Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Life

Tag: decorating with lights

  • Decorating with Holiday Lighting

    As the season of celebration arrives, your home’s festive spirit can shine with dazzling holiday lighting. This doesn’t mean that you need to have lights on every inch of your rooftop or trees – although we support that! Even small accents, from window treatments to nightstand accessories, can make an impact. With a little bit of planning, the possibilities for glowing good cheer are endless. Read on as we share some of our favorite ideas for bringing the season alive with joyous holiday lighting.  

    Send a Message with LED Rope Holiday Lighting

    LED rope lights allow you to send a message in a way that is “bright, energy-efficient, and easy,” according to Martha Stewart Living. The Magazine offers templates, including their gorgeous “Joy” sign, that allow you to write out your season’s greetings in style. The lights are attached to “a grid of wire wreath forms with heavy-duty cable ties” and can be quickly displayed on windows, garage doors, and across porch railings, as well as throughout your home. In fact, they are so easy to create, you may want to hang more than one. 

    Say It With Snowflakes

    Speaking of rope lights, you can create stunning hanging snowflake ornaments, perfect for decorating gazebos, trees, and porch beams. You can craft this glimmering holiday light display by “hand-twisting rope lights” in a pattern available through Martha Stewart Living and then hanging them by their cords, which are artfully hidden by ribbon. This wintry decoration is perfect for celebrating the holidays, but it is so welcoming that you might want to keep these snowflakes up until spring.

    Stage Mason Jar Strands

    Whether you are hoping to add holiday lighting to bedroom nightstands or want to illuminate walkways for guests, mason jars may be the key to your winter decorating. The idea is a favorite of the pros at Real Simple. “Fill a large Mason jar with a strand or two of battery-powered lights to add whimsy,” and you are done.  It’s that easy. We also love seeing them on tables for outdoor entertaining – those cold nights by the firepit take on an extra magical quality when you can see these lights twinkling in the darkness. Plus, it makes seeing your fabulous snacks even easier. 

    Display a String-Light Christmas Tree 

    Would you love to add a Christmas tree to your child’s room but don’t want to deal with the potential mess and expense? Holiday lighting can also help you create an ideally festive atmosphere in kids’ rooms. String lights are the key. The decorating experts at Martha Stewart Living love the idea of creating string-light Christmas trees using five strategically-placed adhesive hooks. “Felt star ornaments add to the twinkle effect and can be made using the template.” While white decorations are sure to delight, you and your kids can craft the felt ornaments using any color that makes you smile.  

    Create Unique Holiday Glass Candle-Holders

    Do you have pretty glassware that you can spare? Consider turning glasses, everything from whisky tumblers to chalices, into charming candle-holders by filling them with votives. If they are deep enough and solid, you may want to use votives with wicks that you can light. However, if they are placed in an area where they might be disturbed, you’ll want to use battery-operated votives. You’ll still have the beauty of the illumination but without the safety concerns. Midwest Living loves this idea and suggests taking this holiday decoration a step further by “[topping the glasses] with mini-wreaths, being sure to use non-flammable materials or to keep candle flames well away from fresh greens.” 

    Hang Glowing Topiary Lanterns

    Making them into stunning holiday lighting is a snap if you already have topiary lanterns. All you need to do is wrap your lights along the wire bands that form the lantern, securing them with staples or small adhesive hooks as you go. If you don’t have topiary lanterns, you can easily purchase frames at craft stores that can be wrapped with string or LED rope lights (and use twist-ties to secure them to the edges). The experts prefer the latter at Martha Stewart Living: “Rope lights, which look as if they’re filled with liquid beads, provide a smoother, more defined look than the standard string variety.” Want to go for some extra sparkle? The Magazine recommends wrapping tinsel in between the light bands and hanging these dazzling orbs from trees with thick, colorful ribbon (which will also help hide the cords). 

    Drape Crackle Ball Garland

    Crackle ball holiday lighting is trendy right now and with good reason! Not only do they add a sparkle in whatever space they appear, they also feature an eye-catching texture that sets them apart from traditional lanterns. It’s not surprising that Southern Living is raving about crackle ball garlands from West Elm. The Magazine loves the shimmering options and its affordable price tag. While the editors are making a plan to drape the garland along their stair rails, it also would look lovely sitting across fireplace mantels, as window treatments, and on porches (provided they can be secured against the elements). 

    Light a Mistletoe Chandelier

    Finally, if you want to add a sense of romance to your holiday lighting, and are up for a little DIY fun, consider creating a gorgeous mistletoe chandelier using the instructions from Martha Stewart Living. As the Magazine reveals: “Although it looks as though it has been cast from silver, the piece is made of faux mistletoe and dainty rice lights attached to a branch.” The look is refined and delicate, although by using the Hearth & Hand with Magnolia Faux Mistletoe, it’s sturdy enough to last throughout the holiday season and into the new year. It’s so lovely that you’ll want to put it up again next year!

