Outdoor String Lights: There are many ways to add a bit of flair to your home or garden. Some might choose expensive statuary or hard to maintain landscape features, but those with a bit less time or money on their hands might want to consider something as simple as string lights. While they have existed for many years, these lights are still a great way to add a touch of class to your home. If you are looking for a great decorating style without having to deal with regular maintenance or with high costs, these lights may be the best addition to your home.
Outdoor String lights are…
- Usually inexpensive
- Easy to install
- Versatile
Photo Credit: Flickr Kaleidoscope Event Lighting
- Easily changeable
- Able to stand up to changes in the weather
- A great tool for even novice decorators
- Available in many shapes, sizes and colors
- Easy to find online and in stores
What Are Outdoor String Lights?
These lights are not exactly the things about which scholar blogs are written. String lights are just that – outdoor lights that consist of several bulbs on a string. These products come in many different shapes and sizes, and can be used for dozens of different decorating purposes. Over the past decade, these lights have become far more popular for outdoor decorating than they have been in the past. Those that want an elegant look for their business of garden have often found that these lights add a nice touch year-round.
Today’s lights do tend to be a bit different than those of the past. The bulbs tend to be smaller, and gentle white lights have tended to replace the bulky colored holiday lights of the past. Most of these lights are also far more energy efficient, a rare savings for those that like to use them year-round.
Using Outdoor String Lights
There are many great uses for string lights. Some of the most common revolve around holiday decoration, but one can do quite a bit more with a little imagination. The use of a garden outdoor string set in a gazebo, for example, can give the impression of a twinkling night sky even on the darkest of nights, while the string up a few strands around a camper can add a bit of a festive flair to an otherwise utilitarian area. One’s imagination is always key when decorating, and taking the time to plan out a great display can make the area look quite a bit nicer.
On a design note, it is always important to avoid over-using these lights. While a few strands can look lovely, using too many strands can lead to a somewhat messy look. Try to use the product with a bit of restraint and you should be happier with the results.
The Price of Outdoor String LightsÂ
More so than almost any other kind of outdoor light, string lights tend to vary in price. Commercial quality lights tend to be the most expensive, as they are meant to last longer without burning out the sometimes-fragile fuses, while a simple set of party lights might cost quite a bit less. During the holidays, retailers offering sales in-store might discount all of their lights instead of simply discounting those used for holiday decor, while the largest online retailer will tend to have generally lower prices.
As a word of warning, one should never confuse quality with price. While commercial grade lights may last longer, many of the home-use lights tend to have a higher cost associated with the brand name instead of quality. While certain brand names (Hawken and Royce) do tend to have a relatively high level of quality, others have no real advantages.
Styles of Outdoor String LightsÂ
Like so many types of decorative lighting, string lights come in a number of shapes and sizes. While the most commonly used are simple bulbs, there are many other varieties on the market. The most common alternative version of these lights are Christmas lights, especially those smaller bulbs that have slowly replaced the larger C7 bulbs. There are other designs available that also see use throughout the year, and they may range from more decorative bulb shapes to football helmets, with almost any other design one could dream up in between. The size and shape of the lights will generally have a fairly large effect on how one can use the items when decorating, and taking the time to look for the right sort of light should be very important to any decorator.
The benefits of outdoor string lights are many, and the drawbacks are few. While you may need to search for the right strands and do a bit of time shopping around to find the right prices, the end result of all of your effort can be a space that is a bit more fun or a bit more elegant than it was before. If you take the time to find the right strands, you might be able to completely transform the space into something that had never imagined. Always remember that these lights, like all other lights, will require some maintenance and that you should always keep an eye out for bulbs that have fizzled out. While most modern strands will not stop working simply because of one dead bulb, the effect of multiple lights that have gone out can be somewhat less impressive than a decorator might hope.