Easy to Create Farmhouse Style Tealight Candle Holders

Home decoration is a pretty big thing and buying decorations is expensive. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to make easy Tealight Candle Holders that are perfect for adding a touch of farmhouse style to any room. After watching this tutorial, you’ll be able to make your own Tealight Candle Holders in no time! This is a really quick and easy woodworking project that anyone can do and you are limited only by your imagination on how to decorate them. These Tealight Candle Pillars an excellent canvas for laser burning, CNC work, hand carving, or pyrography.

Tools and Materials

Tools are minimal. I used a drill press and Radial Arm Saw but you could do it with out those. I would recommend a good 12” compound miter saw though. You won’t have to rotate the piece and line up the kerf like I did. You will also need a 1-5/8” Forstner Bit.

As far as materials, other than a untreated 4×4 (I used cedar) you will need a couple of Tealight Candles and whatever paint and decorations you choose. I wanted a washed finish in white for that beach cottage or farmhouse look.

Layout

Layout is quick and simple. Measure and mark your 4×4 at 3”, 6”, and 9”. You can choose different heights to fit you home décor too. And, I cut three you can cut more and scatter them around the house.

Drawing of Farmhouse Style Tealight Candle Holders

Use the sketch above to mark your 4×4. Be sure to carry over your marks on at least 2 sides if you are not using a 12” compound miter saw.

Cutting

Next, crosscut on your marks. If you are using a 10” saw it won’t cut completely though so you will have to rotate the piece and line up the kerfs to get a smooth cut. BE CAREFUL. I would NOT use a table saw for this operation. It could bind and kickback. Use a Radial Arm saw or a Compound Miter Saw and you can always finish the cut with a handsaw.

Drilling the Tealight Holes

This next step is to mark the center of the pieces. Just do a cross from corner to corner and use a nail or awl to mark the center of the “X”. Chuck a 1-5/8” Forstner Bit in your drill, I used a drill press, but a hand drill would probably work too. Drill about 7/8” deep in each one. This depth will accommodate most any Tealight Candle. By the way I really do recommend a drill press for this operation but I know most people don’t have one.

Sanding

Next step is to sand all the surfaces. A good fresh 320 grit paper will generally take care of the surface if you are using Cedar. You may need 220 grit on the ends or if you chose a harder wood. Be sure to sand the edges and also, hit the corners and give them a bit of a round over.

Finishing

Finishing and decorating it wide open. I wanted a beachy, farmhouse look so cut some white latex 50/50 with water and rubbed it on. Then hit it with 400 grit after to dried and applied a second coat of the wash. I really like how it turned out. It’s kind of a heavy pickled look that is exactly what I wanted.

Final Decoration

You can go wild with decorating and even change it up for the seasons it various types of greenery. I used Garden String to wrap mine which fit with the style I was trying to achieve.