How you present your home to the rest of the world affects how the world thinks about you. One of the most overlooked additions to a house that can nonetheless make a tremendous difference are simply outdoor string lights. A well-placed series of lights lining a porch or house siding can provide convenient illumination, ward off potential burglars, and make your property look absolutely beautiful at night. Consider, for example, the famous Christmas tree, a beloved tradition maintained in large part by its aesthetic appeal due to strings of arranged lights. Why not let your house give that same warm feeling to the hearts of people who visit or even just drive by? Outdoor string lights can make it happen at surprisingly little expense. In fact, ‘little expense’ can become ‘no expense whatsoever’ if you have Christmas lights leftover that you can yank out of storage! All it takes is a few changed bulbs to match the season and you’re ready to go.
The choice of bulb color in your outdoor light strings is actually quite important, and it can send off any number of messages. Plain white bulbs will feel modern and chaste, while yellow lights will give off a warmer but still conservative look. If you have a party to celebrate and really want to pull out all the stops, matching the light colors to the overall decorating theme can be an excellent choice, and for just a little added wild flair without going overboard, subdued red, green, or blue lights will beautify any yard. Just remember that eyes will be naturally drawn to any outdoor string light, so pick a color you want eyes to be drawn to for the right effect.
Other relevant choices in making good use of patio string lights include the color of the cords and the bulb shapes. A sharper shape to a bulb will create a more ‘in your face’ light, while rounded lights are more soothing and low-key. The cords, too, matter almost as much as the actual lighting in your outdoor patio string lights. You want cords that blend in to the architecture so that eyes focus on the lights themselves, not on the means by which the lights are being powered! This may necessitate some very careful picking and choosing in where you place your lights. If desperate enough, you can also simply paint the cords into whatever color is most appropriate, or use various tricks to hide them within shadows, branches, and the like. If you’ve ever decorated a Christmas tree before, remember those old techniques! The process is roughly the same for setting up lighting system strings outdoors.
If you truly know your house, then you’ll instinctively know what kind of lights will look best with it. Follow your instincts and go with what flows well with your sensibilities, and those strings of lights will turn a good-looking home into a great-looking one.
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