The magic and wonder of the glow and twinkle of a string of fairy lights surely started with the traditional Christmas tree decorations of our childhood. We gazed in awe at those pretty droplets of light scattered among the shiny baubles and tinsel, often wishing they were a permanent feature in our homes rather than being stowed away for another 12 months.
Nowadays it has become fashionable to adorn any room in our house with decorative lights and even extend their use into the garden where they can make even the most dull and uninteresting garden into a fairy-tale grotto.
The choice of designs, colours and methods of indoor and outdoor lighting is extensive.
Indoor Lighting
For indoor use, the traditional string of simple clear, white, single coloured or multi coloured bulbs can look stunning woven into a dried flower arrangement, bordering a mirror or even placed in a clear glass vase and used as an eye-catching table decoration. You may also wish your lighting to be animated, choosing either a random twinkle or a travelling ripple of light.
To overcome the age-old problem of never having enough plug sockets available or the cable not being long enough to stretch to your desired location, you may consider battery operated LED lights which can be placed virtually anywhere in the home (or even caravan!). Using just a couple of AA batteries they are cheap to buy and run.
The lights themselves come in a huge variety of shapes, from icicles, snowflakes and ice cubes to cones, flowers, hearts, diamonds, mini wreaths and stars. Cable colours also vary from the traditional dark green, to silver, gold, black, white and clear.
Outdoor Lighting
The range of outdoor lighting has grown considerably over the last couple of decades, probably due to the increase in people inspired to light up their house and gardens at Christmas time. Mains lighting has its drawbacks, finding a convenient plug socket in the garden which is safe to use in all weathers can be a challenge but if you have an available mains source, LED rope lights can be draped around a doorway or any building feature as they are flexible and weather proof . Battery powered LED lighting is fine for temporary illumination, perhaps for a garden party or wedding reception but solar powered lighting is a more permanent option. These lights are photocell activated so the lights turn on automatically in the dark. They often have a built in timer which you can set to turn the lights off after a period of time, the solar panel recharges the battery by day.
Whatever the weather, location or occasion, you can always find suitable lighting to light up your life.
Carolyn Bell gives tips on you can make use of decorative lighting in your home and garden, writing for
B-Loony Ltd
Light Up Your Life With A Little Magic!
