Looking for ways to transform your house into a home? Candles are just what you need! Whether it’s for their ambient light or pleasant fragrances, candles are perfect for creating a cosy vibe and reflecting the personalities of the people in your family. Here are four ideas to help your transform your home with candles:
1. USE THEM
So many people have candles on display but never use them. I get it. Sometimes it’s nice to have a really pretty candle that looks fresh out on display. But candles are there to be used! It’s in the burning that the cosiness is created, after all. Don’t make my mistake and have a nice pillar candle on display for so long that it starts gathering sticky dust…
If you struggle to remember to use candles, try putting your candle stuff in a drawer nearby. If you have your lighter/matches, wick trimmer, and snuffer all in the one spot near your most prominent candle display, then you will be more likely to remember.
2. MAINTAIN THEM
Follow the instructions! We go into detail in our candle burning tips blog, but essentially you should burn it for 1–4 hours, trim the black ‘mushroom’ of the wick after use down to 5–6mm (much easier with a candle wick trimmer), and use a snuffer to extinguish the flame. More obviously, don’t leave them unattended, exposed to drafts, or near flammable surfaces. It’s really not that hard, though out of laziness a lot of people seem to pretend it is!
Also, candles look far better when you maintain them properly. You'll enjoy neat wicks, soot-free candle holders, and a flat wax surface rather than ugly, semi-molten, very obvious rings from times when you’ve extinguished the flame too soon or otherwise not maintained your candle properly.
3. GROUP THEM
Candles especially nice paired with other décor, including other candles. If your candle comes in a box, you could display the box (especially if it’s pretty). Three is the magic number here, though with the right décor you can have any number of things (including, by the way, an even number!).
4. FIND A HOLDER FOR THEM
If you want to make more of a decorating statement with a candle, try housing it in a holder. This will also obscure the pillar if you don’t like the look of naked candles.
BONUS TIP: THINK ABOUT COLOUR
If your candle wax is coloured, you may be more limited. You might even be limited by the colour on the label on the jar or holder, if there is one. Our candles are generally white, as neutrality avoids this issue, but if your candles or candle jars are strongly coloured then have a think about whether or how they fit in with the rest of your décor.
(P.S. your candle being a different colour to the rest of your décor does not necessarily mean it does not go! I’ve had a candle poured into a reclaimed green wine bottle before, and it actually worked really well even though the rest of my home featuring mainly reds, dark timbers, and warm whites.)
