A self-care corner is a small spot at home that you keep only for slowing down. It is where you sit with tea, read a few pages, journal, or just breathe for ten minutes. It doesn't need a spare room. A corner of the bedroom or a quiet end of the balcony is enough. A scented candle is what makes the spot feel different from the rest of the house the moment you light it.

Pick the right spot

Choose a corner you can reach without walking past the TV or through the kitchen. A spot near a window works well in the day, and the window lets you air the room out after the candle is snuffed. Avoid placing the corner directly under a ceiling fan. The draft makes the flame flicker and burn unevenly, and it carries the scent away before you can smell it.

What to put in the corner

Start with somewhere comfortable to sit, like a floor cushion, a mat or a low chair. Next to it, keep a small table or a brass plate for your candles, so the flame sits on a flat, heat-safe surface. A plant, a soft throw and a notebook or book finish the space. Keep the phone charger somewhere else. If the phone can't charge in the corner, you're less likely to scroll there.

Choose one scent at a time

In a small corner, one candle is enough to fill the air. Burning three different scents together muddles all of them.

Warm, sweet scents like vanilla suit evenings, when you want to unwind. Hettvalley's Oreo candle carries a vanilla fragrance. If your corner is for morning journalling, a coffee scent like the one in the Brownie candle feels more awake. Fruity scents sit in between. The Strawberry Delight jar candle burns in its own glass jar, which makes it easy to keep on a side table.

To match scents to each room in the house, read our guide on choosing the right candle fragrance for every room.

Get the lighting right

Switch off the tubelight when the candle is lit. A single lamp with a warm yellow bulb next to the candle gives enough light to read by. With white overhead light on, the space feels like the rest of the house.

Keep the scent there when the candle is off

You won't burn a candle every day. A scented wax sachet hung near the corner, or kept in the drawer of the side table, gives off a light fragrance all day without a flame. When it fades, replace it.

Burn your candles safely

The first time you light a new candle, let it burn until the melted wax reaches the edge of the container. A rough guide is one hour for every 2.5 cm of candle width. If you put it out earlier, the candle burns a tunnel down the middle and wastes the wax along the sides.

Before every burn after that, trim the wick to about 5 mm. Don't burn a candle for more than four hours at a stretch. Keep it at least 30 cm away from curtains, books and the throw. If your corner is in the bedroom, put the candle out before you lie down. Never fall asleep with it lit.

To put it out, use a snuffer or cover the jar with its lid. Blowing it out sends up smoke and a smell of burnt wick, which undoes the calm.

A 15-minute routine to start with

Light the candle and put the phone on silent. Spend the first five minutes doing nothing except breathing slowly and noticing the scent. Use the next ten to read, stretch or write down three things from your day. Snuff the candle when you're done. After a week, lighting that candle becomes the signal that it's time to slow down.

Hettvalley makes scented candles in Ahmedabad, from jar candles to festive and gift candles. Pick one for your corner and keep it only for that space.