The scents of fall are enticing and incredibly inviting. Make your very own fall smells and scents to create that cozy feeling from fall into the holiday season! From fall scented candles to DIY potpourri, simmer pots, and more, we’ve got you covered.
Take the room spray and other scent vessel out and get ready to fill your home with the sweet musk and smells of pumpkin pie, sandalwood, cedarwood, lemon, cypress, and many more!
Warm days…crisp nights…changing colors…falling leaves…cozy sweaters…tall boots…football…tailgate parties…homecomings…fall decor!
Fall is in the air already, and that means many of my favorite scents are too. I love the smells of burning firewood from people’s fireplaces, warm cinnamon, apple and pumpkin in the oven, and the cool, crisp breeze that blows the leaves across the path and makes one grateful for warm, snuggly cardigans and soft, plush blankets!
To say I’m a fall fanatic is an understatement.
If you love the season as much as we do at One Crazy House, try making any of these DIY fall scents (or recipes) to get your home smelling like autumn in a jiffy.
DIY Fall Smells and Scents To Make Your Home Smell Deliciously Autumn-Like
If you are wondering how to make your house smell like fall, you are in the right place! I love all those warm fall smells and just want to have them around me as much as possible all season long!
Check out these 15 different ways to use DIY Fall scents that will make your home smell incredible. Skip the commercial air fresheners. You don’t have to be brainy in chemistry when you do these autumn scent recipes!
“I can smell autumn dancing in the breeze. The sweet chill of pumpkin, and crisp sunburnt leaves.” Ann Drake
1. Autumn Simmer Pot
Make an autumn simmer pot (also known as stovetop potpourri) out of apples, oranges, vanilla extract, cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg. The options are endless. There’s no exact science to this. You can add the ingredients, in the desired amounts, to suit your own nose.
Just add enough water to cover the ingredients and bring it to a boil. Then turn the temperature down so it simmers.
In about 10 minutes, your home will smell amazing!
You can also simmer scents like this in the crock pot if you want your home to smell great all day long. Simply replace the water every so often as it evaporates whether you’re using the stovetop or crock pot method.
2. Burn (and Make) DIY Fall Scented Candles
Scented candles are a wonderful way to bring the fall scent into your home! Try your hand at making your own spiced candles! You need only a few ingredients and some time.
While you can use any scents you like, these were made with ginger, cinnamon, and clove. Nutmeg and allspice would be fabulous in a fall scent mix, too!
3. Make Cinnamon Scented Pinecones
Oh my goodness! This is one of my favorite ways to enjoy the smell of fall! These cinnamon scented pine cones are perfect for fall and for the holidays. Although this technique is a no-bake method, others have baked cinnamon essential oil onto the pinecones at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or so.
4. DIY Fall Scented Potpourri
Set out some fall potpourri with dried fruit and nuts, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and more to emit a pleasant scent in any room of your home. Remember, potpourri should not only smell good, but it should be pretty as well, so don’t be afraid to experiment! This autumn version is simply lovely to look at!
5. Easy Baked Cinnamon Apples
Okay. Is there anything that smells better than baked apples? Sometimes making your home smell amazing is going to make you hungry, right? That’s the problem with food-based scents. But one way to get that amazing scent and a full tummy is with some delicious baked apples.
This recipe is so easy – and you can eat it! Serve with ice cream and caramel sauce when the apples are done. Mmmmmm.
6. DIY Candle and Coffee Bean Centerpiece
Looking for some of the best fall candles? The cool fall air makes me crave coffee, especially the fragrance of it. Make your autumn candles smell even more amazing by surrounding them with coffee beans. The mixture of coffee beans and the fall scent is out of this world. Promise! And the artfully arranged display is just so pretty to look at!
7. DIY Apple Pie Soap Autumn Scents
If you prefer the smell of baking apples or apple pie to the smell of coffee, you can make 10-minute apple pie soap to enjoy the smell of a freshly baked apple pie whenever you wash your hands or take a shower. Even adding it to the soap dish will leave a lovely lingering scent. Bonus: Add a pretty printed label and it would make a wonderful gift for a loved one!
