Coming home to a pleasant-smelling house is refreshing, uplifting and satisfying. Just like getting your interior design just right, creating a fresh scent in your home is an easy way to elevate the your house's ambience for both your family and your guests. Many new homeowners overlook the scent of their rooms, but according to several home design experts, it's one of the best and easiest ways to create a peaceful, attractive house.

First things first: All experts agree you must cleanse your house of any bad, stale smells before you try to use any candles, incense or air fresheners. After sampling information from homemaking websites such as Dengarden, Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, Cheat Sheet and more, the verdict has become clear: No one wants a garbage smell with a flower smell on top of it! Here are some ideas to help you flush out the funky smells so you can replace them with fresh ones.

*Air Out Your Home

Both Jayme Kinsey, a contributing journalist at Dengarden, and Maria del Russo, a contributing journalist at Real Simple, agree that you must bring in new air. Kinsey argues that no matter how much of a new scent you try to infuse into old, stinky air, you'll never get rid of the scent completely. Russo cites household expert and author Rachel Hoffman, who states that too much moisture in the air (from cleaning, cooking or showering) can trap bad smells and make the air feel damp and musty. Bite the bullet on the AC costs, and use fans, screen doors and vents to bring as much new, fresh air in as possible. Hoffman also suggests ditching old sponges, removing/washing towels and floormats more often and seeking less total moisture in your bathrooms, kitchen and laundry spaces.

*Address Common Offenders

Experts agree that bad smells always win; you've got to stay ahead of them. Journalists from Good Housekeeping and Cheat Sheet highlight several of the most common smelly culprits:

Garbage disposals: Oftentimes, small bits of food scraps get stuck in the disposal and cause lingering smells. Experts recommend turning on the disposal, running the water and putting a combination of baking powder, dish soap, ice cubes and lemon/orange peels down it while it's running. This mix of neutralizing, aromatic and abrasive materials will help create a fresh-smelling kitchen. Get peeling!

Trash cans: Without a doubt, the trash cans in all our houses could use a good scrub-down. Experts recommend a proper wash, bleach and sun-dry before bringing bins back in the house and putting dryer sheets in the bottoms to create good smells and absorb moisture.

Carpets and rugs: After years of spills, footprints and pet hair, whether your carpets look good or not, there are a lot of extra smells (and potentially moisture) stuck in the fibers of your floor coverings. Take some time and money to thoroughly wash them out and let them air-dry while you open up all your windows.

After you've purged the bad smells, you're ready for the fun part: picking good smells to create a peaceful ambiance. This is where the advice diverges, but all routes will work. Air fresheners, cleaning supplies and candles all have man-made chemicals in them; incense can be hard for some people to tolerate; methods for infusing natural aromas take the most work. But all will achieve a pleasant scent in your home. It's up to you to choose which is right for you, but here are some good starting ideas from our trusted journalists:

*Heat

The most effective candles and air fresheners include some type of subtle heating. Candles work well but are limited by their wicks and also can create smoke stains. Experts recommend heating plates for either scented wax (no wick and no flame) or plug-in air fresheners.

*Incense

Incense is a great option and creates a cool vibe, often with strong, long-lasting smells. Common scents are sandalwood, frankincense, jasmine, lavender and patchouli, although any store that sells incense will often have many more to choose from. Experiment with different scents and brands. Always use a proper incense burning stand, and ask your guests if they've ever had any adverse reactions to incense when they arrive; it causes some people to get mild respiratory issues or headaches.

*Natural Methods

Natural methods are a bit more labor-intensive, but they always create fresh, natural and subtle smells, as opposed to the man-made smells of some artificial scents. Experts recommend small jars of coffee beans, eucalyptus or lavender branches. Coming back to the theme of heat, many home experts will simmer fruits and herbs on the stove, bake vanilla beans on low or put essential oils in their heating plate.

Once you've ushered out the bad smells, any one of these options will provide a welcoming, pleasant atmosphere.