Using Candles as Candles, Not Just Decorations

C’mon admit it. You have traditional candles around your home, but you never light them. True? If so, you’re not alone. We all have done it! Sometimes you just don’t want to melt the pretty things. Sometimes they’re in hard-to-reach places. And other times you’re afraid you’ll forget to put them out. It’s not often that people use hard-earned money to buy products, and then never use them. Think about it. Would you buy a car and never use it? How about a computer or cell phone? Okay, maybe occasionally you buy something from the grocery store, and it spoils before you get a chance to serve it. No doubt, for most people, not using what you buy is the exception to the rule. And now with flameless candles, the same can be said for candles, too. In addition to being a beautiful decoration, you’ll get to enjoy their flicker and special candle light feeling. That’s because modern battery-powered candles:

• never melt, so don’t worry about destroying what you purchased with your hard-earned money,
• aren’t a fire hazard, so they can be “lit” in centerpieces, on nightstands and safely anywhere, and
• can sit on pot shelves, hanging vases, sconces or chandeliers, and be turned on with a remote.

“It may be the greatest misfortune of old style candles. People spend a lot of money on them and then are afraid to put them to use,” says Claire Ownby, whose firm Ownby Designs provides interior design services for high-end homes in Hawaii, California and Arizona. “I’ve done it myself, though I’m glad to know that we can design candles into home décor in a way that they will be used frequently.”