How To Decorate Outdoors With Rope Lights?

Not all outdoor rope lights displays are equal. Some are dazzling while others fall flat. Some are crisp while others are sloppy and droopy. Creating a sharp and stunning outdoor rope lights display is actually not hard at all, if you keep in mind just a few key points.

Choosing the right kind of rope lights for the right setting and use is the first key. A two-wire rope works well for wrapping around objects, like lighting up all sides of a free-standing lawn decoration. But if one bulb in a two-wire rope bursts, the whole string goes out and needs to be replaced.

Multi-wire rope lights allow for more variety and versatility in the colors and effects (including the illusion of motion) than you can get from a single strand. They also don't go out when individual bulbs burst. Because they are made up of lots of wires wound around each other, however, they don't wind as well around tight and intricately shaped objects. Multi-wire rope lights work better when strung in a relatively straight line between two objects.

The right type of attachments is the next big key. Mounting clips are ideal for surfaces you can pound a nail into, which is how you secure the clip to the structure. Zip ties are great for stair railings. Along roof lines you can pop the rope lights into tracks attached to the building with adhesive, screws, or nails.

String the rope lights you hang between two structures, trees, or poles tightly enough so that they're not sagging, or worse blocking a walkway or part of your display. A little give is necessary and adds a nice wave to the whole look, so don't pull them too tightly either.

Rope lights you wrap around objects, like Christmas tree lights, are best used sparsely, as the glow of the colors on the lights covers a wider field than just the surface area covered by the ropes themselves. It's easy to overdo it and create a crowded, messy effect. But it's even easier to keep a rope lights display simple at first, and then add more as you see places that could use it.

Christmas time is when everybody pulls their LED rope lights out of storage and brightens their little piece of the neighborhood with festive holiday spirit. But whether it's Christmastime or any time of the year, you can deck out your yard and driveway with a display so exceptional, you may never want to take it down.