Some candles are best unadorned, but candleholders offer an additional opportunity to highlight their presence and beauty. You don't have to burn candles; you can use them as objects d'art, incorporating them into displays, floral arrangements and centerpieces—alone as an accent piece, or in a grouping as a focal point.

Typical candles no longer exist—they belong to a bygone era. Tapers gave way to thick and varied heights long ago. Today, you'll find square candles, heart-shaped candles, fruit and vegetable candles, gingerbread candles, floral candles, Christmas tree and ornament candles, and candles with artistic free-flowing shapes. Within that variety of shapes, you'll find an endless array of adornments, such as beads and glitter, straw, botanicals embedded in wax, still life scenes, etc.

Color, Shape and Texture

Today's candles come in a wide variety of hues and shades, and many add dimension of shape and texture to their composition. Marbled, frosted, and sculptured candles are widely available in a selection of sizes, shapes and prices—ranging from votives to thick, oversized candles.

If your living areas are frozen in time with a monochromatic color scheme—you know rooms we mean, they looked oh-so-good on paper until you lived in them for a month—use candles to rescue you from monotony without expense of redecorating. Marbled candles are a quick and easy way to work complementary or harmonizing color into room.

If your home utilizes color well, but lacks excitement, accessorize with textured candles to add pizzazz to room. Position candles to create a focal point or to add just right accent. Marbled candles incorporate several hues and shades of same color, and variegated candles can tie all of colors in your décor together.

With so many homeowners in market for more energy efficient windows and doors for their home, i thought i would use this week's article to cover more common terms used to describe a window's ability to insulate your home from elements. There is an organization called The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). Their purpose is to test each window manufacturer's product to independently verify ratings for each test administered. So, let's discuss each test and what it means.