Autumn has most definitely arrived – crisp, misty mornings; the red, russet & golden trees; long shadows and chilly nights. It’s a time for being outdoors, collecting acorns and conkers, kicking fallen leaves, watching migrating birds overhead – in fact, not much beats a long autumn dog walk, then returning home to a hot cuppa.
But perhaps what we love the most about autumn evenings is being indoors with fires crackling and candles glowing. We think of it as an opportunity to indulge rather than lamenting the end of summer. It’s a time to make the house warm & welcoming, to eat comforting food and revel in the magical nature of the season – making the ordinary & everyday a bit more extraordinary.
The Danish, who experience a long period of darkness and cold temperatures, have a special word for it – ‘Hygge‘ – pronounced hoo-gah – a difficult word to translate directly – we’ve read a few versions. Words like cosiness, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, fellowship, simpleness and living well are often used to describe the idea of hygge. It’s all about celebrating the small pleasures in life of which the home is an integral part – especially at this time of year. We’ll be spending much more time indoors in the coming months – and the shortening days means stocking up on the coal, logs and candles to facilitate our Hygge!
Watts & Co offered us some of their church candles to try, so of course we were very appreciative. A lovely selection arrived this week, beautifully wrapped in string & brown paper with elegant, lavender-coloured labels.
Tradition and quality are the corner stones of this family-run company. Based in Westminster, they’ve been supplying ecclesiastical accessories since 1874.
Their candles are hand made in England using natural beeswax, which burns for almost twice as long as paraffin wax – and they’re a lovely cream colour rather than the stark white of cheaper candles. Beeswax also tends to burn more cleanly, without dripping or giving off smoke or soot – imparting a rich, warm glow to a room.
There’s something enchanting about fairy lights, the flames of real fires and flickering candles – they add such a magical atmosphere to the house. They soften hard surfaces such as stone with their glow – and nothing brings out the patina in wood like candlelight.
You just want to snuggle in, read a book, watch a film, eat nice food, drink a glass of wine… and generally slow down a bit.
We’ve got antique candle holders & sconces dotted all over the house. In fact, we never let a nice ones escape if we come across them at auction or markets these days. We’ve even started acquiring other candle related items such as storage boxes, match holders, snuffers and dowsers – so every room has items easy to hand.
The holders all take different-sized candles; luckily, all can be found on the attractive Watts & Co website. Amongst the church supplies, you’ll also find other products that will suit domestic interiors – we’ll be trying some of their gorgeous incense for sure.
We’re prepared, stocked up and looking forward to autumn. It’s a glorious season and we love it!
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