Little lights - Big impact
Here’s a simple ambiance enhancing trick: tealights, tealights, tealights. 
With a variety of holders out there to choose from, in glass, metal or wood - some for single candles, or more sculptural creations that hold several - tealights are a very easy way to add a warm soothing glow to a space. In case you’re unsure, ‘tealight’ is just a cutesy name for a half-inch high candle usually surrounded by a thin plastic or metal container to burn it in.
It was a good day for my bank account when I discovered the bag of 100 unscented tealights for $2.99 at Ikea. Unfortunately they aren’t available online - only in the stores, so I bought 2 bags of them last time I was there. Having been a sucker for candles since adolescence (like many girls), I enjoy them for their nice light as well as their scent. Now I just get one of my favorite scented candles and use the tealights all around my place for the glow. The best part is that I don’t have to be stingy about lighting the tealights like I am with more expensive candles. Instead, almost every evening here is candlelit - a nice way to wind down an evening.
The holders pictured were selected because they each have a very cool contemporary aesthetic. They’d look great together or separately depending on the amount of candle light you’re going for. The Flat Top Tealight Holders are a simple design made with a polished nickel finish. The top of the tealight sits flush with the flat top of the holder - a smooth semi-reflective surface for light to flicker off of. The Contemporary Wood Tealight Holder (the espresso colored square one) is a clever design that floats the candle atop a hollow rounded cube - intriguing and stylish. The Zena Tealight Tray is a gorgeous tabletop piece that is sure to add elegance with a touch of geometry to your coffee table, dining table, bedside table - pretty much any surface you own where it can be displayed.
My suggestion: try any of these at various heights, above and below eye-level. Staggering these simple designs can add a very comfortable quality of light and surprising dimension to your space.
