Sunday, December 11, 2011

Delights of December Day 11 ~ a lovely decorating idea!



Here's one of my favorite decorating ideas -- a candlelit stairway. It's a really lovely way to make your home extra welcoming for guests on a cold winter evening. It's especially nice if (like us) you aren't blessed with having a fireplace in your home. It conveys the same welcome flickering warmth.

Here's what I do: I place a votive candle in a glass holder on every other step of my staircase. I may set each one on a paper doily -- or, in autumn, a leaf; at Valentine's Day, a heart-shaped red doily, etc. It doesn't matter if the votive holders match one another -- I use a whole assortment of clear glass holders -- but they should be glass and not opaque to get the best effect. (Red or green glass holders would also be pretty.) For candles, sometimes I use all white or ivory ones. Other times I alternate red and green. For autumn, I would use fall colors, and for Valentine's I either use red or alternate red and white.

When your guests are due to arrive, quickly light each candle. Fireplace matches work very well for this, since you can light several candles with the same long match.

This is such a simple, easy thing to do, but guests enjoy it so much! I have had many people comment on how pretty and welcoming the lighted staircase looks.

2 comments:

  1. Candlelight makes any holiday special! Love this idea.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Me too! Of course it wouldn't be safe in a home where hordes of young children are scrambling up and down stairs. But otherwise it is such a special way to welcome guests.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit my kitchen table! I love company here in my kitchen, so be sure to leave a comment so I'll know you've visited! I'll answer your questions and comments here on the blog unless you request otherwise.