The fresh redemptive scent that follows rain, the wafting of coffee--nature's sweetest gift, and the perfume of roses that have finally bloomed after being frozen as buds for way too long.
The first thing which came to my mind was a fresh outdoor sort of scent. It moves quite quickly in here. Sometimes there's a bit of a breeze. Sometimes it can be really windy in here. Sometimes there's even a bit of a storm going on.
But definitely that smell you get when you come in from the outdoors and realize that you smell like the air out there.
When I was a little girl the library smelled like the world opening up just for me, to carry me away from my $Ħ!† life and into beautiful freedom via the USS Knowledge.
Like the smell of spring in the air. Or the smell of the first heavy snowfall of the season :) The smell of a library or bookstore, but that could be just me.
If it smelled too much like coffee and booze, newbies might be scared away.
There could be an 'inner' room that smelled like a bar, for oldies.
One minute it's sweet as cotton candy and hot dogs, when everyone is getting along, moments of clarity and support, respectful debates, and sharing enlightening information.
Other times it smells like the stench wafting up from a man hole, when people are fighting with each other, or when someone is hurting and someone is being rude, lacking in empathy, or being a know-it-all.
This can be a beautiful place, sometimes it can be a hurtful place.
I love rfm. I love relating to my fellow exmos. I feel so understood here, we came from the same cult, and no one can truly understand what we've been through the way we understand each other. I'm really grateful for this place.
So it would smell like a place with a hint of coffee or booze but nothing too overpowering. They're could be a separate room for non-smokers and some space for the oldies to relax. There would also be a load of books to get a good library smell in there. To be honest that sounds REALLY good!