With the opening of our first-ever Wayfair store in Wilmette, IL, what better way to say “Welcome to the Wayborhood” than with a signature scent that instantly transports you there?
Perfect Weekend, Wayfair’s signature fragrance, does just that. More than an inviting scent, the Wayfair team aimed to craft an immersive, emotionally resonant experience for customers.
From Concept to Fragrance
The key to success lies in a deep collaboration between Wayfair’s internal creative teams and expert perfumers. To bring Perfect Weekend to life, Wayfair partnered with Scent Marketing, a company well known for specializing in crafting bespoke fragrances for public spaces.
The process began with in-depth brainstorming sessions about what the scent should represent. The fragrance had to align with Wayfair’s core values—optimism, warmth and universality—so it could appeal to a wide range of customers. This led to two specific scent ideas: the crisp smell of laundry drying in the sun and the natural, crisp scent of a recently cut lawn.
“The thought was, can we combine the feeling of fresh laundry and cut grass—when your chores are done, the week is reset and only good things are ahead?” said Kevin Lindberg, Associate Director of Experiential Creative.
Once the vision was clear, the scent development began. Capturing that emotional connection required multiple rounds of testing and fine-tuning. These scents were selected to capture a universal sense of relaxation and accomplishment, but finding the perfect blend that felt clean, fresh and inviting was more challenging than expected. Early versions leaned too much toward a laundry detergent scent instead of the fresh and inviting fragrance they envisioned.
“Scent is such a powerful part of human experience—it evokes emotions, connects to memories and helps shape the feeling of a space,” Lindberg explained. “We had to get the balance right.”
The team explored different fragrance combinations and referenced scented products like candles to pinpoint the nuances they wanted. After several iterations, they achieved the ideal balance, blending the freshness of clean linens with the nostalgic comfort of a summer day outdoors.
Bringing the Perfect Weekend to Stores
With the Perfect Weekend scent finalized, the next step was determining how the fragrance would be introduced in stores. Wayfair opted to use high-tech scent diffusers rather than candles, as the diffusers would ensure even distribution of the scent throughout the vast retail spaces.
At first the calibration of the diffusers required careful adjustment. During the initial rollout, the fragrance came out too strong, requiring minor changes to create the right effect. But after some fine-tuning, the scent has become an integral part of the Wayfair shopping experience. Each diffuser currently covers around 3,000 square feet, lightly filling the store with fragrance without overpowering customers.
“We wanted something that could invigorate shoppers subtly—helping them feel a sense of optimism and energy as they explore the store,” said Lindberg.
The Perfect Weekend Candle
Following the successful in-store launch, Wayfair got to work on the candle version of Perfect Weekend to bring the signature scent into customers’ homes. The same attention to detail applied to the fragrance development was carried over to the design of the candle itself. The packaging was carefully crafted to reflect Wayfair’s brand identity—elegant, understated and welcoming.
Housed in sleek, simple packages with minimal branding, the fragrance itself remains the focal point instead of relying on bold logos or heavy visual elements. Inside the container, subtle touches of Wayfair’s signature design—such as the brand’s wallpaper pattern—create a surprise-and-delight moment for customers.
The result? A candle that feels fresh and welcoming, a natural fit for any home.
Perfect Weekend is more than just a fragrance—it’s an extension of Wayfair’s commitment to making home a place of comfort, joy and inspiration. By integrating this fragrance into both the retail space and home products, Wayfair has created a memorable, sensory-driven experience that deepens customer connections in a new and meaningful way.