When you're entertaining over the coming month, one easy little detail to keep in mind is lighting a candle in the bathroom.
Consider a candle in the bathroom for a few reasons:
- Candles smell good.
- Candlelight flatters the room and its inhabitants.
- A candle provides just enough light in a windowless bathroom or powder room to allow guests to find the light switch. This makes it a lot nicer than stepping into a completely dark bathroom.
Here's what we're planning to do: Our bathroom has a wall-mounted holder for two glasses that normally hold toothbrushes. Since we won't want our toothbrushes out when guests are over, anyway, we're going to put them away and light tealights in the glasses instead. That way, there's no chance of accidentally knocking a candle over at the sink or anything. We're excited to try this out and wonder why we haven't made this switcharoo when entertaining before.
Do you light a candle in your bathroom when you're entertaining? Any recommendations? Some good candles for this use that we've featured on Apartment Therapy: Voluspa Candles, Henri Bendel : Good Candles, Baies Diptyque Candles
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The best smelling candle EVER:
http://www.candledelirium.com/Candles-for-Men/Archipelago-Botanicals-Havana-Candle/
I love the effect of candles in the bathroom, but I avoid scented ones. A small area really holds the scent and can give many people who are aroma-sensitive (myself included) an instant headache.
I stick with beeswax candles, which burn longer, have a very muted non-chemical sweet scent, and burn cleaner than paraffin - better for our lungs and the environment.
Any burning candle will absorb bathroom odors, scented or not - a big plus!
We recently installed a Leviton dimmer with a discrete integrated motion sensor so that guests entering the powder room automatically trigger the light to turn on.
This is a great entertaining idea, and I've always done this. My new favorite scented candle is the Caldrea Cypress Bergamot. It makes the whole house smell like a Christmas tree!
I've cracked a glass by burning tealights in it before. You might want to put a layer of something to insulate the glass from the hot metal if you do try it.
We keep light-sensor nightlights in the darkest areas of the house where guests would go that way there is enough light for finding a lightswitch. They may not smell as nice as a candle, but they last a lot longer.
Completely unrelated to the subject of the post, yet I can't help myself to comment: The name on the candles in the picture is what first caught my attention here. Voluspa (or Völuspá) is one of the most famous of the ancient Icelandic Sagas - and my favorite one too ;o)
Just for fun, the word has nothing to do with spas or candles as the word spá means prophecy, and the word Völuspá was used in the old times for a fortuneteller (usually females whom everyone was scared of) as they used something called vala to see the future. Thus direct translation of the word would be "prophecy of the Vala".
These women were similar to witch doctors, in a way, in Viking communities.
You can read Voluspa in English if you like:
http://www.cybersamurai.net/Mythology/nordic_gods/LegendsSagas/Edda/PoeticEdda/Voluspo.htm
Sorry about the babbling, I just dropped my jaw when I saw that name on the candles and had to share this with you guys hehehe :o)
I agree and also always do this! I have a trio of colored tealight vases in the bathroom. They cast a pretty and colorful glow and add a cozy atmosphere.
don't tea lights burn out really quickly though? I'd probably be having too much fun to remember to light more...
Growing up, my mom ALWAYS lit a candle in the bathroom when we were entertaining. She generally kept a big, heavy duty Yankee-like candle near the sink, and lit in after the bathroom had been thoroughly cleaned. It's pretty amazing what a difference it makes.
I love a candle in the bathroom! Whenever anyone is stopping over it is lit. It adds a warm glow to my very small bethroom!