When we asked San Francisco designer Matt Dick if he’d share his tips on layering scent in the home, he wrote back immediately: “Happy to unfurl some smoke on the subject,” he said.
Certain elements in a home create mood: lighting, texture, color. But now another element?scent?is becoming the new mood-setting amenity (case in point: the New York Times‘ piece last month). Here, the designer behind SF-based Small Trade Company on what scents to use where, how to create subtlety, and starter ideas for the scent-wary.

Above: Matt Dick in his studio. Photograph by Pavel Federov.

Above: The Censer incense burner is available from Apparatus Studio.
Remodelista: What are a few ways that you layer scent in your home and studio" Matt Dick: I burn incense at home because my apartment, which is in the center of SF, is my sanctuary. It makes me feel calm and removed from the urban atmosphere. I use a rotation of Japanese incense and two to three wood formulations by the same company, Shoyeido.
At the studio, we have come to be known for Pinon incense, native to the Southwest. For occasional cleansing and purification, Copal and Palo Santo are go-to burning woods.
I have long used the Santa Maria Novella potpourri. In the past few years, that poor word, potpourri, has gone through the ringer with so many horrific manifestations, but this one is real and feels good, almost medicinal. It’s great in the bathroom, dispensed in...