If it is a nice, warm autumn day I like opening all the windows during the early afternoon for half an hour or so, to let in the fresh, earthy autumn air and let out the stale indoor air. This does not exactly make the air smell like autumn...but it feels crisper and fresher indoors.
Then, I like to light a fire in the fireplace downstairs, to chase away the dampness that tends to build up in the house. The scent of burning birch and pine is quite wonderful, drifting slowly through the house and lingering long after the ambers have died down.
When the fire slowly dies down, to a warm glow, I like to roast a few slices of autumn apples or pears. Honey dipped nuts are very nice too, to roast for the scent and taste.
In my home, we try to avoid essential oils for cleaning products. The reason is we have cats, and more or less all essential oils are potentially toxic to cats and can, in the worst case, lead to death because of damaging the kidney and liver.
What we do use, that smells wonderful, is pine soap. I think this might be a very specific Nordic product, since I don't see it mentioned in many places. It is not the same as pine scented castille soap, since the base of pine soap is pine and not olive oil. In any case, it smells absolutely fantastic. It has this sweet, almond undertone mixed the the freshness of pine which really is quite fantastic.
We have hardwood floors, so once the summer season is over (and we start always taking of our shoes at the door, because they are so wet and dirty) we soap them with this pine soap. So in the autumn, our house always has this faint scent of pine, mixing with burning wood and the scent of roasted nuts and apples. Oh, and the scent of newly baked bread, pies, buns or cookies. I love baking and once the autumn rolls around, I have more time for it once the garden is laid to rest for the year. So I bake a lot and freeze for later use. Just remember to coat your baking trays and pans with a generous amount of butter when making things you want to serve warm. The extra butter is really helpful when re-heating cinnamon rolls etc. to avoid them becoming kind of dry and boring (and do try a few slices of apples in the cinnamon rolls...delicious!).
I think you really can't cheat to make a house smell cosy and autumn like by lighting candles and spraying essential oils, since it is not the scent that brings the feeling of cosiness when stepping indoors. For me, it is the fact that I do an autumn "straightening" of my home that transforms it into this cosy, wonderful place to escape from the howling autumn winds. When I step indoors, sure there is the smell of cinnamon and pine that makes me smile but more importantly, the laundry is under control. There's a pair of new sheepskin slippers waiting for me as I take of my shoes. All the summer things have been put away, to give way for the autumn and winter essentials. Stepping inside of my home, I can relax and be home.
Something else that smells (and tastes!) fall-ish is baking apples with cinnamon, raisins, and walnuts. Tasty desert too.
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