Decorating with Brass Vintage Candlesticks

If you are familiar with the Marie Kondo cleaning method, you’ll know that people have been doing massive clean outs of their homes. In an attempt to get rid of  excess items they don’t need, they are donating them en masse to local charity shops. For those of us who like to visit the occasional thrift store in search of a treasure, it’s made the task of finding the “good stuff” much easier! Recently I saw someone who was decorating with brass vintage candlesticks on Instagram, and I became obsessed. I loved the idea of lining the top of my faux mantel in a similar way, and I knew I needed to find some ASAP. I started hunting the  thrift shops in my area for vintage candlesticks and with a lot of searching, would come across one or two. I was a little discouraged, thinking that at that rate,I wasn’t going to have my collection until mid-summer. Finally, I hit the jackpot and found five at one shop at one time! I’m still looking for more, but it’s enough to have a sizable collection, and to decorate the mantel.

Brass candlesticks come in all shapes and sizes

The thing I love about vintage brass candlesticks is that they come in all kinds of heights and designs. Some are really plain and some of the antique ones have beautiful etching and scrolling on them. I love how they are all different shapes and sizes, and when I placed them on the mantel, I arranged them in order of size, tallest to smallest.  But these are also gorgeous in a centerpiece or on a tray clustered together.

 My neighbor dropped off these gorgeous flowers for me (it was such a treat to get them!), and I thought they were the perfect addition to my mantel decor. They are one of my favorite finds so far, and they create quite the vintage collection. They pair well with vases of flowers, or on tablescapes as well. Since I’ve started this collection, I’ve decorated with them in many ways including centerpieces and in my Christmas mantel.

Add taper candles or candle cups to use tea lights or votive candles in your brass candlestick holders

I picked up two sizes of plain white taper candles at Hobby Lobby, they were super-affordable at just over a dollar a piece. I put one of my Pothos plants in a brass planter on one side to balance out the taller sticks on books on the other. They make pretty vignettes in my living room. At Christmas time I like to pair brass candle holders with greenery.

 I pulled my Gram’s mirror out of storage, and I love how it goes with the brass. Vintage mirrors are such a great way to add a vintage modern touch to your home decor. If you aren’t lucky with finding brass candlesticks, vintage crystal candlesticks are also great vintage finds to decorate with.

It looks so clean and fresh for early spring/late winter.  The best part is, it’s about a $30 mantel decorating idea! If you like mantel decor, or are looking for more mantel decorating ideas, you can see inspiration here, and here.