LOOK FOR LESS DIY GOLD PILLAR CANDLEHOLDERS

Recently I was flipping through a catalog that I got in the mail and spotted these brass candleholders.  I was immediately drawn to them but had a feeling they would be pricey, and I was right!  The price in the catalog was $249- gulp!  I kept the photo though because I had a feeling I could come up with a similar look.  I found just the right supplies and came up with my own look for less version of those gorgeous gold pillar candleholders, and saved almost $200 by making my own DIY version!

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OK, back to the project!  Here was my original inspiration-  this is a set of 3 different sized metal pillars.  

On my next trip to Hobby Lobby I checked the candleholder aisle and was thrilled to find these.  They only came in 2 heights but the size and shape were very similar, and it was 1/2 off week... score! 

The candleholders I found are a bit shorter at 8" and 6" than my inspiration pieces that are 13", 10", and 7", but other than that I think they're a pretty good match. To start, I taped off the metal cups because I didn't want those painted. 

Then, I did a quick spray with some leftover metallic paint.  I planned to brush paint on these but used the spray paint as something like a quick primer coat to go ahead a get a base layer of a metallic color.  

As mentioned, I wanted to brush paint these instead of spray paint.  They have a tiny bit of grain and texture in spots so I thought a thicker craft paint would help give a smoother finish.  I could have sanded them if I wanted them totally smooth before paint, but I couldn't be bothered with sanding for this project.  😂

I tested 2 golds that I had on hand, my oil based liquid leaf and a regular gold metallic craft paint.  You can see the tiniest bit of color variation between them here, the liquid leaf was a touch more brown.  I pulled some brass pieces to compare- it looks a bit different on camera and in daylight, these were taken at night. 

I decided to use the gold craft paint.  It's Delta Ceramcoat Metallic 14K Gold,  I think I got it at HL years ago but here it is online too.  I've used both of these for different projects over the years and love them both!  Here's how they turned out, I'm pleased! 

So, how do you think I did on my look for less?  I shopped when the candle holders and candles were 50% off, so I spent around $60 for the holders and pillar candles together, and I already had the paint but that would be just a few dollars more.  Compared to my original inspiration set at $250, I'm pretty happy with that! 

If you're not interested in DIYing these, I found them for nearly $100 less than the catalog price here.  They are metal instead of wood and the sizes are a bit taller, so not a terrible deal if you love them! 

If you enjoyed this post check out these other past Look for Less projects, and see more of my DIY projects here- (when you're there click NEXT under the photos to see more) 

Look for Less Orchid Arrangement

Look for Less Pom Pom Basket 

Look for Less Feather Pom Pom Shoes

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