Candles bring meaning to many events in our lives, such as birthdays, holiday dinners, and religious celebrations. Candles add warmth, styl, and mood to every room in your home. Whatever the style of the candle, whether it's lit or unlit, it could be a wonderful adornment to any room.

Before choosing how to use candles in your decor, it's helpful to know what candles are made of:

1. Organic Candles - are non-toxic and biodegradable candles made of wax from palm and soy beans.

2. Paraffin Candles - Paraffin wax is the commonly used material in making candles because it can easily be molded into desired shapes.

3. Gel Candles - are jellylike candles that produce a rainbow - like shine when lit.

4. Aromatherapy Candles - utilize natural oils for a variety of benefits - to either calm or make one person more alert. The main purpose of aromatherapy candles is to induce the desired mental states for healing and relaxation.

5. Oil Lamps - usually composed of floating flowers within pretty glass bottles and produce different color of flame as desired.

Candle accessories:

Candle accessories are for candle enthusiasts with great taste for beauty and details. Homeowners with children and pets in the home would choose an electric candle rather than real flaming candles. Candle quenchers may be used to eliminate the bad smell resulting from extiguishing a candle.

Candles could beautify your house and set the mood or they can be a nuisance. To make the most out of decorating your house with candles, consider the following tips:

1. Combine candles of similar color with varying shade and of different shapes together. Remember, using odd number of candles is more aesthetically pleasing than using an even number of candles.

2. Align tapers of different sizes with the tallest candle on the center and place them at the center of any table.

3. Pick your favorite clear or colored bowl and fill it with water, then let some candles float on it.

4. Change the fragrance and colors of your candles with seasons and moods you desire or would like to revive.

5. Fill up your fireplace with candles to make it the centerpiece of the party.

6. Remember informal arrangement is more interesting than a too formal arrangement. Be creative.

7. Use unscented candles on the dining table so the flavor of the meals will not be overwhelmed by the candle's scent.

8. Floating candles in a swimming pool creates a wonderful effect during an outdoor party at night. Just remember to take them out when the swimming session is about to begin.

9. Tealight Candles could be used as alternative to birthday candles.

10. Place Votive Candles on the coffee table to create a warm glow in the center of your living room.

11. Taper (dinner) candles will look nice on dining room tables and side tables.

12. Pillars will look nice when clustered together with various heights on a tray to create a centerpiece for the buffet table.

Successful candle decorating in the home is not complete without keeping safety measures in mind. You don't want to fill your house with lit candles of magnanimous beauty only to find your house in flames. Here are some guidelines for using candles safely.

- Don't place your candles beside the window or on combustible material.

- Remember to use non-flammable candleholders.

- Don't let children or pets play with the flaming candles.

- Always trim the wrick to prevent smoking.

- Don't forget to extinguish the candles when you don't need them anymore.

Using candles allows for stretching your creativity in a neat way like no other form of decorating. Have fun with it!

David Arnold Livingston enjoys decorating his home,
especially during the holidays. He recommends the resource:
Flash Candle