Time to Hang Your Holiday Lights!

Make your home shimmer

Holiday lighting is a top trend in seasonal holiday décor.  

Lighting makes any home festive and the process doesn’t have to be complicated.  Stand out on the curb.  Then look back at your home to see the features in your yard that you could easily light up this season.  What might make the most impact with a few strands of lights?

Things to consider

  • Trees are already a focal point in the yard, so it’s easy to take advantage of their strong presence by adding lights.
  • The roof line with its high pitches and bends creates dramatic interest when outlined in lights.
  • Garlands go everywhere.  They’re not just for the family room fireplace.  If you have an outdoor fireplace, deck it out with garlands and lights, too.  String lighted garlands along the fence line, surrounding porch pillars or around the mailbox post.
  • Architectural features like a filigree gate offer unique options to get creative with lights.  
  • Make it fun and whimsical.  Wrap lights around old skis, a wheelbarrow full of evergreens or create a silhouette around a bicycle frame.  Create something fun the neighbors will enjoy.

Lighting shouldn’t be a budget breaker – or a fire hazard.

LED technology makes lighting safer, easier and more energy efficient than traditional lights.  Here are some good reasons to start replacing worn out lights with LEDs:

  • Safety – LEDs do not get hot like conventional lights to create a fire hazard or scorch plants.
  • Durability – If you are on top of a ladder and drop an LED bulb, it most likely won’t break when it hits the concrete.  LEDs also last 4-5 times longer than incandescent lights so there are fewer materials used and you replace them less often over time. 
  • Fewer outlets required – If you’ve ever searched your yard for more outlets or blown a fuse from too many lights on a circuit, LEDs are for you.  You can string multiple strands of LEDs end to end and attach them to one extension cord that’s plugged into a single outlet.  
  • Guilt-free power – No need to worry about energy consumption and power costs.  The newest LEDs use about 90% less power than conventional lights.  

Bottom line:  LEDs provide safe and sustainable lighting.   

Practical tips for installing holiday lights

  • When you place lights along the roof line, make sure you place a bulb at the points of the roof and where right angles form at the corners.  
  • Tape over the unused plug-in at the very end of the string of lights.  Wrap electrical tape over the holes in the plug to prevent moisture from getting inside and possibly creating a short.
  • If lighting more than one evergreen tree, wrap the lights in the same direction – such as clockwise – and make the spacing between strands on all trees consistent.  This creates a uniform appearance throughout the yard.
  • Before taking down the lights, use duct tape and a marker to ID lights on corners and peaks and other critical places in your display.  This will save assembly time next year.
  • Play it safe.  Placing lights on very large trees and along high rooflines may not be the safest DIY project.  Trained pros have the equipment and skill to do the work safely – and also the design know-how to make your display a stand-out on the street. 

Need help with holiday lighting?  Contact Designscapes Colorado at info@designscapes.org or 303-721-9003.

This entry was posted in Residential, Holiday Lighting & Decor, Green Landscape, Commercial