8. DIY Dried Orange Garland
A dried orange garland is another project that will carry your fall scents from fall right into the holiday season. It’s made with orange (or grapefruit works, too), bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and twine. And it will last for years to come if you store it properly.
It’s an easy craft that looks beautiful! And the smell of the baking oranges is positively delightful.
9. Fall Scented Wax Melts
These wax melts should absolutely be on your fall to-do list for your home. They’re versatile because once you get the technique down, you can easily alter the extracts and spices to create your own custom fall scents. So you can make different scents for different rooms in your house or different scents for different seasons! The options that open up to you are endless!
10. DIY Mulling Spices
You haven’t lived until you’ve made your own homemade mulling spices. Store in an airtight container and then add them to bourbon, wine, cider or keep it super kid-friendly by adding it to apple juice or hot coconut milk. And it’s less expensive than buying pre-made mulling spices!
This is sure to warm you up in the chilly fall weather, and it smells absolutely divine while it simmers.
Here’s another version of homemade mulling spices to try!
11. Slow Cooker Apple Butter
Add some DIY fall scents to your home when you whip up some slow cooker apple butter to spread on your toast or warm biscuits on a chilly fall morning. Make a large batch and freeze what you won’t use within a week. You’ll have plenty to last all season long.
Doesn’t apple butter smell heavenly while it’s cooking? Your kitchen will be the place everyone wants to be on those days you’re making the slow cooker apple butter!
12. Fall Simmering Potpourri
Pumpkin spice potpourri is perfect redolence for October and November. Your guests will love the warm, comforting fall scents… and so will your family!
The best part about this potpourri (besides how wonderful it smells) is that there are no strict measurements needed… just toss in the ingredients and adjust until it smells good to YOU. You can be as creative as you wish or just use what you have on hand. And if you want to share this recipe with anyone, no stressing about exact measurements. Just tell them to use what they have handy in their kitchen.
13. Autumn Spice Toilet Spray
Use autumn spice toilet spray to trap smells before you go “number two.” This stuff seriously works great to knock out unpleasant odors!
It’s made with a fall blend of essential oils, rubbing alcohol, and distilled water. Just one more easy, DIY way to add the pleasant scents of autumn into your home!
14. Spiced Citrus Jars
Keep spiced citrus jars on hand to simmer and give them as gifts. You’ll find several other recipes there like fresh pine and apple cinnamon to keep your home smelling great through the fall and winter months!
15. DIY Cinnamon Oil
Save yourself the cost of paying for cinnamon oil by making your own (it’s easy!). It’s just a three step process and it takes about 3-4 weeks for the cinnamon sticks to release their oils. So make sure you give yourself plenty of time if you want to use it in your homemade goodies! It’s lovely for adding to soaps, lotions, and creams.
You’ll have the delightful scent of cinnamon with you through the autumn season.
DIY Fall Scents That Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing!
Which of these amazing scents remind you most of fall? Autumn is such a special time of year and there’s so much to enjoy about the season. The changing colors on the leaves, the warm and cozy sweaters that feel like old friends after having been packed away all summer, eating hot soups again, Halloween decorations & costumes!
And of course, the scents of fall like cinnamon and apple and nutmeg and oranges!
We hope you enjoy this list of DIY fall scent ideas. Any of them will make your home smell amazing and inviting! It will make the season even more special. And we hope you’ll make the most of it!
More Fall Ideas For You To Try This Year
- Stunning DIY Fall Farmhouse Signs
- DIY Fall Wreaths
- DIY Farmhouse-Style Fall Decor
- 17 Creative No-Carve Pumpkin Ideas to Decorate This Fall
- 12 Fall and Winter Simmer Pot Recipes to Make Today
Which of these fall scents is your favorite one to make every year?
