“Your home should smell as good as it looks,” says Christophe Laudamiel, perfumer at International Flavors and Fragrances in New York. “Especially if you’re trying to sell it.”

Laudamiel created perfumes for Harvey Nichols, Polo Blue for Men and the Elton John candle. He rules the aromatic end of the high street. But he is no snob.

“You don’t have to spend lots to get a good home scent — in fact, very expensive products are not always the best,” he says.

Scent is the final sensual frontier — but arguably the most important, given the power of our olfactory organ. “Your nose smells the air even when you are asleep,” says Laudamiel. “That’s why it’s so important to have a bedroom that smells restful.”

A blend of lavender and marjoram oils is the most relaxing, says Elisabeth Millar, the author of The Fragrant Veil. “After a difficult day, they create a much-needed atmosphere of stillness.”

If you don’t want to blend oils, then just burn a candle. Peace from Fushi is guaranteed to calm and offers organic peace of mind.

Similarly soothing are the Nature/Nurture candles from Kenneth Turner, which are ideal for the bathroom when you plan a lengthy soak. Less expensive, but still nice, is the Dream Away plug-in from Ambi Pur.

“It’s hard to find totally organic home scents,” says Laudamiel. “I don’t use sandalwood from India because those forests are disappearing, or ingredients from animals that have been harmed or killed.”

One of the most exotic ingredients is ambergris, the truffle of perfumes: sperm whales vomit it into the sea and it is found on beaches.

Your bedroom is your space, so it can smell however you like. But the living room can’t reek of patchouli just because you love it. Public rooms need a little more consideration.

“Warm, woody smells are very welcoming,” says Valérie Roubaud, the co-founder of Terre d’Oc, the Provence-based perfumier. “The smell of antique furniture polish is another favourite.”

If you have no antiques to polish, try her Day in Provence collection.

Those lucky enough to have a dining room should burn a blend of Clary sage, grapefruit and orange oils. “It’s a stimulating aperitif and actually helps to decrease shyness at dinner parties,” says Millar.

If you are working from home and need inspiration, try Power, from Fushi. Don’t burn too long, as the bergamot and eucalyptus are zingy. Millar recommends a blend of rosemary, lemon and pine oils. You might also try getting out of your pyjamas and turning off that daytime trash television programme.

If you have a pet you may not even notice that nasty stench that can easily jeopardise a sale. Concentrated cat wee is not a desirable feature. “There’s no magic cure,” says Laudamiel. “But try working with the animal scent. Jasmine blends with animal notes and disguises them, but lemon clashes, making it worse.”

As with everything, celebrities are muscling in. There is now an Oscar de la Renta candle. And, courtesy of Laudamiel, you can have a home that reeks of Elton John. “It’s not extract of Elton, but it’s inspired by him. It’s very complex and very exciting. And not at all discreet.” Cool bars and hot boutiques are burning the candle inspired by the star with money to burn.

A-list aromas are fine, but how long before we are drenching our homes in Dale Winton? Candles remain the biggest sellers. And The Pier probably sells more than any other store. Ginger peach and tamarind apricot are the favourites. If you tire of a scent and want someone else to choose for you, join Kiarie. They will send a new candle to you every month based on the season. It costs £20 a month.

“There’s also a mini-revolution in delivery systems,” says Laudamiel, who spoke at this year’s Surface Design Show in London about getting scent “out of the bottle”.

Soon we will have CDs that smell like the music, and scent-impregnated paintings. “New plug-ins will look better and constantly spray fresh notes rather than flood the room with a single scent.”

For now it’s candles, oil or incense. Anything but dog. “Smell sells,” says Laudamiel. But only the nice ones.

Elisabeth Millar, The Fragrant Veil, www.fragrantveil.com; Terre d’Oc, 26 Marylebone High Street, 020-7486 0496; Fushi at Harvey Nichols (Edinburgh, Manchester & London), www.fushi.co.uk, 0845 3301880; The Pier, www.pier.co.uk, 0845 6091234; Kiarie Candle Club, www.kiarie.co.uk, 0870 7484318; Kenneth Turner, www.kennethturner.com, 020-

7409 2560

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