Create cosiness with candles and candle holders

With the holidays in sight, there is always a bit a stress in the air. Especially if you have a smaller home and will be inviting guests around this year… Spaas and Mistral Home show you how relative space really is when it comes to cosiness. Be inspired by our small tips with great effect – from an inviting aperitif corner to an awesome terrace set for a winter picnic.

Create a surprising aperitif corner

Seating your guests at the table immediately for a long evening of sitting? Not necessary. Welcome your guests and put them at ease, let them settle in… anywhere you have some room. With a little bit of imagination and a lot of pillows, soft throws and playful footrests, you can create an unexpected aperitif corner anywhere and everywhere. You can instantly transform a boring coffee table into a festive delight with a fun runner and trendy, transparent tea lights in glass candle holders. Is your tablecloth too large for your side table? Then simply make knots in each corner. Ready to raise a toast, with everyone snuggled up so close together?

Do not limit yourself to one colour, instead dare to combine

Follow your intuition and mix & match—you can even combine different patterns. These days, animal prints have been quick to find their way from the catwalk to the interior. Place a few striking pillows on your sofa and add other, softer, more monochrome hues to the mix. By the way, the photo pillows from Mistral home have solid colours on their backs, so you can turn them around as needed.

Candles always add atmosphere. Set them apart or combine them in groups

What do you think of a large, glass dish or an old-fashioned Mason jar on the table holding candles of various heights and colours? And, when you have invited a lot of guests, candles in glass are always a safe solution! Even on an old-fashioned pie plate, a window sill or mantelpiece, candles are quick mood-makers.

Matching candles to your table decorations

Feel like perfectly coordinating your candles with your table decorations? Take the outermost, thin paper layer from your napkin and wrap it around the candle. Cut away any excessive paper and iron gently onto the candle surface (lowest iron setting). Thanks to the properties of the candle wax, this is a harmless process and the napkin pattern melts nicely onto the candle.

Have a winter picnic on your terrace

An aperitif corner is one, a place for a toast outdoors is two. Make your outdoor furniture extra inviting by adding soft cushions and warm throws. You can also set cosy footrests around a low table. Keep a basket with extra blankets at the ready, in case the temperature drops a bit.

For the fans of all things enchanting: Use a simple piece of string to make a garland of glass jars and colourful tea lights. Or scatter flowers and floating candles in your drink cooler for an extra romantic touch. And, for the fans of all things burly: Take old pieces of wood and use a drill to make some wide holes. Fill these holes with tea lights or with table candles. Simple, but beautiful, for outdoors.

From holiday table to breakfast in bed

Dining by candlelight—well, that always works. Combine candles of various sizes for a playful effect. Mix a varied palette of soft colours and coordinate with your table linens. Or go for simplicity, and add a stylish touch with long, white table candles. Just as nice: Place a trendy tea light on each napkin as a warm welcome for your guests!

And don't forget the smallest room in the house

By setting several (scented) candles in coloured candle holders on the wash basin, you can even make your toilet a cosy room.

Holidays behind you? Keep the cosy mood going the next morning. Surprise your family and house guests with breakfast in bed, with a candle on the tray in a glass jar or in a folding paper bag. Better still: drop a hint for breakfast in your bed…

Read more: "Create your own autumn warmth", "Living trends for 2018"