Christmas lights instantly make your home more welcoming during the holidays. Whether you brighten up your front entry, or accentuate your home’s architecture with roofline Christmas lights, a well-planned design will help your home stand out.
Looking to make your home the brightest on the block? You might be wondering where the best places are to hang holiday lights on your home.
As Christmas light installers, we have a lot of experience designing displays for homes in the Twin Cities. Here are some of our best Christmas light design tips, as well as ideas for making your home cheery and bright this holiday season.
Where to Hang Christmas Lights
Creating a design for Christmas lights really depends on your home. Some homes have beautiful lines – which holiday lights can help to define – while others have landscapes that are deserving of some twinkling holiday lights. Some of the best areas to install or hang Christmas lights include:
- Rooflines – Holiday roof lighting is classic, and it can help to brighten your home. A few options include hanging icicle lights along the front roofline, or using light strings to create an outline of all rooflines and dormer windows.
- Walkways and Driveways – Brighten up your walkways and drives to instantly make your home more inviting. A twinkling walkway leading up to your front entry is great if you’ll be entertaining during the holidays.
- Fences – White lights on a picket fence, or icicle lights along a wooden fence will help to outline your home’s boundaries and give your property a warm, appealing look.
- Trees and Bushes – Try wrapping your trees in lights to create a magical, wintry feel. Bushes can also be strung with lights to brighten up your home’s entry and landscaping.
- Yards – There are a few options for your yard. You might outline the yard with picket lights, for example. Another option: Build a Christmas tree out of lights to spruce your yard up for the holidays.
- Front Entries – If there’s one area of your home you should decorate, it’s your front entry. Warm, white LED lights create a welcoming front door. Plus, accents like garland, outdoor-rated artificial Christmas trees and lantern lights can help to make your entry festive and bright.
Design Ideas for Roofline X-mas Lighting
Light strands with C7 or C9 bulbs – the classic incandescent light shape – are a popular choice for roofline lights. The reason? They’re larger and brighter, and can instantly help to accentuate your home’s beautiful architecture. Other popular design ideas include:
- Icicle Lights – Icicle lights look elegant and wintry, and classic white icicle lights are perfect for windows, awnings and peaks.
- Multi-Color Light Strands – There are a range of color options. If you’re looking for something other than white lights, you might consider a color scheme. Red-and-green Christmas lights look festive, while white-and-red are bright and dazzling.
- Create an Outline – With roofline lights, you’ll want to build an outline for your home. Some tips: Start at the gutter along the front of the home, and work your way up. You can follow the lines up to the peak, as well as outline windows and dormers.
Landscaping Christmas Lighting: Design Tips
If you’re considering lights for your landscaping, brushes, trees and walkways are a great choice. Not only will landscape lights help your home look festive, but they can also help to direct traffic and light-up dimly lit exterior spaces. A few options include:
- Wrapping Trees – Trees wrapped in white lights or multi-colored strands create a warm, wintry effect. You’ll likely want to wrap the trunk, as well as about 2-3 feet into the branches. Consider wrapping the lights about 5-7 inches apart, although you might consider a tighter wrap for a brighter display.
- Consider Tree Ornaments – Another option is to use hanging lights in the trees. You might use Christmas light balls or cascading lights.
- Net Lights for Bushes – It can be difficult to wrap bushes in light strands. A better option is to use net lights. These fit right over the top, and make decorating bushes a breeze.
- Walkway Outlines – You have a number of options for walkways. A classic look can be created with white pathway lights. Another option would be to use LED rope lights to outline your walks.
- Light Balls – For the lawn, you might consider some Christmas light balls. You can easily create balls with chicken wire frames wrapped in LED light strands. These DIY ornaments instantly add pizzazz to your lighting display.
Brighten Up Your Front Entry
Your holiday lighting design should draw attention to your front entry. This should be the focal point of the design. In fact, if you’re looking for a simple Christmas light display, you might only hang lights around the front entry. Some design ideas include:
- Frame Your Door – Use lights to create an outline of your front entryway. You might consider draping lights over the doorway and around the sides.
- Consider Accent Pieces – Accent pieces on either side of the door – for example, matching outdoor-rated artificial Christmas trees – can help to create a warm, inviting look for your front entry. Other options include lanterns, light-up animals or a Santa Clause.
- Don’t Forget the Greenery – Wreaths and garland are classic holiday decorations. And they look great matched with white lights around your front entry.
Let Us Help You Plan Your Christmas Light Display
Need a little help? Clean and Clear Lighting provides a complete holiday lighting solution for homeowners in the Twin Cities. Our process includes:
- Design Consultation – Our team helps you create a dazzling display for your home.
- Lighting Installation – We install our own lights, which you lease for the season.
- Ongoing Maintenance – Clean and Clear Lighting will make any repairs throughout the season, if needed.
- Light Take-Down – We take down the lights after the holidays.
For homeowners, there isn’t an easier solution for installing Christmas lights during the holidays. Contact us today for a free estimate or to learn more.
