We all love a good lighting display — and appreciate all the time and love that gets poured into an incredible home, decked for the holiday season.
If you’re just starting out, you may have a few questions on holiday decorating. Gather all those ideas, grab a pencil and paper, and get your best ideas together once you’ve reviewed these awesome tips on installing Christmas lights!
Plan Your Christmas Lights Design
Whether you’ve never decorated the exterior of your home — or you hang lights like a pro — we have some ideas to help you plan an epic Christmas lights display. If you are just starting out, be sure to catch our Christmas Lights Installation overview here.
First up, you’ll need to settle on the type of light — LED lights or regular lights. We recommend using LED Christmas lights as they are brighter, save on energy, and they should last for many, many seasons!
Once you’ve settled on the kind of lights you need, you need to —
- Pick your focal points.
- Measure well.
- Plan the layering effect and what colors you will use.
- Get Your tools and accessories.
To successfully install Christmas lights, think through the different architectural features of your home that can create depth and interest as we explore the most important piece of the best lighting displays — layering!
What is layering with Christmas Lights Installation?
In the Christmas decorating and holiday lights world, layering can mean a few different things.
- If you want to accentuate the foreground and add background depth, you need to plan out the different layers of lighting focal points throughout the house’s lines.
- If you want to add dimension and texture, use various sizes of bulbs.
- You may also want to use different stages of lighting (varying sizes or colors) to get that complete coverage you’re looking for.
Often, as you’re planning out the look of your lighting project, you’ll experiment with a variety of these techniques to get what you’re looking for! The main areas to tackle first are the drip edge, ridge line, pathways, and finally lawn decor. Here are some common terms and things you need to consider before going shopping!
Christmas Lighting On the Roof
1. Drip edge (roofline) — Typically, this is your beginner layer or first step in the process. We love the traditional look of wrapping your entire roof with C9 bulbs. When you attach lights around the entire home, it adds depth when the onlooker views your work.
2. Ridge line — Depending on your house’s design, this gives extra height and depth that brings the area above the roofline out of the shadows. Homes with dormers, peaks, and curves get the most impact!
Again, you’ll probably want to use C9 bulbs. Using ridge clips for Christmas lights will center the bulbs over the ridge line for a crisp, clean look.
Christmas Lighting On the Ground
Christmas Pathway Lights take a variety of forms — all of them can come in addition to the roof lighting.
You’ll mostly be shopping for C9s again with ground stakes. The goal with lighting on the ground is adding depth through foreground and background lighting — the more lights you add, the more you’ll create a perfect vertical picture and achieve that premium visual interest!
1. Ground coverage — You can outline sidewalks, driveways, the yard, or simply flower beds and tree beds to start.
2. Tree wraps — Next, you can look at wrapping the trunks, part or all of the branches, or the canopy. The canopy wrap is best used with a larger tree that has a somewhat uniform canopy. The lights simply drape on the outer edge. If the trunk wrap is new to you, be sure to catch out this easy to follow tutorial here.
3. Bushes — You have three options with bushes, either nets, 5mm strands, or cluster lights.
4. Wreaths and Garlands — You can hang these accent pieces on the windows and doors and create a stunning cozy look. We recommend some pre lit options that match the color in warmth or coolness that you use on your ridge line and roofline!
5. Lawn Decor — This is where so many people have fun! From silhouettes to signs, you can bring your lawn to life with characters and other things like ornaments, Christmas trees, reindeers, and stars.
Once you have your plans in place, remember that you need the following sizes to help develop that visual interest with layering —
- C9 on roofline (may choose to add mini icicle lights along with the C9 lights)
- C7s around windows to contrast with the C9s on roof
- 5mm or cluster lights to wrap trees
The Ultimate Christmas Lighting Experience
Layering can add depth, dimension, and texture as you are installing Christmas lights!
If you need assistance shopping for your lighting needs or would like to be matched with a local DFW installer, the team at DW Pro Lights is here to help!