Lighting Ideas

Believe it or not, even your candle holders can do their part to help the environment. That is, if you purchase holders made from recycled materials.

These tealight holders are made from bicycle freewheels and cogs by an Oregon-based company called Resource Revival. Their artists make everything from household gadgets (bottle openers, candle holders) to full-blown furniture pieces, such as tables.

These particular candle holders cost $25 for a set of two and are available online from the company store:

Resource Revival

If you’re looking for green gift ideas for people who care about the environment, these oak leaf candle bases could make a nice present. Gently sculpted into the shape of leaves, the holders can hold votives nicely (do be careful when using “bases” instead of actual holders with lips–I’ve had drippy candles that ran over the sides and made a mess).

The handsome glass bases are available in 6 autumn hues: meadow, moss, fern, forest, cedar, and mineral. An 8 1/2″ leaf will run you $15.50.

From Bedrock Industries

Candles come in just about any size and shape you can imagine, so pine cone candles shouldn’t be any kind of surprise. They’d look pretty funny if you actually burned them (all those little ridges would melt quickly, I’d imagine), but if you’re just looking for some rustic decorations for your log home or country kitchen, then they could be nice.

The candles stand 4″ high and are available from Plow & Hearth. A set of 3 will cost you $30.

If I bought all the cool candles and candle holders I found on the Internet, I wouldn’t have any room in my home for me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t write about them.

These alabaster candles and lanterns caught my eye, thanks to the interesting swirling color and the assymetrical shapes. Apparently, the holders are carved right from the banks of the Nile. “The deep secrets of this warm and luminous stone have been handed down through the generations since its earliest use. Ancient Egyptian legend speaks of the magical powers alabaster maintains when lit. The Phoenicians used lit alabaster to ward off evil in their entranceways. Centuries later, the Muslims used the magical presence of this stone to build the entire Mohamed Ali Mosque, from floor to ceiling. Today these glowing alabaster lanterns and romantic votives remain magical to us, ensuring a relaxed and romantic atmosphere.”

All that history in one tiny candle holder. Not bad, eh?

You can purchase them from D.I.G.S.

I’m always drawn to candle holders (and have far too many of them cluttering up the mantle, bookshelves, and other knick-knack-collectors), so this prism lantern caught my eye. Place an ordinary votive inside, and the flame creates a rainbow of color to reflect into the room. How does it work? Here’s the blurb from the product description:

“Usually a prism is a glass crystal that separates light into all the colors of the spectrum (rainbow). For the first time, a holographic film is encapsulated inside the glass of a lantern. The hologram bends and reflects the candles light into multiple, 3-dimensional rainbows, endlessly flickering and changing color and shape.”

The candle lantern can be used indoors or outdoors, and it’s available for $30 at Amazon:

Prism Lantern

Here’s a candle holder for those who purchase tealights by the 100-pack, enjoy nature and nature-inspired household items, and like buying eco-friendly products that help out the environment. Yes, all that in one product!

Viva Terra’s Recycled Metal Tree of Tealights is a holder that “artfully illuminates a table setting while adding its own sculptural interest.” It features “graceful and sensuous metallic branches” that “fan out from a wood base to securely hold tea lights that cast a warm, inviting glow.” And it looks neat too.

You can buy the tealight tree online for $115 (and don’t forget to pick up some beeswax tealight candles while you’re at it):

Viva Terra

If you’re a fan of environmentally friendly products that are made from reclaimed or recycled parts, then you’ll probably dig this candle holder.

“The S-Curve candle holder is made from a curving automotive timing chain and topped off with bicycle cog flowers. Spin the holder on its base to hear the familiar clicking of an old 10-speed bike’s freewheel.”

You do have to have a taste for the industrial to fit something like this into your decor. The candle holder could be a fun accessory in a brick-walls-concrete-floors-and-exposed-beams loft, where one expects a bit of the industrial feel. The candle holder is $36 from eco-artware.com

If you know many people who have candles, or just like to browse the candle shops whenever you go shopping, you’ve probably seen those wooden logs cut in half lengthwise that have little holes hollowed out to hold tea lights (sometimes the logs are even plastic and just look like wood… kind of). I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found them kind of tacky, or maybe just too “rustic” for my tastes.

This glass tea light “log” is a little different though. It has a hollow center, so you can thread ribbons, seasonal greens, flowers, or anything else that will fit, through the center. This lets it be used any time of year for a table decoration. It’s available over at the Gardeners’ Supple Store for $22.50.

If you know someone who is active in charity work or just concerned about the plight of workers in Third World Countries, this Kenyan soapstone candle holder might make a nice gift. It’s from World of Good, a store that helps workers in economically-challenged countries get their wares to the United States and other well-off markets (10% of their profits are re-invested in the artisan communities they work with).

Each candle holder is hand-carved from soapstone or “kisii” that is found in the Tabaka hills of western Kenya. The carvings are then dyed and painted, using the unique designs of local stone-carving artisan families. At $12.95, the candle holder is a pretty economical gift too.

Anybody can put a couple of taper candles in holders and set them in the middle of the dining room table; it’s nice but not original. These nest tea light holders, on the other hand, are something most people haven’t seen before. I think they’d be a great idea for a nature-loving candle-burner (which covers more people than you might think).

The holders are made from antiqued coils of recycled wire that is hand-shaped to “evoke the thatching of a bird’s nest.” When they’re lit, the nests are supposed to “glow as if suspended in mid-air.”

A set of 3 nest candle holders is available for just under $50 in the catalogue at VivaTerra.com.