We all want our homes to make a good first impression. We give a lot of thought to what someone sees when they walk through the front door: the colour on the walls, the lighting, the furniture. But how our home smells can be just as important. An unpleasant smell can undermine even the most immaculate interior, while a home that smells fresh and clean is instantly inviting. The problem is, we quickly get used to the everyday smells in our own homes and often don’t notice them. Here are a few things to keep in mind to make sure your home smells as good as it looks.Nose blindnessOur brains are good at filtering out familiar smells. It’s known as nose blindness, or olfactory adaptation, and means that after being exposed to a smell for a while, we stop noticing it. You’ll often notice this when you come home after a few days and suddenly become aware of how your house smells.Pets are probably one of the biggest culprits behind unwanted smells, especially because their beds and other soft furnishings can hold on to odours. Choose dog beds with removable, machine-washable covers and keep litter trays clean by scooping them daily and changing the litter regularly. If your cat is happy using an enclosed tray, these can help contain smells, and some come with replaceable carbon filters. Wash throws and other soft furnishings your pets regularly sleep on, too.Cooking smells, bins and shoes are other common offenders. Clean kitchen extractor filters and ovens regularly, make sure bins have well-fitting lids and think about ventilation when designing shoe storage, rather than sealing everything inside a cupboard. The key is to deal with smells at their source rather than trying to cover them up.Home designed by Optimise Design: Pets are probably one of the biggest culprits behind unwanted smells Good ventilationFresh air is probably the most effective home fragrance. Our homes are increasingly well insulated and airtight, which is great for energy efficiency, but it makes good ventilation more important than ever. Opening windows regularly is the simplest place to start, even for short periods during the colder months.Pay particular attention to kitchens, utility rooms and bathrooms, where moisture, cooking fumes and odours can quickly build up. Make sure extractor fans vent to the outside rather than simply recirculating air back into the room. If you’re renovating or extending, think about mechanical ventilation from the outset. An MVHR system replaces stale air with fresh, filtered air while recovering heat from the outgoing air, improving air quality without losing valuable heat.Hidden pollutantsWe’ve all opened the doors of a newly installed wardrobe or cabinet and been hit by that strong “new” smell. Sometimes it’s enough to make your eyes water. What you’re smelling can be chemicals released from materials, adhesives and finishes through a process known as off-gassing.Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, can be released from all sorts of things we bring into our homes, including paint, flooring, furniture, composite timber, adhesives and some cleaning products. The smell is generally strongest when something is new, but off-gassing can continue long after the obvious smell has disappeared.Kitchen designed by Optimise Design: We've all opened the doors of a newly installed wardrobe or cabinet and been hit by that strong ‘new’ smell When decorating or renovating, look for low- or zero-VOC paints and finishes and ask about the materials and adhesives used in flooring, furniture and joinery. Think about this when having carpets or upholstery professionally cleaned too. Ask what products are being used and whether lower-emission or fragrance-free alternatives are available. And always ventilate well during and afterwards.It’s also worth thinking about what you’re using to clean and fragrance your home. Heavily fragranced cleaning products, plug-ins and synthetic air fresheners can all add unwanted substances to the air, so don’t assume something is better simply because it makes a room smell “clean”. When choosing home fragrance, look for good-quality products with clearly listed ingredients and pay attention to what candles, diffusers and room sprays are made from.Signature scentOnce the air is fresh, you can start thinking about fragrance and the atmosphere you want to create. Think about how many hotels, shops and restaurants have a signature scent. It’s part of the experience and often something we remember about a place, so why not do the same at home?It doesn’t have to be one scent all year round either. Just as you might change your perfume with the seasons, you can do the same at home. You might choose something fresh and citrusy in summer, warmer and woodier in winter, or perhaps a fragrance that reminds you of a favourite holiday or place.Candles, diffusers and room sprays are all options, while fresh flowers, herbs and foliage can add fragrance, too. If you have an open-plan home, be careful not to have too many different scents competing with one another. Choose fragrances that work together or let one scent carry through the space.Scent is so closely linked to memory that, over time, the fragrance you choose may become the smell you and your family associate with home. Ultimately, the goal isn’t for someone to walk through your front door and immediately identify which candle you’re burning. The nicest-smelling homes are often the ones where you can’t quite put your finger on what you’re smelling. The air is fresh, there’s no lingering trace of cooking or damp, and there’s just enough fragrance to make the space feel welcoming.