Make these Scandinavian-inspired wooden houses (to hold flameless candles) with a few scraps of wood and a bit of glue.
I love Scandinavian decor – ESPECIALLY come winter when every image is hygge (“a Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment as cozy, charming or special.”) I love scrolling through Instagram and seeing rustic stone fireplaces, sheepskin (faux of course) throws, and candles casting a warm glow.
Since I had one Christmas gift left to DIY before Santa’s big day, I decided I wanted to make something hygge to (hopefully) share the same feeling.
The girls’ Papa came over the other day and did all the cutting (and planning) for these house-shaped candle holders. He used ¼” birch plywood to cut three bases at ~4″ square.
These wood houses will have an enclosed roof, so we wanted something that would hold a small flameless votive, without being either too confining or overwhelming to the small candle. We wanted the sides and roof high enough to be a decor piece (I read somewhere that you should never buy decor pieces smaller than 6″), but not too tall so that they take over the table or space they will be placed on.
We varied the heights between 6 and 8″ tall – to the peak. The roof was cut on a mitre saw at a 45° angle on either side of centre.
I used my Gorilla Glue clear to attach two sides to each base and then let everything dry for an hour or so.
While the glue dried, I painted what will become the underside of the roof (easier now than later). I attached a small piece of copper to each roof pitch in the hopes that they would reflect the light and cast a warm copper glow…
but it didn’t quite work out as I’d hoped, so I’d say skip this step and maybe just paint the underside of the roof white or silver to reflect the light.
The two roof pitches, one ¼” shorter than the other, were attached together with the clear glue and set to dry.
Then glue everything together. All of these house-shaped candle holders done without a single screw, nail or clamp – talk about easy! (particularly easy if you have a “Papa” that will do the cutting for you wink, wink)
A light sanding and two coats of black paint and we were left with these:
Here I’ve stacked one house-shaped candle holder on a stand with two lower neighbours, and then interspersed small floral votives to give height, life and interest.
However, these wood houses could easily stand as singles – maybe one per shelf?
I also ran a line down my coffee table to show how they look just as pretty spread out over a larger area:
You get a tiny glimpse of a copper glow in the above photo – but it really isn’t as dramatic as I’d hoped.
Maybe if it was completely dark?
Outside of a coffee table arrangement or as individual elements on bookshelves, these house-shaped candle holders make a pretty centrepiece for dinner as well.
These wooden house candles are low enough for easy conversation over top and you can bring in ornaments, pinecones, small florals… anything at all really, to set the Season and the mood.
These are actually my last Christmas gift DIY of this year, but I may be DIYing another set for myself soon. (I’m so greedy aren’t I?) I can’t help it – they are SO CUTE!
BTW, the little floral votives are homemade as well – just little glass votives from the dollar store, some floral foam, greens from the yard and an $8 bunch of grocery store flowers (sweetheart roses). Grand total for all three = $11 (Cdn)
Give these a try – using a mitre saw, jig saw, hacksaw or just scissors and cardboard – I want you to have a hygge Christmas too.
Happy Holidays everyone!
