I heard some talk lately about kaarsKoker and their decorative candle sleeves (they're making the blog rounds and have been featured on d*s as well as others)... have you heard about them? I love the concept of taking something traditional and giving it a more modern look, a recurring theme in the design world... the old becoming new again through a simple update. These are especially great in older homes, I imagine them on some of the sconces inside of Boston brownstones -- how charming!

I had a rental apartment in Boston once with sconces on the walls, they were brass and I felt like they were so amazingly boring and generic... if only kaarsKoker had been around back then. I tried to make my own candle sleeves at that time but my mother kept telling me that I'd burn the house down so I lived with my ho-hum brass wall sconces and simply topped the bulb with a handmade shade I pulled together using French toile and feather trim (hey, I was big into feathers back at that time, what can I say?).

What I like about this product is that these are made out of art paper and cardboard, won't burn the house down (see mom, I was onto something!?), and they just slip over the socket so you can easily remove them if you rent your home and decide to move out someday.

They are also perfect for those of us who like to decorate seasonally. Retailers can use them to dress up window store displays, brides can incorporate them into her wedding, restaurants can add them for a signature look, and if you're throwing a big bash for little Joey you can pick from their kids range to transform that chandelier over your dining room table for the day.

These clever candle sleeves are available in solids and patterns and according to themes such as holiday, kids, and special events. Sleeves are sold in pairs and most cost around $21-23 so they're completely affordable making them that much more charming.

(images from kaarsKoker)