Illuminate Your Space: A Comprehensive Candle Colour Guide for Every Occasion

SUMMARY: 

• Ambience: Warm hues like nude or peach suit cosy settings, while classic colours like black and white fit formal settings.
• Event Candle Trends: White candles are traditional, but modern decor features various shapes, colours, and unconventional holders.
• Creating Atmosphere: Cluster candles in complementary colours and heights for mood-setting, and use coloured candles to add a playful touch to formal events.
• Aesthetic Pairing: Match candle holders to candle colours, and group candles in complementary colours. 
• Seasonal and Event Themes: Use seasonal colours for holidays and themed events, such as red and green for Christmas or purple and orange for Halloween.

Candles, available in myriad fragrances, shapes, and colours can transform any space into a sanctuary of warmth and ambience. Among the various factors to consider when choosing candles, colour is a significant one. In this guide, we'll explore the importance of candle colours and how they can be paired with different shapes of candles and holders to elevate your space for any occasion or decor style.

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Location:

In the home, the ambience created by candles is often either a cosy vibe or a more formal setting. For cosy spaces, consider warm hues like nude or peach, poured candles in frosted jars for a diffused glow, or large, multi-wick candles. For a more formal setting, like a tablescape, consider classic colours like black, cream, and white. 

At an event, classic candles include white tealight candles, white pillar candles, and white taper dinner candles. However,  a new wave of event decor has seen experimentation with different shapes and colours of candles, as well as unconventional styles of candle holders that differ from the classic hurricane vase or gold candelabra. 

Atmosphere & Mood:

Traditionally, taper dinner candles are used for decorating formal affairs, and poured candles are used for home decor or gifting. Use candles and colours creatively to create an immersive atmosphere with a few simple tips: 

• Cluster candles in similar or complementary colours in a range of staggered widths, heights, or shapes for a centrepiece that helps to set a ‘mood’ in your space. Use pedestals, table risers, or wooden slices to further dramatise your display. 
• Mix an all-white combination of multi-wick candles with traditional pillar candles and floating tea candles for a sense of serenity or relaxation. Pairing this with scented diffusers or scented candles can serve to amplify this ambience. 
• Use coloured candles to offset a classical sense of ‘formality’. For example, pair white linens at your next formal gathering with candles that offer a pop of colour. This helps to showcase creative styling, whilst also conveying a sense of fun. 

Aesthetics and “the Look”:

Where the colours of your candles can play a fundamental role in the aesthetics and ambience of your space, the role of a candle holder cannot be understated in its ability to ‘finish off’ a ‘look’. 

When combining colour and candleholders, consider what your desired aesthetic is, as well as what style of candleholder best suits your chosen colour palette. For example, frost-finished coloured candles pair especially well with a country rustic-style or brushed gold candle holder. Contrarily, a black candle will almost certainly pair well with a modern or minimalistic-style candleholder.