14 May 2016

Old Made New: Taper to Pillar Candlesticks

Last fall, I posted about spray painting my shiny brass candlesticks. Remember those "home decor parties" people used to have? That's how long I've had these candlesticks! I've always liked them but the shiny brass didn't fit our decor so I spray painted them oil-rubbed bronze.

I was very happy with how they turned out, but spray paint alone did not solve the problem. I also wanted to change the candlesticks to work with pillar instead of taper candles. I quickly found out, however, that this was no easy fix. I couldn't find a product that would easily pop into the tops of the candlesticks to give them a wider platform. It seems to me that something like that should exist but if it does, I sure haven't found it!

So I've been pondering how I could convert these candlesticks to something more usable. I envisioned a flat piece of metal that I could glue to the tops of the candlesticks, similar to a coaster. I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for, but I WAS sure I would know it when I saw it!

Last week, I was checking out the treasures at my local thrift shop and happened upon three metal candle "plates", just a little bit larger than a coaster -- and for 99 cents each! They were PERFECT for my three candlesticks! I brought them home, removed the pads on the bottoms, and gave them a coat of spray paint to match the candlesticks.

You can see how nicely the plate fits the candlestick! I was practically jumping up and down with excitement!

Spouse took an interest in my project (yay!) and offered to do the gluing. He applied a very strong industrial-type glue to the top of the candlesticks and set the plates in place. After letting them dry overnight, he gave the completed candlesticks another coat of spray paint. 

The "new" candlesticks look amazing! Now I'm off to buy pillar candles so I can put them to use! :)
jp

1 comment:

Kristina said...

Great re-purposing idea!