Monthly Archives: March 2020

Tips For Decorating Your Kitchen Island

Taking Your Kitchen Island From Bland to Glam

We all know that the kitchen is the epicenter of any home, and for me, the kitchen island is the soul. It’s like the popular kid in school – everyone gravitates towards it. It’s the go-to place in my house. It’s where my kids will sit to eat their snack and do their homework. It’s where I’ll hang out with a glass of wine with my husband or friends and catch up on our lives. After spending months designing the kitchen to be just how I wanted it, my focus then shifted to the most important thing that was left – ways to accessorize the island. With so many options, but never enough space, I’ve come up with my top 5 “must-haves” in kitchen island decor ideas.

5 Items That Will Spruce Up Your Kitchen Island

The only thing worse than a bare island is an overly messy one. My kitchen island is a coveted space. I don’t like clutter so what I do have on it needs to add value, and by that, I mean it needs to look great or serve a purpose (preferably both)

#1: Fruit is Nature’s Candy

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First up on my list is the simple fruit bowl. No kitchen island is complete without one. This checks the box for looking gorgeous and being useful. I know that when the fruit is given pride of place in my kitchen, we tend to snack on it more and make healthier choices (hence why the cookie jar is at the back of the pantry. The theory for that being out of sight, out of mind).

What kind of bowl should you look for? Fruit lasts longer if the gasses have room to circulate. With that in mind, I’ve found the perfect bowl that’ll keep the fruit fresh but doesn’t compromise on style. Designed by Marco Trimarchi, La Stanza Bowl dello Scirocco by Alessi comes in white, black and stainless steel, and makes a great centerpiece for your kitchen island.

#2: Setting The Ambiance with Flameless Candles

What I love about candles is that their very presence brings me a sense of calm. I associate candles with romance, and tranquility, and peace, and quiet. So even though the kids and dogs running through my house at any given moment represent none of those things, it’s like the Pavlov effect. The very sight of a candle transports me internally to a better place.

Our Flameless Candles from the Matchless Candle Co. provide the same soothing glow of a real candle but without the mess or safety concerns, and don’t need constant replacing! Made from real wax and individually hand-poured, they have the look and feel of a traditional candle. The technology used to create the flame effect on their range of Moving Flame candles is so realistic that most of my guests don’t realize the flame isn’t real. It’s the perfect addition to my list of kitchen island decor ideas.

#3: Fun-filled Conversation Starters

I think the kitchen is where some of the best conversations take place. Anyone who has teenagers, however, knows that having a conversation can be like pulling teeth. So finding new and engaging things to talk about can help keep the conversation flowing. We have a lot of fun with these Table Topics conversation starters and the brightly-colored boxes look cute piled up at the end of my island.

Each box comes with 135 questions that range from silly to thought-provoking. While initially aimed at parents and young children, there’s now a box for different groups, including family, teens, girl’s night out, couples, dinner parties, and even DIY Therapy. It’s caused many a hilarious conversation in our house!

#4: The Fresh Flower Alternatives

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There’s nothing better than fresh flowers, and I love the idea of having a stylish vase filled with my favorite flowers of the season on my island to brighten up my morning. But that can be pretty high maintenance and get really expensive. They’re low enough to not cut the eyeline but make a stylish tabletop focal point. If you’re feeling crafty, you can have fun filling them with whatever you like. My favorites are plants or candles.

#5: Stunning Low Hanging Ceiling Lamps

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I am in love with the look of these, modern Rona Nordic hanging lamps. They will illuminate all your new gorgeous accessories while looking simply stunning. You can mix and match the three different styles or go for a uniformed look.

Crafted from eco-friendly glass stone, they’re the statement piece that every kitchen needs and will exponentially raise the level of sophistication of your kitchen.

L&L Candle Issues ITC Complaint Against Infringing Manufacturers

BREA, Calif., March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — L&L Candle Company, LLC (L&L), the maker of LightLi®, Luminara®, and Matchless® Moving Flame LED Candles has formally filed an International Trade Commission (ITC) complaint against numerous factories, trading companies, and corporations who have allegedly violated patents owned by L&L Candle Company, LLC.

These companies have allegedly produced and sold products that directly infringe on patents held by L&L Candle Company, LLC. We have worked hard to ensure that we are strategically positioned to help our partners through this process.

For more information, please click on the attached link: https://www.usitc.gov/3437.htm
For questions, please contact legal@llcandle.com

Backed by a deep portfolio of patents acquired over decades of innovation, L&L Candle Company offers our partners industry-leading brands through carefully curated and amazingly realistic flameless candle programs to help target and grow your business.

Learn more about L&L at www.llcandle.com

L&L Candle Co

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ll-candle-issues-itc-complaint-against-infringing-manufacturers-301019515.html

SOURCE L&L Candle Co

Coffee Table Styling Tips and Ideas

A big confession here. I didn’t discover flameless candles until my dog Bonnie’s tail caught on fire. She was simply walking by me when she turned to check out a toy on the floor. Her big beautiful plume of a tail then swept a burning candle off my coffee table. The falling candle spilled hot wax on my carpet and sofa, and ouch — my foot! After putting out Bonnie’s tail fire and making sure she was okay, and that my burn was superficial, I broke down in tears.

I don’t know what upset me more — the near disaster of an apartment fire, wax splatters on everything, or my terrifying decision to get rid of all my candles. After I told my friend Sara what happened, she came over with a gift bag of flameless candles. I haven’t bought another flame-burning candle since, and that was a year ago.

Why Use Flameless Candles?

