Harry Potter Floating Candle Decor - Habitat by Lori Pratt

As a designer, I am always on home decor websites, and I often come across things that I wasn’t even looking for! I was shopping on Pottery Barn one day, and came across their “Harry Potter Floating Candle String Lights”. And, I immediately loved them and had to have them. Then, I looked at the price: $149 for a 12 pack…of just candles with a remote! Even with a trade discount, this was too rich for my blood. So, I set out to find my own supplies, and create my Harry Potter floating candle entryway.

I’ve been known to go over the top with holiday decor, my kids tell me that all the time. I have typically been the crazy Christmas lady, starting before Thanksgiving, two trees, holiday hits on a loop for 2 months….a magical wonderland. For Fall, I used to throw some pumpkins and hay on the front porch and call it a day. But, as our kids got older, they started getting into Halloween, and they took me and my husband with them. And now, my Halloween house is starting to rival my holiday home by a pretty close margin. My kids love Harry Potter books and movies, and this time of year is our favorite time to rewatch the movies. The stories, the magic, the good vs. evil. And oh gosh, the score for all the movies. Swoon, am I right?

Harry Potter Floating Candle Supplies

So off to Amazon I went, just a girl with a dream for a magical foyer, at a price that makes sense. I found a 12 pack of warm white taper candles that flicker, with remote, for $20.99. And let me tell you, the remote is clutch…no one wants to turn each and every candle on and off by hand every night, especially ceiling hung ones! I grabbed 2 packs of these, to really fill in my foyer space. You want enough to create a glow, and really, you can add as many as you want. Based on the size of my foyer, and with a budget in mind, I stuck with 24 total candles. Bonus, either remote works on all candles, from both packs, so you can save one for when one of them inevitably gets lost in a couch cushion. I grabbed fishing line to hang, 3M double sided white removable heavy duty foam tape, batteries, and black “spooky fabric” to complete my look. Total price of goods was $82.74, plus tax. Remember, the original candles were $149 for just 12, so I have doubled my candles, and gathered all other supplied needed, for just over half the price of 12 total candles. AMAZING!!!

So, I set out to create the magic. All that is needed here is a ladder, some vision, and time! I filled the candles with batteries and tied each one with fishing line. I tripled knotted the line, so they would hold really well. I hung my spooky fabric first, using a combo of some clear wall hooks I had on hand, and the double sided tape. This tape is awesome, and I chose it because it can hold a fair amount of weight. The batteries add some heft to the candles, and they will be hanging from the ceiling, and you want them to stick! My ceiling is white, and truly, you can hardly notice the squares, they blend in pretty well. I draped the fabric back and forth, loosely, just looking for texture and depth, no real pattern. Then, I started with the candles. I used varying lengths of fishing line, and just hung wherever I felt like it. All I had to do was stick the end of the fishing line between the tape and the ceiling…it could not be easier.

Side note, I actually did check all of the candles before I added fishing line and hung them. It would be a shame to hang them, and then find out you got a few that don’t work. Then, I waited for night to fall and turned them on. I love, love, LOVE how it turned out! It took me about 75 minutes from start to finish, unpacking boxes as they arrived to completion. The result is magic, a warm glow in the entry, and I know the trick or treaters are going to love it come halloween!

Entryway at night with Harry Potter inspired floating candles.

Creating Your Own Floating Candle Decor

Here’s everything you’ll need to create your own Harry Potter floating candle decor! I have included links to all of my purchases on Amazon to make it as easy as possible to make your own magical ceiling. I chose our foyer because the ceiling and space have delineation and it will make for a great backdrop to eager trick-or-treaters when we open the door.

But any room would work. The dining room is another perfect place, as the great hall is what the magical ceiling was inspired by!

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