meaning - Difference between かおり and におい

In a TV show I am watching (孤独のグルメ, perhaps many of you have heard of it) the gentleman is about to drink some coffee but pauses to savour the aroma. He says

いい かおり だ

Which I translate as "good aroma". Am I right in saying that におい is simply "smell"?

So perhaps

台所から　においに来ています　　a smell is coming from the kitchen

and

台所から　かおりに来ています　　an aroma is coming from the kitchen

(this may not be correct Japanese, please correct me)

So in example #2 it is implied there is a nice smell like food is cooking ("aroma") but in example #1 something could be burning or rotting.

Answer

Yes, におい is just "a smell". It is in fact neutral, but without いい in front of it, I usually perceive it as a bad one (as I also do with "smell" in English). Like if you say, "What a smell!" in English, I think most people would take this to mean a bad smell rather than a good one.

Also, to say "smells" or "producing a smell", the form is　 におい・かおり　が　する.

• 台所はにおいがしています。　→　A smell is coming from the kitchen.


• 台所はかおりがしています。　→　An aroma/good smell is coming from the kitchen.

Note that you will often hear いいかおり even though it's kind of redundant.