Flameless candles? I know. I used to think they just weren’t close enough to the real thing. But when Sara arranged half a dozen candles on my coffee table and turned them all on with the press of a remote’s button, I stopped protesting. Wow. She turned off my living room lights and stepped back — I couldn’t tell the candles were flameless.. The lights flickered like a real flame. There was no heat, no way these were going to catch Bonnie’s tail on fire, and there was no melting wax to spill. There were no plumes of sooty smoke when she switched them off. I could immediately put them in a drawer or leave them out.

Best of all, she explained, I didn’t have to keep buying more candles. These last forever because they don’t burn down. You know how the most beautiful (and expensive) candles can look when they’ve burned down? They get covered in soot. One side burns down more than the other and wax pours out and puddles on your table, or the candle holder. They collect dust you can’t wash off. They go from fabulous mood-setting pieces to ugly melted things you don’t want to leave out on your coffee table.

Flameless candles don’t look ugly. You can wipe them down or carefully rinse them off with water. You don’t have to keep replacing them. Flameless candles use LED lights, so all you have to do is replace batteries every few weeks or so. I could fall asleep without worrying about a fire starting from a candle I left burning. Okay. I was sold.

Huge Selection — Great Decorating Possibilities

After I got over my swooning over the little lights, I got picky. These were great, but they were too plain for my taste. I might put a couple in my bathroom, but I wanted something more “lit.” The whole idea of candles, after all, was to rock my coffee table.

I found this awesome, Matchless Eucalyptus Wreath Lantern on HSN.

[SOURCE: www.hsn.com]

I realized that with flameless candles, I could decorate more. I wouldn’t have to worry about hot wax setting pine cones or pine branches on fire. The decorating possibilities quadrupled. Sure, I use other things to decorate my coffee table, but flameless candles just made my must-have item list. I found candles I could decorate with my favorite quotes, or a message to give to friends. This not only made them more special but being flameless meant they’d last longer.

Other Great Options for Flameless Candles
I realized that I could use my Mercury glass candle holders without worrying about the heat and soot of the candles ruining them. So, I got serious about coming up with other candle holder options.

[SOURCE: zgallerie.com]

I realized I could use any holder, even paper or flammables, to create the mood and look I wanted. I could put more stuff on my coffee table. I could put bowls of popcorn, two full dinner plates, wine glasses, books, my laptop, or whatever. When the fear of starting a fire is gone, and the worst that can happen is you knock the candle off and pick it back up — your decorating possibilities are endless. You can live a normal life with these candles.

Crafty and Creative? Why Not?

I love being crafty and creative — who doesn’t? With flameless candles, I could decorate them, tie ribbons around them, and with a little hot glue and imagination, I could seasonalize them or make them unique for any occasion from football to romance. Nice.

In a world where Marie Kondo and minimizing your stuff matters, these flameless candles do more than dress up a coffee table. They keep clutter to a minimum. Flameless candles are great on coffee tables, but I figured out I could throw them in my purse and take them with me to the library to create a softer, more chill vibe in my cubicle. I put some in my car — for the times I had those long, heart-to-heart talks with friends and wanted something different than the glare of the interior car lights. I took them camping because I love how they light up the inside of a tent without being a fire hazard.

Flameless Candles are Safe for Pets

I thought the only danger wax or soy-based regular candles posed to my dog Bonnie was fire. Wrong. I learned that some scented candles, candles with essential oils, and other fragrances could make your pet deathly ill, or even kill them. Not just that, depending on the smell of your scented candle, your pet might try eating or chewing on them! That can lead to an upset stomach and diarrhea, at least, and choking or death at worse.

How Flameless Candles Can Save You Money

Home decorators love candles for their power to transform ambiance. Candles create a calming environment, especially after a stressful day at work. Beautiful candlelight is soothing to gaze upon and can make your home look gorgeous. But candles can be expensive due to their disposable nature. Not to mention the dangerous risks they pose to homes, children and pets.

The average 4-inch tall pillar candle has only about 45 hours of burn time. After that, the messy melted wax has to be thrown out and replaced. This is costly in the long run, as most candle users enjoy lighting their candles regularly. However, there is a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative.

Flameless candles have been around for over 2 decades and they’ve become more and more realistic as LED technology improved. L&L Candle is the pioneer behind LED candle innovation, with Matchless Candle Co. as their trendy, experiential brand. These faux candles are feature-packed and are still made with paraffin wax to look just like the real thing. Except, flameless candles can last years rather than weeks.

Moving Flame technology patented by L&L Candle, is the most premium, life-like feature of flameless available on the market. While Moving Flame candles are more expensive than traditional flame-burning candles, they are safer and save homeowners money in the long run. This is because replacing batteries (especially if you buy in bulk) is much cheaper than replacing candles.

While a traditional 3” x 4” pillar candle lasts 45 hours, a Matchless flameless pillar will last 150 or more hours. That means, by the time a traditional candle user has gone through 3 replacement candles, a flameless candle user is simply switching out the batteries.

If the average consumer is lighting their traditional candle for 5 hours a day, they could be saving **$132* a year** using Matchless candles. Despite the higher up-front cost of a flameless candle, the investment breaks even after only 2 months. Considering flameless candles can last years, candle lovers can save hundreds of dollars in the long run with these safer alternatives.

Check out Matchless Flameless Candles on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2TudpCl

* This study was conducted by L&L Candle using traditional wax pillar candles in a controlled environment. Candles were monitored for burn time and contrasted against flameless candle run times. The cost of batteries was reflected in the comparison and proved to be more cost-effective than replacing burning candles.