Our Rustic, Wyoming-Made Candles Fit With Any Decor
If you’re up on your home decor trends, you may have noticed the rise of the wooden dough bowl candle. As of early 2023, they have positively soared in popularity, and now grace homes all across the countryside and even all over the world.
But what exactly is a wooden dough bowl candle? In this article, our candle experts will answer all of your questions about these little beauties, and teach you how to take care of them as well.
What Is A Wooden Dough Bowl Candle?
Basically, a wooden dough bowl candle is a candle that - you guessed it! - sits in a wooden bowl rather than being encased in glass. The reason they’re called ‘dough bowls’ is because the bowls are often shaped the way that traditional bread-making bowls used to be before the advent of the electric mixer. While they live mostly in the modern farmhouse area of home decor, they can also sit comfortably in nearly every style, from urban to contemporary to retro and more.
These candles are typically oversized and have multiple wicks (for maximum coziness, of course.)
But… Is It Safe To Burn A Candle In A Wooden Holder?
The short answer is: yes!
Wooden dough bowl candles are designed to burn safely. Since the wick is buried in the wax and kept well away from the wooden edges of the bowl, the flame never comes into contact with the wood itself. And the wax, while certainly warm, isn’t nearly hot enough to ignite the wood around it. All in all, this type of candle is as safe to burn as your normal glass or tin-encased candle.
We do, of course, recommend following normal candle burning procedures when you light your bowl candle. These include:
- Trimming the wick down to ¼ inch before you burn it
- Keeping the candle away from drapes and anything else that’s potentially flammable
- Keeping the candle out of reach of children and pets
- Always staying in the same room as the candle while it’s burning
- Cleaning any foreign objects - like bits of wick or matches - out of the candle before lighting it and after extinguishing it (wait for the wax to cool, of course)
- Extinguish your candle after about four hours of burn time
- Burn your candle only on a level, fireproof surface
Additionally, we highly recommend that you let your candle burn until the wax pool has melted until it reaches the edges of the bowl. This will prevent what we call ‘tunneling’, where the flame burns the wax directly underneath it, gradually creating a tunnel through the wax until it reaches the bottom of the candle. Tunneling greatly decreases your candle’s life, so take care to avoid it as much as possible.
How Do You Decorate With A Wooden Dough Bowl Candle?
Easy! Because wood is neutral, you can use it to decorate in nearly any space. It can add a touch of rustic and cozy to spaces like living rooms and dens, and can also be used to warm up traditionally cooler and harder-edges spaces like kitchens and bathrooms. The candle itself adds a wonderful touch of cozy to any setting, especially when lit.
Once the candle is used up, you can wash out the dough bowl and use it to continue decorating for as long as you want. It can be used as a key holder, a fruit bowl, a soap dish, and many other things. Your only limit is your own creativity!
Curious about our own dough bowl candles? Check out our selection here, or get in touch with us for more information!