How to Make Your Home Smell Like Fall: 10+ Cozy Ideas

Learn how to make your home smell like fall with these cozy ideas using candles, simmer pots, soaps, potpourri, and more.

Long before I start craving fall decor, I start craving the smells of fall.

And I’m not gonna lie to you, if you were to come to our home anytime of the year, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll find me burning a pumpkin spice candle whether it’s winter, spring, summer, or autumn.

{Ssshhhh…let’s just keep that between you and me.}

Warm, spicy scents are my absolute favorite and I think they make any space instantly cozier.

Give me all the cinnamon, pumpkin, and apple!!!

When fall actually starts getting closer, I definitely lean into those scents even more.

I’ll light a candle, put a simmer pot on the stove, or bake something cinnamony in the oven.

It’s a simple thing, but changing the way our home smells, changes the way it feels.

So in this post, I rounded up my favorite ways to make our home smell like fall.

I hope you find maybe a few new ideas to make your home smell extra cozy this season too!

What scents make your home smell like fall?

There isn’t one scent that defines fall.

For some of us, it’s pumpkin spice and cinnamon.

For others, it’s crisp apples, warm vanilla, or something a little more earthy and woodsy.

Some of the scents I like to use around our home during the fall season include…

• Apple
• Cinnamon
• Clove
• Pumpkin
• Vanilla
• Orange
• Nutmeg
• Maple

You can stick with one fragrance you love or combine a few to create your own “signature” fall scent.

Do not feel like everything has to smell like pumpkin spice!

10+ Ideas on How to Make Your Home Smell Like Fall

There are a ton of simple ways to bring the warm, cozy scents of fall into your home, these are some of my favorites…

One. Light a Fall Candle

We’ll start with the most obvious because it’s also probably the easiest.

Light a candle!

Look for scents with notes of pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, vanilla, maple, amber, cedar, sandalwood, or even baked goods.

And you don’t have to burn candles in every room, either.

I usually find that one good candle in a central area of the house is enough to give everything a subtle fall fragrance.

Some fall candles I love…

P.S. Use code HEIDI20 for 20% off your Antique Candle Co. purchase.

Two. Use an Essential Oil Diffuser

If candles aren’t you’re thing (Mr. ERH I’m looking at you), try an essential oil diffuser.

With a diffuser you can create your own fall scent depending on what you’re in the mood for.

Combinations to try…

• Apple Pie: Cinnamon + Clove + Orange
• Warm & Cozy: Vanilla + Cedarwood + Orange
• Woodsy Fall: Cedarwood + Bergamot + Cinnamon
• Spiced Citrus: Orange + Cinnamon + Clove

Start with just a few drops and adjust until you find a combination you love.

Three. Create a Fall Simmer Pot

If you want your house to smell like you’ve been baking pumpkin bread all afternoon without actually baking one, a simmer pot is the answer.

A simmering pot (sometimes called stovetop potpourri) is a pot of water filled with fragrant fruits, spices, and herbs that gently simmers on the stove.

For an easy fall version, try adding:

• Sliced Apples
• Orange Slices
• Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Star Anise
• Cinnamon Sticks
• Whole Cloves
• Star Anise
• A Splash of Vanilla Extract

Add everything to a pot of water and allow it to gently simmer on the stove.

You can play around with the ingredients too, there’s no wrong combination.

Use what you have and add more of the scents you love.

Remember to keep an eye on your simmer pot and add more water as it evaporates.

Four. Whip Up a Batch of Homemade Potpourri

Potpourri might sound like something from the 1980’s, but I think that’s part of its charm.

And you can make it look really pretty sitting in a vintage bowl or small basket on a coffee table, hutch, kitchen counter, or entryway table.

Combine dried orange and apple slices with cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, star anise, pinecones, putka pods, mini pine cones, and a few drops of your favorite fall essential oils.

P.S. I love making this potpourri and giving to friends and family at Christmastime. It makes the coziest gift!

Five. Switch Your Hand Soap (or Dish Soap)

This one takes approximately 30 seconds…I love quick little updates like this!

Swap your everyday hand soap or dish soap for something fall scented.

Apple cider, pumpkin, vanilla, or cinnamon, whatever scent makes you happy.

Put one in your bathroom, another in the kitchen, and every time you wash your hands you’ll get a reminder that fall is here.

Six. Bake Something Cozy

This idea is probably the best one because you get two things out of it…

A cozy smelling home and something delicious to eat.

Bake pumpkin bread, apple cider bread, muffins, cookies, cinnamon rolls, or anything with plenty of cinnamon and warm spices.

Maybe baking isn’t your thing, so I want you to know that warming a store-bought dessert in the oven counts too!

Seven. Make Apple Butter in the Slow Cooker

The crock pot is my FAVORITE kitchen gadget during the fall and winter months.

And if you want your home to smell amazing for hours, make a batch of apple butter in the slow cooker.

Trust me on this one.

As the apples cook low and slow with cinnamon and warm spices, that sweet, fall smell makes its way through the entire house.

Spread the finished apple butter on toast, biscuits, or English muffins, swirl it into oatmeal, or spoon it over pancakes.

It’s basically a fall home fragrance, you can eat.

Eight. Use Fall Scented Cleaning Products

If you’re going to clean the house anyway, you might as well make it smell like fall while you’re doing it.

Am I right?

There are so many seasonal cleaning products available now that this is an easy way to add a little fall scent to your home.

Mrs. Meyer’s has seasonal scents in everything from multi-surface cleaner to dish soap and room sprays, while Mr. Clean has a Spiced Harvest scented all-purpose cleaner that makes your house smell extra cozy.

You can even find fall-scented carpet powders and deodorizers to freshen rugs and carpets.

Nine. Make Pumpkin Spice Scented Salt Dough Decorations

Add pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon to a batch of salt dough, then turn the dough into leaves, acorns, pumpkins, or other fall shapes.

I used this idea to make a salt dough wreath.

The warm spices in the salt dough shapes will fill your home with the scent of fall and you’ll have a charming fall decoration.

Ten. Warm Apple Cider on the Stove

Make something cozy to drink.

Add apple cider to a pot and warm it slowly on the stove with a few cinnamon sticks and a couple of orange slices.

That’s it!

Pour yourself a mug, get cozy, and enjoy a house that smells like you’ve been doing something much more complicated than warming cider on the stove.

A Couple More Ways to Bring Fall Scents Into Your Home

• Open the Windows: Sometimes the best fall scent is completely free! On a cool, crisp day, open the windows and let that fresh autumn air make its way through the house.
• Cinnamon Scented Pinecones: Fill a bowl or basket with cinnamon scented pine cones for something that smells like fall and doubles as seasonal decor.
• Use a Reed Diffuser: Great for bathrooms, entryways, or other areas where you don’t necessarily want to burn a candle.
• Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Broom: I know fall has arrived when I see these at Trader Joe’s! Lean a cinnamon scented broom in the kitchen, entryway, or mudroom and let it fragrance the room.

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I look forward to sharing more of my home with you and inspiring you to enjoy simple cozy living!

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xoxo, Heidi