Welcome to February finds! This is a new monthly series (it won’t always be February finds of course) where I’m looking forward to sharing the beautiful, eclectic, occasionally eccentric things I’ve – well, found. Does anyone else develop minor obsessions and spend way too much time diving down a rabbit hole looking for the perfect thing? I do (obviously) and I thought it would be fun to showcase them – especially because I can’t buy it all, nor would I want to, but some of what I find might spark inspiration for you!
As you’re bound to quickly notice, I have been browsing for pretty much one thing only this month, and that is candle stick holders! For a few months now, quite possibly longer, I’ve been looking at our dining table and imagining how perfect a simple candle arrangement would look on top of it. We have a couple of stacked woven mats in the middle that usually hold our fruit bowl and salt and pepper grinders, and I really think two or three tall, elegant taper candles would finish it off perfectly. You can see the current candle-less arrangement in this post.
There aren’t that many candle stick holders out there that I love, though – most are too traditional looking. Over Christmas I found a gorgeous candelabra in Hawkes Bay, but it was just way more money than I want to spend on this small detail! It had a palm leaf detail and was brass, but was really subtle still. I can’t find it online, but I have found a number of other palm leaf candle stick holders. These from French Country Collections, below, are the nicest I’ve seen of the other options, and at around $100 a piece they’re a lot more sensibly priced, but they are just maybe a touch too much for our house. I think that when you live in a beach town, you have to be really careful to balance the beach theme. I love them though, and I can see them working so well in a more contemporary space!
When I was on the French Country Collections site, I remembered how much I love their Sunday Morning candle. Obviously this isn’t a taper candle but hey, it’s still a candle! I bought one but they seem to be getting hard to find in this scent (absolutely my favourite) but buying the First Harvest one, then a Sunday Morning refill to drop in when it is finished, seems like a winning idea to me! I love that you can refill the glass jars, I don’t know why more scented candles don’t have that option?
In general, I couldn’t find a lot of candle stick holders I liked in New Zealand. Turning my attention to the States paid dividends though. These vintage ones from Etsy are actually pretty traditional but I like them…
And I love how simple this West Elm one is, but am not sure if it looks too gappy? There just seems to be a lot of distance between the two candles.
These Kate Spade ones aren’t at all what I’m looking for, but I do love Kate Spade. I think they might work well in an emptier space, but they’re not right for our table.
These ones below, from Pottery Barn, are the winners so far I think. And they’re on sale! They’re just so simple, but still provide some interest. And I love how the brass looks with plain white tapers…
BUT I also can’t go past the colour of these blue tapers, below, from Maman (in New Zealand – hurray!)
I haven’t bought any of these yet, apart from the aforementioned scented candle. I’m heavily leaning towards the Pottery Barn ones, but that’s kind of the nature of my little shopping/browsing obsessions – they’re only ever something fun and pretty frivolous, not usually something I need, and half the time the search for the perfect whatever is more fun and less scary than actually buying it (because what if I buy it, then find something better?)! Um, is anyone else out there like this, or is this just a me problem? And if I were to buy the candle stick holders I’ve been dreaming of for months now, I’d love to know, which ones are your favourite?
The Judd Crew 