I thought Nigel was in a funny mood and attempting to be incredibly sarcastic, until I saw the username. hehe
Designing sensors is not something that's within reach of most hobbyists. Most sensors incorporate tiny moving parts or are semiconductor devices. It's not feasible to consider making one yourself.
Besides that, I don't think it's possible to design a smell sensor, certainly not from a hobbyists point of view. Smell involves a very complex and sensative process of detecting tiny amounts of particles within air and distinguishing different types from one another.
Brian