How to Arrange Candles on a Table

Single-Candle Arrangements

• In most cases, you should go bold when designing a centerpiece around a single candle -- think wreath, as opposed to candle ring. Just how bold depends on the size and use of the table. A properly accessorized pillar candle that holds its own on a small entryway stand, for instance, is completely swallowed up in the center of family-sized farmhouse table. Think big when using a single candle -- go for three or more wicks. You can find multi-wick candles modeled after everything from molecular structures to blocks to geometric shapes, some with up to 10 wicks. This type of candle weighs in easily at the center of even the largest dining room table.

Candle Groupings

• When decorating with groups of candles, use height as a design element. Incorporate clusters of candles of varied heights or lines of candles of the same height. For larger tables, consider extra-tall pillars -- sometimes called festival candles -- to create your centerpiece. Accessorize your groupings using items such as seasonal decor, including pine cones, gourds, seashells and small, potted succulents according to the time of year or holiday. Lend a more contemporary look with glass marbles, gems, framed photographs or greenery. Add fabric in the forms of bows or table runners to soften or add romance to your arrangements.

Using Candle Holders

• Almost any piece of glassware or pottery or even a repurposed dish can be easily transformed into a vessel for displaying candles. You might line a collection of square pillar candles along the top of a vintage mirror that you've placed flat on the table, nestle a few votives into apothecary jars half-filled with sand, or combine antique teacups or saucers holding tea lights with pitchers of fresh flowers to decorate tabletops throughout your home. Natural elements also work beautifully for candle displays. Try drilling holes in pretty driftwood and inserting taper candles or scattering river rock along the edges of a tray holding pillars.

Molded and Decorated Candles

• Shaped candles add whimsy and interest to centerpieces. Poke heated skewers into the bottoms of small candles shaped like cupcakes or roses and use them as flower picks in floral arrangements. Feature a large candle shaped like a bouquet of tulips on a vintage plate covered with a scattering of real flower petals. You might also incorporate decorated candles -- candles covered with real pressed flowers or wrapped in cinnamon sticks -- into your centerpieces for seasonal displays. Place these candles in your arrangement by displaying them in groups or small clusters and foregoing the accessories.