  • Decorating with Lights for Halloween

    You are not alone if you are getting excited about decorating your home with lights and spirited displays for Halloween. From simple DIY projects to more elaborate creations, there are countless options for bringing a sense of magic, eeriness, and fun to your home on October 31st. If you are still searching for unique ideas, read on for our favorite tips for decorating with lights this Halloween.

    Decorating Eerie Paths with Lights

    If you are welcoming family, friends, and trick-or-treaters to your home for Halloween, you’ll want to highlight your walkway in some fun and eerie ways. Consider carving small pumpkins and illuminating them with battery-operated votive candles before placing them along your front walkway or on your porch steps. If you have easy access to tree branches or a porch ceiling, Martha Stewart Living loves the idea of hanging “giant gothic lanterns … vellum printed with [their] clip-art designs” for a spooky, eye-catching touch that sheds just the right amount of light on your walkway and front door. 

    Staging Ghoulish Graveyard Scenes

    Do you love setting up ghoulish Halloween yard displays when decorating with lights? Among other macabre touches, glowing tombstones are sure to get attention. Start by staging a plot of your front yard as a makeshift graveyard and set the scene with spine-chilling tombstones that beckon in the night. Martha Stewart Living offers a set of templates that will make your Halloween light display the talk of the neighborhood. How? The Magazine explains that “the ‘stones’ are gray luminarias (paper bags) stenciled with epitaphs and trimmed into shape. Lights are placed inside them so the glow appears to emanate from the underworld.”  

    Creating Silly and Scary Window Scenes

    If you are looking for something that leans toward zany rather than scary for Halloween, you’ll agree with the editors of Southern Living that Wiggly Monster window decals are perfect. They are ideal for homes that have young children or are welcoming them to the house for trick-or-treating. Southern Living raves: “They’re easy to apply to glass windows—just peel and stick—without causing any damage.” Once the decals are applied, you just need to point green, yellow, or purple light bulbs at the windows to get that supernatural glow.

    Want something scarier when decorating with green lights? Martha Stewart Living suggests using their “monstrous birds” template “drawn and cut from black plastic weed barrier” with a green backlight to create a perfectly ominous scene.  

    Jack-o’-Lantern Light Displays

    The jack-o’-lantern is part of time-honored tradition for a reason. Each creation is unique, and young kids (and not-so-young-kids) enjoy being part of the creative process. Plus, once the tea light or battery-operated votive is added, the carved display gives off a decidedly creepy and mysterious vibe. Real Simple adores the traditional carve-and-scoop method with a classic design. Of course, the jack-o’-lantern design transcends illuminated pumpkins on the porch or walkways. Real Simple also encourages using the iconic design on cupcake candles, chandelier shades, and lit bean bag tosses.

    Spooky Porches

    In addition to the spider webs, creepy music, and haunting character displays, Better Homes & Gardens recommends raising the spooky factor with a DIY black candle urn. The project is surprisingly simple, using black “foam pipe tubes and battery-operated tea light candles.” It’s a big hit not only for its design but also because battery-operated candles offer a safer display option than open flame when decorating with lights – a critical thing to keep in mind when welcoming guests to your door for Halloween. 

    Ghostly Centerpieces

    If you want something simple when decorating with lights that still makes a statement, the Blue Neon Ghost Light from FUNPENY is bound to be a conversation starter. You can keep it in your window, set it on a nightstand, or use it as a party-table centerpiece. It has a sleek design and a pronounced glow that continues long after Halloween has faded into memory. Its style and the fact that it can be charged by battery or USB port are among the many reasons Southern Living includes it among their favorite ways to decorate this Halloween.  

    Haunted Mirrors

    For a thoroughly creepy mirror image in your entertaining space, Martha Stewart Living’s “ghost hands” mirror is a must. At the center of the startling image is a print-and-adhere template of hands seemingly pressing against the mirror’s glass in an attempt to escape. Light it from below with a simple lantern, votive, or flashlight, and watch with glee as guests jump when the light flickers and the ghostly hands come into view. 

    Spirited Wall Décor

    The editors at Southern Living know that you might want your interior décor to be in the holiday spirit, but not necessarily filled with horror and gore. The Magazine suggests that when you begin decorating with lights for Halloween, consider adding Spiderweb Lights to indoor and outdoor entertaining spaces. Affordable and engaging, “[their favorite] cheeky spiderweb has three different light modes that the kids will love to change each night.”  

    For a more ghostly effect in your entertaining space, a fake window might just do the trick. Southern Living recommends trying the Lighted Ghostly Tattered Curtain Halloween Decoration from Wayfair.com. Why does it make their “go-to” list? The Magazine explains: “This fake window with tattered curtain has an unnerving ghost shadow, and comes complete with ghostly lights and haunted house sound effects—perfect for ramping up the scare factor.”