Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
In 1997, Kelley Hall-Barr decided to turn her hobby of mixing fragrances into a business. She opened k. hall designs (8416 Manchester, 314-963-3293; Plaza Frontenac, 1701 S. Lindbergh, 314-991-6988; khalldesigns.com), a set of stores whose scented items include candles, soaps, lotions, and cleaning products. Over the years, Hall-Barr has added three more lines, U.S. Apothecary, Barr-Co., and Simpatico; appeared in national magazines like Real Simple, Southern Living, and People; and shipped her products to shops across the country. Today, she continues to keep her product packaging simple yet elegant, focusing on ingredients and function.
• When I’m choosing a fragrance for a space, I think of the uses of the space first.
• I believe you should have a reed diffuser in every room, because it delivers subtle yet consistent fragrance. You don’t have to worry about lighting a candle and putting it out.
• I wouldn’t mix just any fragrances, but I think you could have a cinnamon with apple or a woodsy note with an herbal note.
• You can use a candle any time you are going to be consistently in the space. A lot of times when I’m cooking a heavy scented meal, I love burning a lavender candle or another herbal candle. I think it adds to the ambience, but it also helps control heavy fragrances.
• For a clean candle burn, you need to allow enough time for the pool of wax to melt all the way to the edge of the glass, between one and two hours minimum.
• At bath time, I light at least four or five candles. They’re not always the same fragrance, either. You can definitely mix different fragrances to create different moods.
• I like to change things seasonally. I think that’s important. The connection between your memory and your nose is a pretty amazing thing: Burning a holiday or winter scented candle just deepens the memories. It’s the same thing in
the spring.
• Room sprays and sheet sprays are super when people are coming over. I love to spray my napkins and my table runners—even my curtains. I also love to spray my bedroom sheets with lavender sheet spray before I go to bed. My husband likes it, too.
Roomby Room
Kitchen: “I like fragrances that come off very clean, herbal, and citrus, as well as vanilla-based scents.” Her picks: Milk, Fir, and Grapefruit
Guest Bedroom: “I have a tendency to go toward fragrances that are along the lines of, say, a washed cotton or a kind of watery fragrance that’s very clean.” Her pick: Shore Line.
Den: “I like to go with fragrances that are warm and cozy. I’ll often hit the woodsy notes, spicy notes, and fragrances that make you think of books and leather.” Her pick: Cypress and Cassis.
Bathroom: “I tend toward herbal and other clean fragrances.” Her pick: Verbena.
Bedroom: “I consider this to be very personal. I think people should always choose that fragrance by themselves or with their spouse.”
