21 Creative Ideas for Decorating with Candlesticks and Candleholders

How do you decorate with Candlesticks? Can you decorate with Candlesticks without Candles? these creative candleholder decorating ideas will inspire you to add to your candlestick collection!

Candlesticks and candleholders should be an essential to your home’s decor. There are so many ways to use them! Whether they’re thrifted, vintage or DIY versions, having a stash to add light and flicker to your vignettes will add beauty to your home. Hope these 21 Creative Ideas for Decorating with Candlesticks and Candleholders inspires you!

I’m joining my Lifestyle of Love friends today, hosted by Cindy of County Road 407. We love to share vintage, antique, repurposed and farmhouse ideas with you! If you’re visiting from The Crowned Goat, don’t you love CoCo’s DIY French Farmhouse Candlesticks? She is so creative! I’ll link to all the rest of the ideas at the end.

21 Creative Ideas for Decorating with Candlesticks and Candleholders

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Set a Decorative Accessory on Top of a Candlestick

If your candleholders were made for a pillar candle, they’ll have a 3-4″ space on top where you can place a decorative accessory. This is a great way to add height to a vignette, elevating your design. Such an easy candlestick decorating idea.

Add these to a pillar candleholder for fun decor:

• nest
• bird
• sphere
• planter
• pumpkin
• flowers/foliage

Turn Bottles and Vases Into Candle Stick Decor

Bottles and vases with a small opening can be used as candlesticks. Simply wedge a wax candlestick into the opening. Amber bottles, milkglass vases and antique glass bottles are beautiful when amassed with flickering candles. Whether you use real wax candles and let them beautifully drip or choose wonderful faux versions (THESE are my favorite), repurposing bottles and vases expands the decor possibilities!

Use Fillers in Candleholders

Anything can serve as a candleholder if you add some filling around the candle. I love showcasing vintage finds with candles. Simply fill the vessel with something to support the faux or real candle.

Sometimes I may have one filler down below to hold the candle and another around the top to fill the extra space. Get creative and think like a decorating engineer!

Some fillers I use to support candles:

• dried legumes
• birdseed
• epsom salts
• rice
• moss/lichen
• pebbles
• fish tank rocks

DIY Candlestick Holder Ideas

Almost anything can be turned into a candlestick if you put a spade bit on your drill or drill press. (find it HERE). You can make the hole to fit a taper candle or even a votive candle. I upcycled a whole stash of old furniture legs and spindles into a collection of repurposed candlesticks. Fallen logs can also easily be turned into rustic DIY candleholders, too.

{“DIY Repurposed Candlesticks with Sheet Metal Shades“}

Place Candlesticks in Windows

Instead of using typical Christmas window candles, place mix and match thrifted candlesticks in the windows of your home. I used a mixture of newly thrifted brass candlesticks, silver plate and thrifted wood types. Wax battery operated candles were easily set on a timer to go on and off each night all over the house. Such a special treat during the holiday season!

Thrift Decorative Candelabras

Estate sales, church sales and thrift stores are great for finding decorative candelabras at an inexpensive price. Multi-armed versions can be a fun decor accent for your home. I picked up this black iron scrolly candelabra at a church sale for $5. I remember doubting my purchase because it would take up a lot of room to store. But I’ve so enjoyed displaying collections and cute accessories on it through the years. Sometimes I even use it for candles!

Definitely keep an eye out for these statement-piece, decorative candlesticks when thrifting!

Repurpose Vintage Finds as Candlestick Decor

Vintage collections and finds can be repurposed and upcycled into candlestick decor. Vintage Christmas tree stands can hold a pillar candle for a unique centerpiece. Old croquet sticks can turn into candleholder decor by simply adding a clay pot. Let your imagination dream up ways to turn your vintage finds into unique candleholders!

{“Repurposed Croquet Candlestick“}

Mason Jars as Candle Decoration

One of the favorite and easiest candleholder decorating ideas is to place a fluted votive cup holder into a small mouth canning jar. You can fill the jar with seasonal fillers like candy or birdseed. Use them singly or fill a canning jar lifter with them. We sold so many of these for Christmas at my former store! Classic and simple. All you need are the fluted votive cups and your stash of canning jars (Get them HERE).

Decorating with Candlesticks Alone is a Classic

Of course, decorating with candlesticks all by themselves is perfect, too. I have quite the collection of vintage candleholders in depression glass, milkglass, green glass. I enjoy tucking them around my centerpiece to finish off a pretty table setting, or even using one at each place setting.

Check my Amazon Shop HERE for my favorite faux candles and home decor!

Whew! That’s a lot of candlestick and candleholder decor ideas for one day! Hopefully you’re inspired to try some new things and maybe even pop a few “new” ones in your thrift store cart! Or repurpose and upcycle what you already have.

Find all the Lifestyle of Love series HERE.

I can’t wait to see the rest of the ideas from my creative friends. See how my friend, Cindy, from County Road 407 styles her candlesticks to reflect her design style next; she always makes me smile:)

Thanks for reading 21 Creative Ideas for Decorating with Candlesticks and Candleholders! If you enjoyed your visit, be sure to become an Insider to keep the ideas coming!

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Sharing at these lovely parties:

Farmhouse Friday

Fabulous Friday

Home Imagined

All About Home

Vintage Charm

Whimsy Home Wednesday