Lovely Things

Coloured and metallic tea light candle holders

I'm often asked where one can buy the pretty coloured metallic tea light candle holders we featured back in 2006, as they're no longer available from Heal's. Sadly I've not been able to find exactly the same set again, but I've done some digging and come up with a range of alternatives for those of you who love the look.

Pictured here are coloured 'cupcake' tea light holders from lovely store Rockett St George. They come in a set of four and cost £9.99. You can also buy a very similar set of six for £12.95 from Amazon or blendboutique.

Continue reading below for more brightly-coloured metallic candle holders...

Up to 20% off everything at Debenhams

Debenhams is running a mini sale starting today and ending on Friday 12th, offering up to 20% off almost everything in the store and online at debenhams.com. Shown here is the olive smoke glass candle holder from Star by Julien Macdonald - was £30, now £24, and the green embroidered leaf cushion - was £20, now £16.

Drama, texture, metallic: Autumn at Zara Home

Zara Home's Autumn/Winter 2008 collection has come over all dramatic - there's loads of architectural shapes, dark gold and glossy black. Continue reading below for details of the items featured here...

Summer garden candles from the Cotswold Company

The Cotswold Company is offering 15% off all full-priced items until 16th April, and what better purchase to make than these very sweet 'Summer garden spike candles'. They come as a set of four in blue or yellow and are 76cm high. I think I'd have to go for the yellow as they remind me of oversized buttercups and would look really cute peeping out from between bushes in the garden. They're usually £29.95, but with the discount they're yours for £25.46.

Hanging lanterns & tealight holders

When the sun starts to shine, our thoughts turn to outdoor entertaining (even if it is still rather chilly of an evening). Hanging candles and tealights twinkling away give a magical quality to any garden party or BBQ, so here's a few you can pick up in High St stores...

First up is this very pretty Moroccan style hanging lantern from Monsoon. It has crackle glass and hand made brass detailing. It's £15, available only in green and takes a standard tealight candle.

Metallic Candle Plates from the Pier

I never seem to have enough candle holders (yes, I even surprise myself there). Let me rephrase that, I have candle holders, but it seems like each time I want to light a new candle, the holder is too small, or the wrong colour, or an awkward shape that works with only one particular sort of candle. To the rescue are these inexpensive 'Aysel' metallic candle plates from the Pier. On sale at just £1 for the small ones (14cm) and £3 for the larger ones (21cm), you can buy a load so you're ready for those candle emergencies. Perfect for your Christmas table, they come in copper, silver, gold and red.

Related: Skeem Candles from Heal's | Blue Christmas Decorations | Frosted Leaf Candle from M&S

Get Flocked at ASOS

Homewares aren't what I first think of when I think ASOS as they're much better known for their celeb-inspired clothes, but the online-only store currently carries a lovely range of flocked home accessories. Being from ASOS, they're also pretty inexpensive, so a great way to try out the current enthusiasm for all things flocked without breaking your budget. The set of four coasters is just £5, the candlestick and cushion are both £10 each and the photo frame is £12.

Skeem Candles from Heal's

The Skeem range of candles are so utterly gorgeous that I'm having a hard time deciding which ones I want for myself, let alone choosing some for gifts. The patterned holders are inspired by paper lanterns, Chinese tea packaging and silk fabrics for the 'Ichiban' oriental-style collection, and henna tattoos, black prints, and Indian street signs for the 'Masala' collection. The candles are available at £20 from Heal's in papaya, chai tea and blackcurrant in the Masala range (above), and mountain peach, happy orchard and fortune cookie in the Ichiban range (below).

'Galerie' Candle Holders

Here's an interesting idea - change the content of your home accessories with your mood. The 'Galerie' candle holder is essentially a hollow glass tube with a metal base and tealight candle slot. You can fill the tube with anything you like, from flowers to coloured water, pulses or nuts as these pictures show (though I'm sure you could come up with some slightly more inspired options). You can match the filling colour to anything you like to accent your colour scheme, and change it when the mood takes you. A set of two is £24.95 from WhereDidYouBuyThat.com.

Frosted Leaf Candle from M&S

This frosted leaf candle from Marks & Spencer is so delicate in its pretty silver holder with a frosted leaf motif winding around it. It's £5, also comes in gold, and is just right for the coming Winter to give a lovely soft glow to your room when it's frosty and cold outside.