When I bought my first home, I was surprised that it didn’t immediately smell like me. After more than two decades and seven mostly minuscule New York City apartments, the place I called home always seemed to effortlessly take on the scent of my life. It was imperceptible to me until it was gone, but there I was, finally crossing the threshold into the real estate dream I’d made a reality, and instantly it felt like someone else’s. It smelled… fine. Not bad, which was a win for a small, semi-abandoned 80-year-old saltbox cottage, but decidedly not great. Not welcoming, not warm, not pleasant, not me. Scent remediation, as I would soon rebrand the task at hand, sailed past “replace broken dryer” to the top of my lengthy first-time homeowner to-do list.
Three years and countless deep cleans, home fragrances, and gargantuan five-wick candles later, I was still walking into the unfamiliar olfactory abyss. That is, until an unexpected solution presented itself: the candle warmer lamp. I admit my design-obsessed heart had harshly dismissed them as a corny trend, fodder for social media influencers, and—perhaps worst of all—clutter. But, after witnessing one in the incredibly pleasant-smelling and stylish home of a chic friend, I began to reconsider and commenced fact-finding. My friend said she’d never go back to lighting a candle ever again. “The burnt wicks, black smoke, fire hazards, pile-up of half-burned candles, all for a scent that doesn’t last? Who needs it?” she mused. By the time she got to how much longer her candles now lasted, how the scent lingered for days, and how it made splurging on a pricier candle much more worth it, I had already bookmarked 12 options at various price points.
I’m happy to report that my chosen candle warmer lamp—a little mid-century-inspired version with vague echoes of Robert Sonneman—not only lived up to the very lofty hype, it also made life easier in unexpected ways. I no longer worried about safely snuffing out every candle before bopping out of the house to run a quick errand, and I ceased stressing if a nearby houseplant got a little too close. Almost immediately, the candle lamp began serving as a grown-up nightlight, transitioning my computer-strained eyeballs from a day of fluorescent office lighting to an evening of warm roseate tones emanating from the goji berry-scented candle that gently eased me to sleep every night.
As someone who more than once in her life fell asleep next to a lit candle and accidentally set her hair aflame (anyone else?), the peace of mind alone seemed worth the purchase price, but ultimately, it was finally walking into a home of my own that reflected me in every sense—using every sense—that had me sold. Corny or not, I’ll never live without the smokiness of oud, the warmth of cedar, or the smooth, tropical scent of papaya casually greeting me and every guest that I host. The remainder of the first-time homeowner to-do list, however, appears to be a permanent work in progress.
Laura Sampedro is the Managing Editor of ELLE and ELLE Decor.
