Easy Wooden Candleholders Makeover

Fun and Funky Wooden Candleholders Makeover

This wooden candleholders makeover is an easy and inexpensive way to give a pair of dark wooden candleholders a completely new look.

Sometimes you go to the thrift store and you have no idea what you’re looking for. Well, maybe more than sometimes. lol.

But then you see something, and immediately you can picture in your mind what that something is supposed to become.

Pair of dated dark wooden candleholders

That’s what happened with this pair of dark wooden candleholders. They were just $2 for the pair, and I snapped them up right away.

At first glance they look like they’re identical, but if you look closely there any many small differences. There are slight measurement, color, and shape variations, which tells me that these candleholders were handmade.

And I will take handmade things over machine made every day of the week. It’s all about embracing the perfection of the imperfections, and loving that somebody actually took the time to create these candleholders.

I love the size and the shaping, but honestly they just look dark and dreary to me. And since I’m a gal who loves color, they were perfect candidates for a bright and colorful makeover.

---

Supplies needed for wooden candleholders makeover

• wooden candlesticks
• sanding block
• white spray paint
• decorative tapes in various colors and patterns
• cutting mat
• utility knife
• ruler
• spackle filler (if needed)
• plastic putty knife (if needed)
• spray polyurethane (if wanted)

---

Preparing wooden candleholders for spray painting

These candleholders had a shiny finish so it was important to give them a nice light sanding all over. This allows the spray paint to have better adherence.

Make sure to get into all the nooks and crannies as best you can.

Spray painting wooden candleholders

I took the two candleholders outside and gave them two light coats of a paint and primer combo white spray paint. The dark wood didn’t show the gaps, but once they were white they really stood out.

So I grabbed my spackle and a putty knife and filled in the gaps. Once dry, I did a light sanding to remove any excess spackle. Then I gave them another coat of spray paint.

Adding colors and patterns to wooden candlesticks

I have a variety of $3 packs of different decorative tape combos from the dollar store in my craft stash. When I found the candleholders I knew right away that using some of these would be a quick and easy way to give them a lot of personality.

Here are the four tapes that I chose for my wooden candleholders makeover.

Applying the washi tapes

These tapes are super easy to cut to size. Just place them on a cutting mat, and cut to any length or width you need for the different areas on the candleholders.

I started with the pink pattern. The bottom tape is full width, and the other two sections were cut to size.

Then I added the purple polka dot tape. I have always had a thing for polka dots. They always really up the fun factor of anything.

Then the blue. Basically I applied the washi tapes to the flat raised areas, leaving all the contoured areas white.

And finally I cut up the green squiggly tape into individual squiggles to add the finishing touch. The white background of the blue, green and pink tapes gives the candleholder a hand painted look.

Here are the dark wooden candleholders when I found them.

And here they are after their fun and funky makeover. I think they look so much happier now, and I want everything in my house to look happy.

Once I was all done, I gave them two coats of a spray polyurethane to affix everything in place. It really gives them a finished look. You don’t have to do that if you think you might want to change the tapes for a different look at some point.

The colors and patterns of these decorative tapes are pretty endless, which means so are the design possibilities for a project like this.

As always, never leave candles unattended. Better yet use battery operated candles.

If you enjoyed this fun and colorful makeover you might also enjoy:

Easy DIY Wall Clothes Rack Makeover
Wooden Bread Box Makeover
Silver Tray Makeovers

It would be greatly appreciated if you would pin this project to your favorite Pinterest board, and also share it with your friends.

Thanks so much for reading and until next time,

keep on keepin’ on!

XOX