I’ve always felt that outdoor candles make an outdoor space feel luxurious.
There’s nothing prettier than the soft glow of an outdoor candle on your dining table during the summer months.
Before you run out and purchase a variety of outdoor candles for your next dinner party, you may want to keep a few important points in mind.
Scented candles
Scent is considered one of our most powerful senses. Therefore, it’s important to keep this in mind when you set your outdoor table.
In general, scented candles are best kept to small sitting areas and outdoor spaces with plenty of ventilation. They’re not recommended for dining tables, as their scent tends to interfere with the aromas of the prepared food on the table.
Stick to unscented tea candles and small votives when setting your outdoor dining space.
Pillars, tea lights and votives
How do you know which candles to buy? We tend to purchase most of our candles simply by their esthetic.
It’s important to keep in mind that large votives have significantly longer burn times. These are great for inserting into lanterns for an outdoor party.
Unscented tea lights and votives are fantastic for dining tables.
They’re small enough to scatter down your table to create a beautiful, warm atmosphere yet at the same time they’ll only require minimal space on your table.
Floating candles
I love floating candles during the summer time. I place them in my birdbath outside the front door during the summer evening months as well as in large, glass cylinders.
There are many different sizes and colours of these candles and they come in different sizes.
The larger ones are stunning when placed on top of a large cylinder filled with water and floating flowers.
Cut a few hydrangea heads from your garden and float them vertically inside the cylinder.
Light the floating candle just before your guests arrive.
Battery-operated candles
If you would rather not worry about monitoring the flame of a real candle during your evening then the battery-operated versions are for you.
Homesense carries a large variety of these battery-operated candles and this year there is a good selection of them built into beautiful lanterns.
Chrome, rustic and black are just a few of the varieties on store shelves right now. The flame is not quite the same effect as the real thing, but they are very safe and still quite effective.
Barb Lunter is a freelance writer with a passion for home decor, entertaining and floral design. She also runs Blu Dog Staging & Redesign. bludogstagingandredesign.com
